Quilted Melania

The quilted melania is a sand-dwelling snail with a pointed, cone-shaped shell, from the same family as the Malaysian trumpet snail (Melanoides tuberculata). Rows of small bumps on the whorls of its shell give it a quilted look; its color ranges from dark brown to almost black. Females can reproduce without fertilization and, instead of laying eggs, give birth to small shelled young. Because of this, even a single individual can build up a large population in a short time. In many parts of the Americas and Africa it has spread into the wild and displaced native snails: never release it into the wild.

• It lives in tanks of any size; it prefers a fine sand substrate and burrows into it.
• pH 7 or higher, moderately hard to hard water; calcium for the shell.
• Its population is directly proportional to the amount of food; control it by feeding sparingly.
• Avoid products containing copper.

Omnivorous. It feeds on leftover food on the substrate, decaying plant matter, biofilm and algae; it hardly needs to be fed separately.

Peaceful; it leaves fish, shrimp and healthy plants alone. During the day it is mostly inside the sand and comes to the surface at night. By constantly stirring the substrate it reduces the formation of anaerobic pockets.

Good companions: almost any peaceful community.

Avoid: products containing copper. Snail-eating species (assassin snail, clown loach) are useful when you want to reduce the population.