Imported by the aquarium industry as early as the 1930s Malaysian trumpet snails or "MTS" often get a bad reputation as pests, however, when properly cared for they can be awesome little pets and great indicators that something may be going wrong in your tank. They prefer a sand substrate as they spend most of their time digging around in it and sifting out detritus, this aerates the substrate making it a great plant growing media. If there is an issue with your water parameters or a fish death had gone unnoticed poisoning the water, MTS will leave the substrate and come to the surface to try and get away from the problem. They will usually sit up at the water line until the issue is resolved, which usually includes either water changes or removing the source of the issue but often both.

M.tuberculatas lifespan is around 1 year, possibly more in the right conditions

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Identification​

MTS have a long, cone shaped shell with as many as 10 whorls, usually light brown marked with rust colored spots or stripes and a white speckled foot. They have an operculum or "trapdoor" present and grow between 4-8 cm

When small they are sometimes confused with the NZ Mud Snail or "Potamopyrgus antipodarum" because of the shell shape but grow much larger with more shell whorls and have different colouration and patterning than the mud snail.

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Tank Requirements

Melanoides tuberculata require a tank size of at least 10L for a small group. They can be kept with almost any community fish as they spend most of their time in the substrate, they also don't have the long, worm like antenna that snails like Pomacea diffusa have, however these may still mistaken for food my curious fish.

Because they are a burrowing snail they prefer to have a substrate that allows for this like sand or some type of aquarium soil, however they can be sensitive to fertilisers present in products like the soil so make sure to check the labels. They can also be sensitive to fish medications and salt and copper is toxic to them.

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Water Parameters

Always make sure your aquarium is cycled before adding any aquatic life and keep in mind adding too many at once could overload the cycle

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Temp: 21C (70f) to 25C (78f)

PH: 7 - 8

KH or Hardness: 12 - 18

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Calcium can be added to water to benefit shell health.

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Diet & Supplements

M.tuberculata will survive on algae and detritus, but to keep them healthy their diet should include plant matter,calcium and protein.

Many prepared fish foods are good including vege wafers/pellets but they often do not contain enough calcium to sustain healthy growing shells in large groups, so it will most likely need to be added signs of this are the tips of their shells wearing away (possibly from other snails trying to source calcium). Some ways you can add calcium are to feed vegetables high in calcium, supplement with a reptile calcium product without D3, add a cuttlebone to the tank or use powdered egg shells.

M.tuberculata enjoy left over fish food, algae wafers or pellets and vegetables. you could also feed a complete food like Snello.

M.tuberculata will not eat live plants unless provided no other food and even then they may rather starve.

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Anatomy

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Reproduction

Malaysian Trumpet Snails are a live-bearing species that can reproduce in two ways: either through parthenogenesis or sexual reproduction.

Parthenogenesis (also known as virgin birth) is where females give birth to young female clones. These will be genetically identical to the parent. Males are not needed to fertilize the eggs for this to happen.

This method means that a single female can multiply to produce a whole colony, showing how easy it is for this species to establish themselves in a new area.

Sexual reproduction is where a male’s sperm is needed to fertilize a female’s eggs. This is the rarer form of reproduction in this species and tends to occur more often in populations with a large percentage of males.

A single female can produce over 200 young. The embryos develop in brood pouches before being released as juveniles with 5-6 whorls on their shell. Males and females can be distinguished from one another by their gonads. Females will have green colored gonads while males will have reddish orange colored gonads.

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Pros & Cons

+ Good at removing decomposing plants and animals

+ They aerate substrate extremely well

+ Biodiversity in your aquarium

+ Suitable for most aquariums

+ Easy to care for

+ Really good for live plants

+ They are live bearers so no eggs to deal with

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- Multiply rapidly if overfed

- Can get caught in some types of filtration

- Almost impossible to completely eradiate

- Can uproot smaller plants and grasses