In aquariums, you can contain not only fish, but also snails. Neretins are considered one of the common families of gastropods. Such snails not only decorate the aquarium, but also act as cleaners of containers from various debris.
Features
Neretins mainly live in salty sea waters, but certain varieties belong to the freshwater type of snails. Shellfish are small in size - usually the shell grows no more than 2.5 cm. Visually, the carapace seems quite massive, and its shape depends on the individual belonging to a specific type of neretin. The carapace has patterns, and protrusions can also be located.
It is believed that the pattern of each mollusk is individual, and it is impossible to meet a pair of snails with absolutely identical patterns.
The clam mantle has a black color, and the body itself is painted in a gray tone and in appearance resembles an oval. The snail's mouth is round, the eyes are located on slight bulges. Neretins do not belong to hermaphrodites, but are divided into males and females. At home, most species of gastropod mollusks belonging to the neretin family can live about two years.
The cause of death is most often the wrong content and stressful conditions of snails.
Varieties
Neretina is not the name of a particular type of snail, but the name of a whole family. Among its representatives, several popular types of mollusks can be distinguished. Each species differs primarily in appearance, and there may also be differences in behavior and growing requirements.
Zebra
Neretina zebra in wildlife lives in Africa.This species is considered one of the largest representatives of the family - mollusks can grow up to 3.5 cm. The maximum life span can be 3 years. The shell of the snails has a golden hue, against which clear black stripes are located. Representatives of this species well clean the aquarium and decoration elements from harmful algae.
A distinctive behavioral feature of neretin zebras is the tendency to escape from the reservoir.
Horned
Horned Neretins are found in Africa. Snails can reach a size of 1.5 cm. Shellfish live quite a long time: from 3 to 5 years. On the shell of the snails small growths are randomly located. Such spikes can break and fall away, but this does not in any way affect the health and condition of the mollusk. Horned snails are quite calm and have no desire to escape from their homes.
Tiger
Tiger mollusks inhabit Asia and the Pacific islands. The shell of snails is usually 2.5 cm long. However, in nature, sometimes larger specimens are found, which can reach 3.5 cm. Representatives of this species live no more than 3 years. As the name implies, the shell of the snails has a tiger color: the base is yellow in color, on which stripes from brown shades to black are vertically arranged. The shape of the shell is round.
Such snails do an excellent job of cleaning the aquarium, but tend to escape from it at every opportunity.
Red dot
This variety has another name - ring-snail. This species lives in Africa. Their sink is medium in size - up to 2.5 cm, and the life span can be no more than three years. The carapace of representatives of this species is red with black spots. The marks are of different sizes and are distributed on the sink in a spiral. Such snails are thermophilic. The optimum water temperature for their maintenance should be about +30 degrees Celsius. For them, acidity is also important, which should not exceed pH = 7.
In case of violation of the norms, the shell of the snail will collapse, which will lead to the death of the individual. Reddish neretins tend to escape.
Olive
Such neretins are found in Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan and China. This species is one of the smallest among the representatives of the whole family. Individuals reach a size of no more than two centimeters. Life expectancy in this case can reach 5 years. This species got its name thanks to the shell of a bright olive shade. There are dark streaks on the sink.
With proper care, snails do not leave their homes. If the conditions of detention do not meet the requirements, then the mollusks will attempt to escape.
Sunny
These neretins inhabit the territories of China, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia. This species can also be found under the name Beeline. Shellfish can reach a size of 2 cm. The lifespan of snails can be no more than 3 years. A distinctive feature of this species is shell of an unusual spherical shape. The shell has a ribbed structure and there are long growths on it that visually resemble horns.
It is believed that this species is better than all other representatives of the neretin family to cope with cleaning the aquarium. However, snails quite often arrange shoots and leave their home.
Conditions of detention
To grow neretin at home, you need to create favorable conditions for them. First of all, you need to choose a suitable home for them. The size of the aquarium depends entirely on the number of individuals that will live in it. For every 10 small snails, there must be at least 5 liters of free space. If the population is too dense, the mollusks may lack nutrients. And also it will affect the parameters of the water.
Snails can be kept in one aquarium along with other living organisms.
It can be peaceful species of aquarium fish and invertebrates. Undesirable neighbors in this case will be the fish species that lay eggs in the open, as snails can eat it. Nerethine should not be kept together with predatory shrimp species, large and aggressive fish, as well as with representatives of other snail families.
Since neretins in nature live in a tropical climate, it is necessary to create similar conditions for them in the aquarium. The temperature of the liquid in the tank should not fall below +27 degrees. Certain types must be kept in water +30 degrees. The hydrogen indicator should be at the level of 7.5. Fluid replacement in the aquarium is carried out every day. It is enough to change 30% of the total water volume. Soft water has a bad effect on the carapace state - the hardness level can vary between 8–12 dH.
As for the soil, then it is better to use a large substrate that can be easily washed. The fact is that some types of neretins very quickly contaminate the filler. As for aquarium plants, the snails feed only on algae - you can not worry about the integrity of the rest of the vegetation. Lighting in the aquarium should not be too bright. It is best to use fluorescent lamps of the smallest power.
You can not leave the tank with snails in direct sunlight, as mollusks sometimes rise from the water to the surface and can get a severe burn.
The tank with snails must be closed with a lid, otherwise they will run away. Running mollusks into a tank requires certain rules to be followed. Snails must be carefully placed in the tank, and not thrown into a filled aquarium. If an individual falls, it can damage the shell, which in turn is fraught with death. The tank should be moderately filled with vegetation and decorative elements, such as snags.
It is desirable that algae are present in the aquarium, which will be food for snails.
After the settlement of individuals, it is necessary to ensure proper care for them.
Neretins can die quickly due to poor conditions. You can install a filtration system to clean the tank. You should avoid overpopulation of the aquarium with mollusks, as well as violations of water parameters and temperature conditions.
Snails that have died for one reason or another should be immediately removed from the tank, since decomposition processes start instantly, and the decomposition products spoil the composition of the water.
Neretin owners should know an interesting fact about one feature of this species. Individuals periodically literally freeze in one place and do not show any signs of life from a couple of hours to several days. By mistake, you can find such a snail dead and throw it away. In this case, there is no need to make hasty decisions. An immobilized individual must be sniffed - a sharp unpleasant odor will come from dead mollusks
How to feed them?
The main food source for neretins is algae. However, for the full development of this will not be enough.
It is advisable to give snails as a top dressing special formulations containing calcium. For example, it may be crushed into crumbs from eggshells.
Neretins should be given pre-chopped vegetables. It is best to feed them fresh cucumbers, cabbage and zucchini. And also they can be reproached with feeds for aquarium fish in the form of powders. The result of malnutrition will be a lack of minerals in the body of the cochlea, which can lead to cracking of the shell and death of the individual.
Breeding
Reproduction of representatives of the neretin family can cause certain difficulties for the owner. The first difficulties arise due to the fact that this family of snails does not belong to hermaphrodites, and males and females do not have obvious visual differences.
To increase the likelihood of reproduction, at least 10 individuals must be kept in one aquarium.
Neretins breed by laying eggs. During the incubation period, the water in the aquarium should be salty. Shellfish love to lay eggs on smooth dark-colored surfaces, so it’s best to place several large stones in the tank. Visually, eggs resemble small dots of white color. It is advisable to move the stones with masonry into a separately equipped aquarium with sea water, as adult neretins can eat eggs.
With the aquarium content of mollusks, it is rather difficult to get offspring from them. To cope with this task, you need a lot of experience in the content of neretins.
In the next video, you will be able to visually get acquainted with how snails of neratins help in the aquarium to cope with cleaning plants from diatoms.
