Description
The Red-Rimmed Melania is a small snail that is very common in the aquarium hobby. It is useful and effective against algae. Another advantage: it aerates the soil by burying itself there. Finally, it appears spontaneously with the introduction of plants. Definitely, this mollusk has many assets and is part of the “desirable” very sought after by aquarists!
Very good ally against the algae, this snail will never touch the plants in good health. It is a scavenger mollusc, alguivorous and carnivorous. Thus, it will feed on the remains of food, corpses, algae, plants damaged or decomposing.
It is quite autonomous about its food in an aquarium put in water for at least 3-4 months. If you wish, you can give it ground pellets for fish, slices of zucchini, carrot, cucumber, salad… But beware of overeating that causes an explosion of the population!
The Melanoid is a snail with nocturnal activity. During the day, it burrows in the sand which is very good: it fertilizes and aerates it. This also allows a good circulation of nutrients in the soil, which is beneficial to the plants.
Very good indicator of the state of your aquarium: if you feed your population too much, the multiplication of Melanoides will be dazzling! If you have a nitrite peak or a lack of oxygen, they will all come to the surface.
Large Cichlids, Loaches and especially Botias are predators of snails. Avoid cohabitations with these species! If you want to regulate the population of your snails, review your feeding, remove the eggs and eliminate larger specimens, but especially do not buy fish just for this, it would be a big mistake!
Contrary to what one might think, Melanoids are not hermaphrodite, but sexed.
In good conditions, the population will stabilize naturally. However, if you feed too much or if the tank is poorly maintained, it will be invasive multiplication! Indeed, it is a very prolific species if individuals feel that there are enough resources to accommodate young people.
Once fertilized, the female lays its eggs in the sand.
