The brown giant snail (Pomacea Canaliculata) is a large species of freshwater snail that belongs to the family Ampullariidae. It is native to South America, specifically the countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil.
It can be found under the common name: channeled applesnail. It is also called Giant Brown apple Snail.
Pomacea Canaliculata
Aquarium snails are not at all picky about food, they eat almost anything they can break into pieces and that can be inserted into the mouth. Vegetables such as cucumbers, spinach, carrots and lettuce, fish-based food, dead fish, other snails and their eggs, algae, shrimp are eaten without any problems. The amount of food given to snails should be adapted to their needs. In practice, this means not giving more than they can eat before the food depreciates into the water. Fear of overeating is not necessary, but it would be a good idea to restrict the amount of food in smaller pools to avoid excessive waste production.
Because aquarium snails have large amounts of microorganisms in their intestines that help them digest food, the water can slow down as these microorganisms are released into the water. This is not directly harmful and can even be a good thing as a food source for fish. Good filtration and limiting the amount of food can reduce this phenomenon.
Features Pomacea Canaliculata
Aquarium snails can coexist with most fish without problems, but fish-eating snail species should be avoided.
Also, many fish try to pinch their tentacles, but this is not a problem because snails adapt quickly and keep their tentacles under the shell.
It is generally recommended a volume of 10 liters of water for each medium-sized snail. It is also necessary to cover the pool to avoid nocturnal escapades. It is also necessary to leave a space of a few cm between the water and the lid to provide the snails with fresh air. Even if they have gills and lungs, they will drown without air. If you want to breed snails, a space of about 10 cm is required because otherwise the snails will have difficulty storing eggs above the water.
Reproduction Pomacea Canaliculata
Sexual dimorphism: snails are hermaphroditic, meaning they have both male and female reproductive organs but for reproduction it requires the eggs to be fertilized by another individual.
Snails should start mating and producing eggs if living conditions are good. High temperatures and plenty of food should trigger this process. Keep in mind that this may take some time and so patience is needed. The seasons can also influence the reproductive activity of snails.
Once the eggs are ready, the female leaves the water at night in search of a suitable place for their storage. In the aquarium, this place will be on the walls or on the lid, while in ponds it can be any object close to the surface of the water.The eggs are laid one after another and attached to each other in a tight lattice. They are soft and have a milky color upon deposition, but Harden within a few hours. Their definitive color (white, green, pinkish to strong orange, depending on the species) appears after a day or two.
The eggs should remain moist, but not wet and never covered in water, because the young snails would drown. In general, this should not be a problem in a basin with a lid.
Keep in mind that not all species of aquarium snails lay aerial eggs. The common Horned giant (Marisa cornuarietis), for example, lays aquatic eggs in gelatinous network.
