Spike Tail Malaysian Trumpet Snail
Melanoides granifera
The Spike Tail Trumpet Snail is extremely useful in the substrate as an “earthworm” in the aquarium.
- easy to maintain
- nice-looking knobbed shell
- loosens the ground
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Important data
Product description & details
Melanoides granifera (syn. Tarebia granifera), also known as the Spike Tail Malaysian Trumpet Snail, which comes from Asia, is a freshwater snail that lives in the ground and constantly plows through it for food. Thanks to the snail, the substrate gets well ventilated and also freed from organic waste, which is why it is considered the “earthworm of the aquarium”. The brown, elongated and knobbed shell of this pretty snail is about 2 cm long. The knobs can have different shapes depending on the water hardness. In comparison to the Malaysian Trumpet Snail (Melanoides tuberculata), which is well known in aquarium circles, the shell of the Spike Tail Malaysian Trumpet Snail is slightly darker and shorter.
Care in the aquarium
Keeping M. granifera is just as unproblematic as M. tuberculata. Both species do not interbreed. In comparison to its relatives, the Spike Tail Malaysian Trumpet Snail is also active during the day and can be observed as it migrates through the aquarium. Furthermore, the trumpet snail is a very good indicator of water values; when it leaves the water, this indicates high nitrite and ammonia values. Due to its peaceful nature and its useful properties as a water indicator and natural scarifier, which prevents harmful gases from forming in the substrate and supplies the soil with nutrients for the plants, the Spike Tail Malaysian Trumpet Snail can be put without hesitation in plant aquariums. As with most species of snails, medium to hard water is ideal, as the shell can be damaged if the water is too soft. It also prefers a substrate that is not too coarse, such as sand, soil or fine gravel, through which it can easily dig.
Feeding
The Spike Tail Malaysian Trumpet Snail is a classic leftover recycler and feeds on biofilm and algae growth as well as detritus (dead plant material, carrion, leftover food). In the aquarium it can be fed a wide variety of commercial (snail) food, green food and leaves, but it usually finds enough food in the substrate.
Sexual characteristics and breeding
Melanoides granifera has separate sexes, but the sexes cannot be distinguished from the outside. It reproduces through parthenogenesis and does not lay eggs. The live-born offspring are created from unfertilized eggs, which is why no second animal is needed for reproduction and breeding is very easy.