A small helicopter snail predator

Coming home to my friend, I saw verya beautiful sight - on a background of green grass swam small snails with a ribbed yellow-black shell. "This is a snail helen" - a friend introduced me to her new tenants. "It is also called the" Biline's snail ", you probably guessed why." Of course - the coloring Beeline. And I also told a friend what ...

She's special, this baby

What is remarkable about these snails imported into ourcountry from Indonesia? Yes, everything is very simple. Freshwater snails Helen, though not great, but real predators. They do not eat vegetable food, they do not clean microalga from the walls of the aquarium. These crumbs feed exclusively on animal feed, and, if easier, other snails: pellets, melanias, algae-eating snail-shells and other species of snails that are smaller than helen itself. They will not clean the bottom, eating dead parts of plants, but they will eat the dead fish or shrimp with pleasure. The main goals for which aquarists produce helen - to reduce the number of strongly sprouting coils, soil snails, etc., sanitary cleaning of the aquarium. In addition, the helix snail is very decorative due to its bright coloration. If you put several helium in the aquarium, do not wait for the immediate result to reduce the number of other snails. A small predator needs time to do its work, the results of which will be visible in 1.5-2 months.

How to eat helena

It is very interesting to observe the process of nutritiona small helen. There are two outgrowths on the head of the snail: one is a "hand", by which it feels the space and by means of which it locates the victim, and the other - the stigma, she shoots them lightly at the victim's body and, in fact, eats it. The helen snail clearly determines which victim is in its teeth and which is not. She will never attack the ampularia or neurina not only because she is bigger than Helena, but also because the body of a large cochlea is snug against the shell. Helena just can not get to it. If such a snail for an aquarium, like helen, all live food has run out, do not worry. This meat-eater can eat ice cream moth, shrimp pellets, sticking tablets for catfish and even chicken mince, so delicious for helen. In addition, fish cannabis and caviar can become a prey for Helen. Therefore, it should not be launched into a spawning aquarium.

And how do the heleni breed?

Although helenas and different-sexed snails, but to determinethe sex of a particular individual is impossible. This can be done only during the breeding season. At this time, a couple of enamored snails crawl together along the aquarium. On one fine day, you will be able to spot a small white almost square egg somewhere in a corner or on the wall. At a time, this snail lays only one. After hatching, the newborn snail helen burrows into the ground, where it lives until it reaches a size of 3 mm. Then the young snail crawls to the surface and from that moment begins to hunt for smaller snails. An age suitable for reproduction, the snail reaches in 6 months.

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