Description:

The thick-walled shell of this Tylomelania is about 50 to 55 mm long and 18 to 20 mm wide.

It shimmers dark red under a certain angle of light. The shells of the young snails are of a dark bordeaux tone.

It has between 7 and 8 whorls, the older snails have a strongly corroded apex as a rule.

There is a pronounced suture, and the shell shows a clear spiralling and axial sculpturation.

The body whorl shows spiralling lines ending in the aperture.

It has a round operculum with a central nucleus (multispiral), which is decidedly smaller than the aperture.

 It has an orange-colored body. The eyes are located at the bases of the straight tentacles.

Range:

Please refer to the General Description.

Habitat:

This scientifically still undetermined species originates from Lake Poso, which we do not have any exact water parameters of, except for the pH value, which lies around 8, and the temperatures, which range from 29 °C in the upper water layers to 27 °C at a depth of 20 m. Depending on the season, the outside temperatures sink by up to 2 degrees.

It is a hard-substrate dweller and lives in the first meters of the lake.

Reproduction:

Please refer to the General Description.

The mother snail gives birth to a young snail about 0.9 to 1.2 cm large every 4 to 5 weeks.

Food:

In this snail's stomach sand and diatoms were found.

 In the aquarium it eats all common powdered foods and food tablets offered, and also vegetables and carrion.

Behavior in the aquarium:

This Tylomelania species is unproblematic and adapts to the new surroundings within the first few hours after being acclimatized to the tank. It likes to crawl on hard substrates like stones, HMF filter mats and glass, however, it can be found on sand when searching for food. It does ok on gravel, however, it seems to have difficulties to move there.

Artificial light does not seem to bother it, but it likes to withdraw to shadowy regions; this could be observed with the adult animals especially.

An imposing snail attracting attention by its relatively high speed and by the way it overcomes barriers. Every obstacle in its way is taken. A strikingly beautiful snail that crawls around the entire tank.

It is compatible with dwarf shrimp and other snail species.

The aquarium:

The set-up should include wood, stones and sandy corners, plants are not a must. A Hamburg mat filter (HMF) is of advantage. As in all snail tanks the decoration should be put up in a way that does not allow the snails to get trapped and thus die.

The front tank length can be 60 cm, but 80 cm or more would be even better. A 60-cm tank's decoration should provide great variety in order to give this snail enough opportunities to climb. It is extraordinarily active.

It does very well in my soft water. Ph - 7,5 - 8,6

This page was actualized on August 26, 2008

Author : Alexandra Behrendt

Translator: Ulrike Bauer

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