This very attractive snail species reaches us from Southeast Asia. Brotia pagodula is a viviparous snail that is endemic to the Moei, a border river between Myanmar and Thailand. The shell of this species becomes 4-5 cm long. The species is sexually separate, but the sexes are not externally distinguishable.
Its strongly coiled shell with numerous spines gives it a bizarre appearance. It grazes on all available surfaces in search of algae. In the aquarium it also eats flake and granulated food (in our facility), as well as cucumbers and other green food. Live aquatic plants are not touched. However, we sometimes hear that the animals avoid normal fish food; this is possibly due to the fact that two externally indistinguishable snail species most likely live together in the biotope, as DNA studies have shown. It is possible that these two species have different diets. This could explain why some snail keepers describe the species as micro-filterers, while others describe them as strict Aufwuchs feeders. Intensive observation of one’s own animals enables the keeper to meet the needs of the snails in both cases.
As algae growth is usually only available to a limited extent in the aquarium, herbs such as dandelion, chickweed, unsprayed (!) lettuce etc. should always be fed. When completely fresh, these plants are often too hard for the snails, which is why some enthusiasts scald the plants with boiling water before feeding them. Under water, however, these land plants also wither over time and thus become tender and edible, it just takes longer than with scalded specimens.
It is very important for the care of the animals that a pH value below 7 is not tolerated in the long term. The pH should therefore be around 7.5-8.5. The water temperature can be between 18 and 26°C, whereby sudden drastic temperature changes should be avoided.
For our customers. The animals have code 481301 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer and Klaus Diehl
