In Russia and Europe, there are different types of pond cleaners. Among them, the largest is the common pond snail, whose shell can reach 7 centimeters. All species breathe light, therefore, from time to time they are forced to float to the surface. It is often possible to observe how the snail pond snail, the photo of which is presented in this article, smoothly and slowly slides along the lower part of the surface film of water, gathering oxygen from the air.
If the mollusks “suspended” in this way are somehow disturbed, they immediately release a bubble of air from the respiratory orifice and fall like a stone to the bottom. Prudovik eared is the closest relative of the common. Its shell reaches 2.5 centimeters, which depends on the abundance of feed and the temperature in its reservoir.
Prudovik ordinary and other species of its family (except for the above, in our waters can be found ovoid, small and marsh) are very variable. They vary with the shape, size, thickness of the shell, the color of the torso and legs of snails. Along with those that have a strong shell, there are species with a very fragile, thin shell that breaks even with the lightest pressure. Also may be different forms of curl and mouth. The color of the torso and legs varies from sandy-yellow to blue-black.
The mollusk's body is enclosed in a spiral-twisted shell, which has a mouth (large opening) and a sharp apex. The shell of an ordinary pond snail is covered with a layer of lime of a hornlike greenish-brown substance. She is a reliable protection of his soft body.
There are 3 main parts in the body of the cochlea: the leg, the head and the body - although there are no sharp boundaries between them. Only the front part of the body, leg and head can protrude out of the shell through the mouth. The leg is very muscular. It occupies the abdominal part of the body. Such snails are called gastropods. At the same time, sliding on the objects by the sole of the foot or hanging on to the lower water film, the clam moves forward smoothly.
The body at the same time copies the shape of the shell, adhering to it very closely. It is in front of the mantle (a special fold). The space between it and the body is called the mantle cavity. The torso in front passes into the head, which has a mouth on the underside, and two sensitive tentacles on the sides. Prudovik with a light touch to them instantly pulls into the sink leg and head. Next to the bases of the tentacles are located on one eye.
Circulation
Prudovik ordinary structure is quite interesting. So, he has a heart that pushes blood into the vessels. At the same time large vessels are divided into small ones. And of these, blood is already flowing into the gaps between the organs. This system is called "unlocked". Interestingly, the blood washes every organ. Then she gathers again in the vessels that lead to the lung, and then goes directly to the heart. In such a system, the movement of blood is much more difficult than in a closed one, since it slows down between the organs.
Despite the fact that the snail lives in water, it breathes atmospheric air. To do this, the common pond snail, whose structure is described in this article, floats to the surface of the reservoir and opens a respiratory round hole at the edge of the shell. It leads to the lung - a special pocket of the mantle. The walls of the lung are densely covered with blood vessels. In this place, carbon dioxide is released and blood is enriched with oxygen.
Nervous system
This mollusk has a pharyngeal concentration of ganglia. From them nerves go to all organs.
The mouth of the snail leads to the pharynx. There is a muscled tongue covered with teeth, so-called grater. Prudovik ordinary, a photo of which can be viewed in this article, she scrapes plaque from all sorts of microorganisms that are formed on various underwater objects, as well as tert various parts of plants. Food from the pharynx is sent to the stomach, and then to the intestines. Also its digestion contributes to the liver. The intestine opens with the anus in the cavity of the mantle.
If you put a caught pond snail in a jar, he immediately begins to actively crawl along its walls. At the same time a wide leg extends from the opening of the shell, which serves for crawling, as well as a head with two long tentacles. Sticking the sole of the foot to various objects, the snail slides forward. In this case, the glide is achieved by undulating, smooth muscle contractions, which can be easily observed through the glass of the vessel. It is interesting that the common prudnik can wander along the lower surface of the water, which we have already mentioned above. In doing so, it leaves a thin ribbon of mucus. It stretches across the surface of the water. It is believed that the cochlea, moving in this way, use the surface tension of the liquid, hanging from below to the elastic film, which is formed on the surface due to this tension.
Such crawling can be easily observed on the calm surface of the reservoir, having gone on an excursion or relaxing in nature.
If the mollusk pond snail crawling in this way, under a slight pressure again sinks into the water, it will be seen how it again, like a cork, rises to the surface. This phenomenon is easily explained: there is air inside the respiratory cavity. It supports the snail as a swim bladder. Pondovik its respiratory cavity can compress arbitrarily. In this case, the mollusk becomes heavier, therefore, sinks to the very bottom. But when the cavity expands, it floats to the surface along a vertical line without any jolt.
Try to pond fish, floating on the surface of the reservoir, immersed in water and its soft body to be disturbed with a touch of tweezers or sticks. The foot will immediately be drawn back into the sink, and air bubbles will be released through the breathing hole. Further, the mollusk will fall to the bottom and will not be able to independently rise to the surface in any other way, except climbing on plants, due to the loss of the air float.
Breeding
The mollusk pond snail is a hermaphrodite, although its fertilization is cross-sectional. The snail lays eggs, which are enclosed in mucous transparent cords attached to algae. From the eggs appear small pond snails with a very thin shell.
Content pond
Some aquarists allow the maintenance of pond cleaners in one common vessel, not realizing that this is often simply unacceptable. After all, if, say, an ampullary is grown mainly in artificial conditions (in an aquarium), the snail is placed there directly from a pond, a small lake, or a standing reservoir. Prudoviki, which were caught in natural conditions, are more likely to be a source of infectious diseases and parasites of fish. Very often, young aquarists are offered to purchase mollusks in the poultry market and in various pet stores.
If you decided to start a pond snail, then you need to understand that water temperature is about 22 ° C and its moderate hardness is a prerequisite for its content.
general characteristics
In lakes and rivers live representatives of the gastropod mollusk class, one of the most numerous and diverse groups in the world. The large pond snail reaches five centimeters and has a cone-shaped spiral twisted shell. The shell not only serves as a home for the mollusk, it protects its soft parts. The shell is tightly connected with the musculature of the pond snail and consists of green lime. The main parts of the body, such as the head, torso and leg, are clearly visible in the body of the pond snail.
Transitions from one part to another are completely devoid of sharp boundaries. The leg is the strongest part of the mollusk's body. When the mollusk needs to move, it releases a wave-like contraction of the muscles along the leg, thereby it can move freely along the bottom of the reservoir. The leg is located on the abdominal side of the body. A large pond snail, whose shell completely repeats the shape of its body, has a large head. On the lower part of the head of the pond snail, there is a mouth, and tentacles on the side, which help the mollusk to feel the space. The animal also has eyes.
Digestive system prudovik
The large mollusk feeds on aquatic plants and small insects. It should be noted that a large pond snail is very voracious. Thanks to his tongue, he gently scrapes off the top layer of the plant. Helping him in this small teeth, which are more like a grater. After the plant particles get into the pharynx, and then into the esophagus, they are sent to the stomach of the mollusk, where they are processed and go into the intestine of the animal. After some time, processed food is removed through the anus.
Respiratory system prudovik
This type of mollusks has a round respiratory opening with which the pond snail fills the lungs with clean air. Often these animals rise to the surface of the water and swim slowly. You can see exactly how the mollusk breathes, because when you inhale, its breathing hole is as open as possible. The presence of the lungs confirms the fact that land mollusks became the progenitors of the pond snails. The walls of the lung in the mollusk are tightly entwined with vessels, in this place the blood is filled with oxygen and releases carbon dioxide.
The mollusk must often rise to the surface of the water in order to breathe, otherwise the animal may simply die. On average, a pond snail rises to the surface of the water 7 times per hour. Oddly enough, but the clam has a two-chamber heart, which is reduced to 30 times per minute. The heart accelerates the blood of the pond snail. It should be noted that the mollusk has colorless blood. The nervous system is located in the pharynx region, it consists of special nerve glands that give impulses throughout the body of the mollusk.
Prudovik's behavior
Prudovik leads an active lifestyle. He constantly crawls among the thickets and scrapes the upper part of the plants. The mollusk speed reaches 25 centimeters per minute. He never stops at one water area, but constantly moves. Even having caught a prudovik during outdoor recreation, a person may notice excessive activity of this animal.
Often, aquarium lovers want to take the pond snail to their home and place it with other fish. But it must be remembered that a pond fish caught in the natural environment and transferred to an aquarium to other fish can be dangerous. The fact is that it is impossible to exclude infections with which a pond snail can infect the inhabitants of the aquarium, this can be a real tragedy for the owner. The first thing you need to pay attention to the signs of a large prudovik and his behavior.
Types of similar mollusks
Not only big pond fish live in reservoirs, but also small ones. Small prudovik is a small snail, which can be found in all waters of the country. They can be in the springs and puddles, bringing great danger to man. Such prudoviki are carriers of the fluke, most often they are exterminated.
Another interesting type of mollusk is toothless. A large pond snail is very different from this species, but they can easily live in the same place. Toothless has a double shell, which also consists of lime. The circulatory system of the mollusk is very similar to the pond snail.
A representative of the genus Mikas is also close to the Prudovik. He has a very fragile shell. They inhabit lakes and ponds. Breed at an incredible speed, but they live only one season.
Among the mollusks there are species that have no shell at all, for example, slugs.
All shellfish are an integral part of the food chain. Thus, mollusks eat small insects, but also become food for fish themselves.
Read more about natural features.
Large pond snails are unusual snails with eyes and developed lungs. Mollusks grow on average up to 5 cm with a shell diameter up to 3 cm. The little body is usually gray-green, and the shell is yellow, grayish and brown. The stem is flat, but wide, and at the base of the tentacles there are small sharp eyes.
Snails prudoviki belong to the pulmonary mollusks. They breathe air with the help of a network of blood vessels with a cavity under the mantle. In a pure reservoir, the Trudoviks may not rise to the surface and consume oxygen directly from cool water.
Mollusks are hermaphrodites from nature, they have female and male reproductive organs. Mature females attach transparent garlands with a hundred eggs to the leaves of plants. In a month, tiny transparent babies will hatch from the clutch and will begin to quickly adapt to their surroundings.
Shellfish in aquarium dormitories
The snail prudovik hardly gets on in an aquarium with other small inhabitants. The mollusks are extremely voracious and can leave more slow and small pets without food. Aquarium plants and fish food are real treats for these gastropods. They can absorb decaying leaves, organic waste and all sorts of residues from the vital activity of organisms. With their powerful and long tongues, the snails scrape away the deposits from the walls of the aquarium and maintain cleanliness in their limited habitat.
In food, gastropods are not picky, prefer vegetable food and do not refuse mineral supplements. Loyal to the purity of water and soil, but afraid of low temperatures. They live in nature for 8-9 months, and in comfortable home conditions they grow and multiply about 2 years.
A snail pond snail in the aquarium performs the function of a hardworking cleaner, but at the same time it can do great harm to other inhabitants of a small aquatic space. Before settling the mollusks into the common domestic water body, they must live in quarantine for 30 days in order not to harm other defenseless pets.
Types of prudovikov
In our reservoirs, not only ordinary pond fish are often found, but also a different species - the big-eared pond snail. In addition, in the stagnant water lives the marsh pond snail and the egg-shaped pond snail.
The most interesting subspecies is the small pond snail, a small evidence widely distributed in our country. These snails live even in springs, small pools, in the coastal zone of lakes and rivers. These snails themselves are harmless, but they are intermediate hosts of the liver fluke, a dangerous parasite for humans and livestock. The more dwellers in the reservoirs of small pond snails, the wider the infection of cattle, since fluffs parasitize almost 70% of these snails. In this regard, in areas of distribution of the hepatic fluke it is necessary to destroy these mollusks. To this end, the liming of water bodies is used, in this case, small pond fish instantly die, and in favorable conditions their reproduction occurs incredibly quickly.
By 6-7 months, small prudoviki reach sexual maturity, and they live for about 2 years. In the egg cocoon can be from 4 to 25 eggs. Juveniles develop over 10–20 days.
Prudoviki live about two years.
An interesting discovery was made in Switzerland, where prudoviki live at a considerable depth. However, they do not rise to the surface of the water for a breath of air, they have formed another device - their pulmonary cavity is filled with water, and the snail breathes oxygen dissolved in it. Prudoviki do not have gills, as primary aquatic mollusks, this again indicates that they previously lived on earth.
A representative of the genus Myxas, which has a very fragile shell, almost completely covered with a mantle, is close to the pond fish. That is, the sink they have from the outer transformed into the inner. These mollusks live most often in floodplain lakes and ponds, in which they breed in large numbers. But in the middle of summer, they disappear, because they live only one season.
