Malaysian Trumpet Snail

25 October 2021

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Malaysian Trumpet Snails are a tropical freshwater species of aquarium snail. They can be identified by the long cone-like shell on their backs. This spiral shell comes in a number of colors with the most prominent being beige with dark brown patterns. They are popular removers of debris. Often they will burrow within the substrate and surface to consume food and organic waste.

They are available to purchase at most LFS or from other hobbyists. Malaysian Trumpet Snails are popular snails and are very easy to breed. Malaysian Trumpet Snails are smaller species and will often not exceed 1/2" in length. Females are often slightly larger than males, but sexing is difficult.

Malaysian Trumpet Snails are avid consumers of debris, especially debris that has fallen on the gravel surface. Malaysian Trumpet Snails do not consume live plants and will not compete with aquarium shrimp for food. They are docile and a suitable inhabitant for a community tank. They can also be kept with other non aggressive fish and snails species.

Malaysian Trumpet Snails have an added benefit of aerating and stirring the substrate. They will not disturb plant roots but will aerate the aquarium benefiting both plants and fish. Malaysian Trumpet Snails reproduce no eggs but rather live young. Like some other species of snail, they can reproduce at rapid rates. To prevent this species overrunning the aquarium it is advisable to limit debris and food, thus limiting population.

Temperature ~75°F

The optimum aquarium temperature for Malaysian Trumpet Snails is around 70°F - 80°F (21°C-27°C).

pH ~7 | Hardness 7

Malaysian Trumpet Snails require pH between about 6.5 and 8. Relative water hardness for Malaysian Trumpet Snails should be between 6-12dH.

Max Size ~1/2"

Malaysian Trumpet Snails can grow up to 1/2" live born young are very small. They are suitable for smaller aquariums.

Nitrite 0ppm

Nitrite should always be 0.

Ammonia 0ppm

Malaysian Trumpet Snails are sensitive to ammonia spikes.

Nitrate >40ppm

Nitrates should be as close to 0ppm as possible. Horned Nerite Snails consume debris contributing to lower nitrates.

Stocking Guide

Malaysian Trumpet Snails are very good at consuming debris and aerating the substrate. However in large numbers they will require supplemental food. For this reason it is wise to stock no more than one snail for every 2 gallons of aquarium water. Malaysian Trumpet Snails will naturally reproduce very quickly. It is advisable to start with even less Malaysian Trumpet Snails and slowly let them increase in population over time.

Feeding

Malaysian Trumpet Snails can simply be fed commercial pellets. The filter should be stopped and pellets dropped into the aquarium onto the substrate. The Malaysian Trumpet Snails will unearth themselves (a little like a zombie apocalypse) and consume the food. They only require supplemental feeding if there is no debris left to consume or there is a very large population of snails.

Breeding

Malaysian Trumpet Snails breed rapidly in an aquarium. Warmer water temperatures will boost fertility and hatch rates. As mentioned before, it is wise to begin with far less Malaysian Trumpet Snails than ultimately wanted. Malaysian Trumpet Snails reproduce live young and do not lay eggs. This leads to a lower mortality rate of young than other species and a higher number of living offspring. Malaysian Trumpet Snails are an excellent purchase, just be weary of their ability to rapidly breed.

Snail info

Temperature : 21 - 27
pH: 6.5 - 8.0
Color Form: Black, Clear, Orange, Red, Yellow

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