Facts about Malaysian trumpet snail

We found 15 facts about Malaysian trumpet snail

Red-rimmed melania

When it comes to the Malaysian trumpet snail, the main question is pet or pest. These tiny freshwater snails are a successful invasive species, which is why they eventually made their way to house aquariums around the world.

1
Malaysian trumpet snail, also known as the red-rimmed melania, is a freshwater snail of the family Thiaridae.

2
It is native to southern Asia and northern Africa.

3
The most distinguished trait of the Malaysian trumpet snail is its dark-red spotting on its shell.

Their shells are conical and elongate, usually cream, brown, or gray.

4
The red-rimmed melania living in the waters of Israel has usually darker shells, allowing them to camouflage better against the basalt rocks.

5
Their shells are equipped with an operculum, that closes when the snail feels threatened.

6
The average lifespan of the red-rimmed melania is one year.

7
They reach an average length of 2,5 centimeters.

8
They reproduce both sexually and through parthenogenesis.

They do not lay eggs but give birth to live young. Embryos remain in the brood pouch until they hatch.

9
Females can give birth to 70 young at a time.

10
Red-rimmed melania can start reproducing at a size of 5 millimeters in length.

11
The Malaysian trumpet snail feeds mostly on algae.

12
The red-rimmed melania is very tolerant of brackish water.

Despite being native to freshwater, they thrive in saline conditions.

13
It is a common addition to house aquariums.

There are pros and cons of maintaining a population of a Malaysian trumpet snail.

The trumpet snail will eat both excess fish food and dead plant material, reducing the threat of souring the water quality, and won’t feed on live plants. On the other hand, their reproduction rate is so high, they may overwhelm the aquarium. What is worse, they can also clog up filters and brake impellers. The best way to avoid this problem is to keep sponge filters.

14
Malaysian trumpet snails spend most of the day buried under the substrate.

They venture up the substrate once the light goes off.

15
The red-rimmed melania can transfer parasites dangerous to humans.

It hosts parasitic lungworms, such as the Chinese liver fluke and the oriental lung fluke, that can cause clonorchiasis and paragonimiasis.

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