Facts About
Freshwater Snails
as Pets
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Facts about Pet Mollusks - Freshwater Snails
By: Rocky & Bullwinkle (our pet invertebrates)
1. Freshwater Snails attach themselves to plants or rocks in
freshwater ponds and streams where the current is not too
strong.
2. Freshwater snails have a spiral shell like land snails,
however they are usually longer and more spiraled. Their
shells are often used in jewelry making.
3. Freshwater snails can grow up to one inch (twenty-five
millimeters) long. The smallest are just 0.12 inches (three
millimeters) long.
4. Freshwater snails have long tongues and have teeth like a
chainsaw.
5. Freshwater snails eat algae and dead plants off of rocks
or whatever they are attached to. They use their toothed
tongue to scrape off their intended food.
6. Some Freshwater snails go up to the surface of the water
and breathe by holding an air bubble within their shell, and
others have gills that filter oxygen from the water.
7. Freshwater snails are hermaphrodites, meaning that they
have both male and female reproductive organs, so whenever
an adult snail finds another snail they can mate, increasing
the chance of species survival.
8. Freshwater snails are very tolerant of pollution and even
filter and clean the surrounding water, making the areas
they inhabit more able to support life.
9. Freshwater snails are often kept as pets by humans in
freshwater fish tanks because they will eat algae, dead
plant material, fish offal and left-over fish food. They
help to keep the tank cleaner and help make the tank safer
for the fish.
10. A Freshwater snail's shell grows as the rest of the
snail grows. They will live with the same shell their entire
lives; it is part of their bodies.
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