10 Fun & Interesting Facts About Aquarium Snails
Snails are widely known for being super-slow creatures. But at the same time, aquatic snails present one of the most helpful pets one could ever own. They are little scavengers, so they basically collect all algae and decaying matter from a tank, leaving it cleaner and safer for those who live in it.
They are super-easy to care for, but they offer so many advantages in return. Have you ever considered adding some cool snails to your home tank? Well, maybe you will, after reading our selection of the 10 most fun and interesting facts about aquarium snails.
1. Not all Aquarium Snails are Wanted Pets
There are several popular species of aquarium snails that keepers love adding to their home tanks. Some do that for purely practical reasons. Indeed, snails are one of the most effective tank cleaners on the planet, thanks to their love for debris and decomposing organic matter. However, not all snails have wanted pets.
Some snails can sneak into an aquarium without the owners even realizing until they grow up or start reproducing. For instance, if you are looking to re-decorate your fish tank with some greatly looking new plants, you may accidentally bring some snails along.
Such unwanted snails are normally able of reproducing pretty fast, so this may quickly turn into a tank nightmare if not spotted on time.
2. Snails require constant Calcium to Grow their Shells
As opposed to fish that need their water treated before being placed into the tank, snails can survive simply fine even into standard tap water. And this is actually enriched with the right amounts of calcium which they require to survive.
Therefore, if you are planning on keeping your snails into a tank with tap water, that is a good solution. However, if you have to keep them into tanks with fish, you will need to constantly feed them with calcium-enriched foods. This is essential for their shells to grow healthily.
3. Aquarium Snails Hate Soft Water
Intricately linked to the previously described fun fact, this one is just as important. Snails hate soft water, and most of the modern pet species could not adapt successfully to it. Water hardness is connected to the concentration of calcium in it, so this is vitally important.
Aquatic snails should be kept into hard water, with a basic degree ranging between 7 and 9 dGH. Alternatively, that would mean 70 to 90 ppm of calcium. Again, this is essential for the growth of their shells.
4. Aquarium Snails are amazing Escapers
If you think of escape masters, snails should be one of the first associations to come to your mind. Indeed, they are amazing at getting away from tanks just as they are handy at sneaking into them unnoticed.
Therefore, make sure to carefully seal your aquarium, even if you think that you will monitor your slow pets most of the time. If not, they will find their way out, and that is a promise.
5. Snails Leave a Slime Trail as they Move their Muscular Foot
The soft body part of the snail is divided into 3 main parts, with the largest one consisting of a muscular foot. This allows them to move from one point to another, carrying their shell-home along.
As the muscular foot passes on top of the tank substrate, it leaves a slime trail behind. These are especially visible onto soft sediments or onto rock or glass surfaces.
6. They make one of the most Peaceful Tank Mates ever
Snails are extremely peaceful creatures, and they make one of the most ideal tank companions for any fish species. All they want to do is to eat and sleep, and they will not mind anyone else as long as they have these 2 basic predispositions available.
When it comes to picking up the best tank mates for aquatic snails, however, not every fish will be a good choice. Some of them are large enough to decide to feed on your snails, so please take that in consideration while creating your perfect community.
7. Copper-Based Medications can Kill your Snail Pets
Even though copper-based medications may be effective into treating your sick fish pets, it is highly fatal to snails. Therefore, stay away from copper as long as you want to keep them healthy and alive.
The body of a snail is simply not designed to survive after getting into contact with copper sulfate. Even concentrations as low as 0,01% can kill all of your snails in less than a couple of hours.
8. Most Aquarium Snail Species Will Easily Breed inside your Tank
Snails easily reproduce across captivity tanks, as they are super-adaptable to basically any kind of water temperature. Most of the common pet species are hermaphrodites, meaning that they carry both sperm and eggs. Therefore, they can easily breed even without the presence of a snail partner, except for some particular species.
Eggs usually hatch in about 3 weeks, and babies are capable of feeding alone on algae as soon as they come to life.
9. They have a Wide Range in their Possible Lifespan
Different snail species carry vastly different lifespan ranges. For instance, while some snail species can survive for as briefly as 1 or 2 years, others may live for even 15 years or more.
In fact, keeping them as pets can extend their life expectancy, as most of the wild specimens die after becoming a snack for a predator.
10. Freshwater Snails can Sleep for 2 or 3 Days in a Row
Freshwater snails have very unusual sleeping habits which cannot be compared to any fish species. They do not prefer daytime to nighttime or vice versa. Moreover, they can be considered opportunistic sleepers.
It is not strange for a freshwater snail to sleep for 2 or even 3 days in a row from time to time. Because of that, inexperienced keepers may often mistake them for being dead.