In its natural habitat, the snail ampulyaria rarely leaves the water, getting to land only to lay eggs during the breeding season. And although ampulyarians spend most of their lives in water, they also need atmospheric oxygen. For a sip of oxygen snails are selected from the water to the surface for a short time. The respiratory system of the mollusk has gills and lungs, and somewhat resembles the respiratory system of fish. In the aquarium, the cochlea floats to the surface and, using a breathing tube, extracts oxygen from the atmosphere.
Mollusks inhabit the entire length of the Amazon, Southeast Asia, Hawaii. Aquarium snails ampularia feel quite comfortable in the climates of the tropics, where abundant rains alternate with a dry arid climate. All this is due to the presence of a massive leg with a protective flap on it. During the dry season, snails ampouleria seal themselves with a sash somewhere near the remains of water and wait out the drought.
In natural habitat ampoulyaries can be found in almost all water bodies:
All this is a great home for our heroes.
It is believed that the most common color ampoule is yellow, although in nature there are individuals of completely different colors. Often you can find colors such as:
The size of a small snail ampouleria is within 2-3 cm. There have been cases when adults have reached impressive sizes of 10 cm and even more! Snail ampoule in the aquarium lives for 2 years.
Content
Aquarium ampoule can be contained as an independent inhabitant of the aquarium, and together with other snails and fish. If, apart from the snail, there is no one else in the aquarium, then an aquarium larger than 40 liters will fit. The general rule for calculating the required displacement is as follows: about 12 liters of volume should be allocated to the comfortable existence of one aquarium ampoule.
The optimum water temperature for keeping an ampoule is between +22 and +25 degrees. This water temperature is also optimal for keeping most aquarium fish, therefore there is no problem in keeping snails in an aquarium with fish.
If you are going to settle the mollusks with other inhabitants of the aquarium, proceed from the calculation of about 10 liters of volume per snail.
Small yellow ampouleries are completely harmless to other inhabitants of the aquarium. By their nature, snails are scavengers, due to which they play a rather important role in the organization of the aquarium microflora.
Attention should be paid to the fact that snails often get from other inhabitants of the aquarium. For example, aggressive fish can tear off antennae or completely destroy small ampoules. Crayfish and other invertebrate inhabitants of the aquarium can also eat snails and pose a serious danger to them.
The quality of water in the aquarium does not impose special conditions, snails enough to follow simple rules for replacing and filtering water in the aquarium.
As it is known, the snail shell is part of its body, and grows with the mollusk throughout its life. In order for growth not to slow down, the snail needs calcium, it should be added to water in small quantities. Calcium deficiency can be replenished by increasing the water hardness with the help of appropriate preparations or by adding limestone or chalk to the water.
The question of how to feed an ampoule is quite relevant for beginner breeders, but there is nothing complicated about it. Ampularia snails eat almost any kind of food offered to them. Also an undoubted advantage is the fact that the mollusks will pick up all the food that was not fully eaten by other inhabitants of the aquarium and will eat it, thus preventing the water from spoiling.
The easiest way to feed aquarium ampulyarii, pressed tablets for catfish or fresh vegetables. Vegetables are best suited:
- courgette,
- cucumber,
- lettuce leaves
- shoots nettle or dandelion.
Vegetables should be boiled for two or three minutes, and the leaves of lettuce just pour over boiling water for disinfection. If the snails have not eaten the food offered to them during the day, it is better to remove it from the aquarium so that the water does not become cloudy and does not spoil.
As food of animal origin can be offered to snails, bloodworms, tubers, earthworms cleared of soil, daphnia or similar live food.
In order to avoid damage to the vegetation of the aquarium, do not leave the snails hungry, they will easily eat all the vegetation in the aquarium, unless they find another source of food containing spirulina.
Breeding
Reproduction of ampoule is somewhat different from the reproduction of other types of snails. First of all, the fact that this species of mollusks is not hermaphroditic. Those. for successful reproduction you will need individuals of different genders. The easiest way to have individuals of different genders is to buy a dozen snails ampoules. Thus, you are almost 100% likely to acquire heterosexual individuals.
After reaching mature age (usually maturity comes at the age of 15 months) mating will occur, during which the male often ends up at the top of the female. After mating, the female needs an island of land where she can lay a fairly large number of eggs. If there is no sushi, the female lays the eggs on the surface of the water. Caviar ampouleria has a pale pink color. You can not allow the immersion of the game in the water, it should always be above the surface of the water without plunging into it completely.
After one to one and a half months, small snails will appear on the light. For their successful birth, the ambient temperature must be between +24 and +27 degrees. After birth, small ampouleries do not require additional care, and are able to take care of themselves.
In addition to ampouleries, you can also have other aquarium snails, such as a horned snail, a bright and useful inhabitant of an aquarium.
Breeding Ampoule
How do ampulyarias multiply? Unlike many aquarium snails, they are not hermaphroditic and you need a male and a female for successful breeding. The easiest way to get such a pair is to buy 6 snails at once, which practically guarantees individuals of different sexes. When they become sexually mature, they will begin to divorce themselves, in order to stimulate them you do not need to perform any actions. How to understand that this happened? During mating, the male and the female merge with each other, and the male is always on top.
After the pairing is completed, the female gets out of the water and lays a large number of eggs above the water surface. Caviar is a pale pink color and should be located above the surface of the water, without plunging into it, otherwise it will simply disappear. The surface of the calf is calcined under the influence of air and the babies are perfectly safe.
Small snails hatch in a few weeks, provided that the ambient temperature is 21-27C, and the humidity is sufficient. Newborns are quite large, fully formed and do not require any special care.
Ampulyaria has postponed caviar. What to do?
If you are not worried about the fact that the snails will fall into the general aquarium, then ... nothing. With constant humidity and temperature, caviar or eggs ampoule will hatch themselves, fall into the water and begin a completely independent life. Catch them is not a problem, but if you want, you can put a plastic bottle incubator under the clutch. Small snails will fall there and you can transfer them to the general aquarium.
The moment of appearance of babies from caviar:
Do ampouleries parasites?
Yes, there are several types for which they are carriers. However, ampulyarias resist quite well, and are much sturdier than parasites.
There is one parasite that is dangerous to humans (the nematode Angiostrongylus cantonensis). Its main carrier is a rat, and a person can become infected if they eat raw snails. In rare cases, it invokes damage to the nervous system and even death.
But you have absolutely nothing to fear. Ampulyaria can become infected with it only if they live in nature, where neighbors are infected rodents. It is difficult to imagine that local ampularia bred in an aquarium can contact them. But, even if so, then you still need to eat a raw snail.
My ampoule is collapsing shell. What is it about?
To form shells, snails absorb calcium from water. If you have very old, or very soft water, then it may simply be missing. And her defense, her shell is cracking. It is not difficult to fix it, at least to replace some of the water with fresh water or to add mineral substances so that the water becomes more rigid.
But note that they can seal up the holes in the sink, but sometimes the tip of the shell disappears from them and they cannot restore it. However, it does not bother them to live.
How many live ampoules?
Depends on the conditions of detention and temperature. At low temperatures up to 3 years, and at temperatures from 25 ° C only 12-16 months. At higher temperatures, ampouleries are more active, grow and multiply faster. But, a side effect is accelerated metabolism, and, accordingly, early death. Temperature for keeping an ampoule can vary between 18 - 28 ° C
My ampoule has surfaced and floats on the surface. Is she dead?
Not necessary. As mentioned above, they are rather lazy, and since they breathe the air that is pumped under the sink, they can easily emerge. Check that with her is very simple. Get out of the water and see if the snail quickly closes the shell, then everything is in order. The muscles of the deceased relax and she does not move.
Can an ampoule live without water?
Of course not, this is a water snail. If you see how she gets out of the water or even crawls out of the aquarium, it means that the female is looking for a place where to lay eggs. In this case, you need to close her exits from him, otherwise she will come out and die. For caviar you need a place with high temperature and humidity, usually the ideal place is under the cover of the aquarium or glass.
Snail ampoule
Ampulyaria (Pomacea bridgesii) refers to the gastropods and the Ampullariidae family from the order Architaenioglossa. The freshwater snail enjoys an enviable popularity among aquarists, due to its ability to clean the walls of the aquarium from too fast and rapidly growing algae, as well as affordable cost.
Appearance and Description
Ampulyarias are very diverse in appearance, laryngeal mollusks, represented by both small members of the family and very large snails, whose body size reaches 50-80 mm. Ampulyaria has an attractive curly shell of light brown color with very characteristic dark brown stripes..
It is interesting! A snail of this type breathes very specifically, using for this purpose the gills located in the right side of the body. As it rises from the water to the surface, the ampoule inhales oxygen, using the lungs for this.
This unusual tropical mollusk has a large horny cap, which is located on the foot behind. This lid is a kind of "door" that allows you to close the mouth of the sink. The eyes of the snail have an interesting yellowish-golden color. The mollusk is characterized by the presence of special tentacles, which are the organs of touch. A well-developed sense of smell allows ampoules to accurately and quickly locate the location of the feed.
Distribution and habitat
In vivo wildlife ampulyary is not uncommon. Such a snail has become widespread, and in large quantities it settles in the rice fields, where it is a serious threat to the ripening crop.
Despite its tropical origin, the gastropods quickly spread throughout many countries, so in some regions it is necessary to combat the rapid growth of ampularia. The overgrown snail population is capable of causing significant damage to wetland ecosystems, and also strongly displaces other varieties of gastropods.
Color snail amipulyary
The most common individuals with a classic color in yellowish-brown tones of varying degrees of saturation. However, snails are quite common, the colors of which have more saturated tropical colors and unusual shades.
It is interesting! Ampouleas are found with exotic bluish, pink, tomato-colored, white, brownish-black original staining.
Criteria for choosing an aquarium
Despite the absolute unpretentiousness, ampoules should be provided with comfortable conditions of detention, adhering to the following simple recommendations:
- for each adult snail should be about ten liters of clean water,
- the aquarium should be provided with soft soil, plants with hard leaves and frequent water changes,
- It is very important to choose the right "neighbors" ampulyaria on the content in the same aquarium.
The main mistake of novice aquarists is sharing the snail of this species with predatory fish.
Important! The main danger for ampouleries of any age are cichlids, as well as fairly large varieties of all labyrinth aquarium fish.
Special attention requires proper equipment aquarium. It is obligatory to have a cover with vents that will not allow the cochlea to crawl out of the aquarium.
Water requirements
Gastropod mollusks are unpretentious in terms of hardness and purity of water, and the temperature regime can vary between 15-35 ° C, but the most comfortable is a temperature of 22-24 ° C or slightly higher. In spite of the fact that ampulyaria lives mostly under water, every ten to fifteen minutes a snail should receive oxygen from the atmosphere.
If the gastropod mollusk crawls out of the water too often and is very active, then this may be evidence of an insufficiently high-quality habitat. In this case, an urgent need to replace the water in the aquarium.
Care and maintenance of ampoule
According to experienced aquarists, it is best to keep ampulyary in a separate aquarium, the volume of which should be sufficient to ensure optimal conditions for the cochlea. The best option is to keep the gastropod mollusk in the same tank with any medium-sized species of viviparous fish or catfish.
Nutrition and Diet
Under natural conditions, snails, as a rule, feed on food of plant origin. At home, as a protein feed are used:
- earthworms,
- small gnat,
- Daphnia and the Minion Tumbler.
When kept under aquarium conditions, the diet of the gastropod mollusk must necessarily be diverse, which will allow to protect the vegetation from being eaten by ampoules.
Important! The main part of the snail nutrition should be represented by greens and vegetables such as kale, chopped zucchini and pumpkin flesh, cucumber, spinach and carrots.
Vegetables before cooking need to boil, and the herbs must be scalded with boiling water. Well proven dry granulated feed. Very fond of ampulyaria crushed banana and boiled egg yolk, as well as crumbs of white bread and pond duckweed.
Lifespan
The average lifespan of an ampoule is directly dependent on the temperature indicators in the aquarium content. At the optimum water temperature, the snail is able to live for about three to four years.. If the aquarium is filled with very soft water, ampulyarii will suffer very much from an insufficient amount of calcium. As a result, the shell of a gastropod mollusk is destroyed, and the snail quickly dies.
Buy snails ampoule
It is best to buy an ampoule until it is small in size. The larger the individual, the older it is, and the life of such a snail will most likely be very short. It should be noted that the old mollusks are quite faded and, as it were, a faded shell.
It is interesting! It is impossible to distinguish snails by sex, therefore, in order to breed at home, it is necessary to acquire at least four individuals, but preferably six ampoules.
Where to buy, price ampoule
The cost of an adult ampouleria is more than affordable, so any aquarist can afford such a snail. The average cost of a large ornamental gastropod mollusk Ampullaria (Ampullaria sp.) Size XL in the pet store, depending on age, can vary between 150-300 rubles.
The young of the giant ampulyaria Ampullaria gigas is sold by private breeders at a price of 50-70 rubles.
Owner reviews
In spite of the fact that there is simply an incredibly large number of types of ampouleries, only three types belong to the category of the most popular among domestic aquarists. Experienced owners of snails often prefer a giant variety, the size of which is often 150 mm. Coloring such a snail varies with age. Newborn “gigantics” have an attractive, dark brown color, but with age they become much lighter.
При наличии некоторого опыта в содержании специалисты рекомендуют приобретать ампулярию Аустралиус, особенностью которой является очень острое обоняние и абсолютная неприхотливость. Such a snail copes with the cleaning of the aquarium and has a bright brown or very rich yellow color. No less interesting, according to the owners of ampouleria, is the golden snail with bright golden-yellow staining. Aquarists quite often call this kind of "Cinderella." Adults kill only harmful and pathogenic microflora in the aquarium.
Despite the fact that ampulyary is considered to be a recognized aquarium nurse, the possibilities of this snail should not be overestimated. The acquisition of such gastropods is not able to eliminate the need to carry out routine activities, including cleaning the ground and glass, so ampoule is rather a decorative and very exotic inhabitant of the aquarium.
