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For the first time I got acquainted with this mollusk as a representative of aquarium fauna about ten years ago on the market in Simferopol, where I was recommended by one of the sellers, who for a time kept these animals in their tanks.
The conical, glossy, almost black shell, turned to the right, the same coloring of the leg with characteristic "triangular" tentacles, left no doubt that I had a representative of a large pleura of ponders. Unusual harmony, peculiar beauty, comparatively small classical forms, coupled with the master's assurances of the complete harmlessness of mollusks in relation to aquatic plants, prompted me to acquire several young individuals.
The snails had moved well, but, unfortunately, they did not live long with me and soon died. Then I determined them. These were marshy ponders Limnaea (Galba) palustris, as it turned out, quite often found in our mid-range. It is their description that was first given in N. Zolotnitsky's book "The Amateur Aquarium".
In our reservoirs, the cochlea of ​​this family are the most typical inhabitants, although marsh ponders almost never come across together with their most common cousins ​​- ordinary pond and anuricus.
Quiet, overgrown with plants ponds with brownish peaty water in the meadows are their favorite habitats. Here they coexist peacefully with other small mollusks (most often with a small coil) and small crustaceans - Cyclops and Daphnia, catching which, I also got to know closer, already for the second time, with the pond snake - the "swamp".
These hermits try to avoid neighborhood with fish, fully justifying their name. In any case, in the vicinity of our city, I found literally two or three places where they live in considerable numbers. Yes, and these "limney" look in nature is very nondescript. Overgrown with algae, the muddy gray shells of marshy ponders do not stimulate nature lovers to make them aquarium inhabitants. However, mindful of their Crimean immigrants, I decided to take some mollusks for testing.
Not bad having got accustomed in vessels with a live forage, prudoviki began to multiply. A cautious attitude to these gastropods as to malicious plant eaters, brought up by nomadic wanderers from one edition of aquarium art to another prejudice and own experience (generally justified, but mainly related to ordinary pond snake), was replaced by a desire to fully adapt the snails to the conditions of a decorative aquarium with fish. Moreover, in the aquarium environment, their shells have cleared, mollusks have become more attractive in appearance. Yes, and in the colors they differed - some were not black, but more interesting in color: bright transparent spots appeared on the transparent green shell.
In pots with barbs and cichlids, the pond snails did not get accustomed, however, in a company with haracin and vivipants who did not pinch their legs and tentacles trying to pull them out of the shell, the snails felt confident enough. But the main thing is that even after the passage of time I did not find in my aquarium farm the damaged plants. In any case, after what one of the Marisas once did in my aquarium, these Proudhoviks seemed to me simply innocent creatures. However, the most pleasant surprise awaited me later.
Among the juveniles of the marsh pond, several specimens of a very light color were found. When they grew up, it became clear that the albino xanthor form, and the "golden" ponders in their decorative qualities were in no way inferior to all known ampullaria.
Molochneo-yellow with a light orange sole, a leg and a bright reddish oral patch that appeared between the tentacles, combined with a golden-buffy shell, contrasted sharply in the aquarium against the background of snags, rocks and plants. After breeding, I completely replaced in my domestic water bodies the natural form of this mollusc for a new one. After a generation, specimens with a light golden shell began to appear in their offspring, but, apparently, changes in color also depend on the properties of water, lighting, and the nature of nutrition.
Later, I managed to find in the same reservoir a few more adult pond sniffer mutants. The reason for their appearance, I attribute to the peculiarity of our locality, located in the zone of radioactive contamination after the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident. So, in the floodplain of the Iput river (the inflow of the Sozh), on the shore of the lake, where a new form of mollusks was discovered, the radiation background is more than 100 microR / h.
Like all representatives of the species, after about a year the marsh pruducts reach a size of 3 to 4 cm (and this is not the limit), starting to multiply at a shell length of 1.5-2 cm. At least two individuals are sufficient for this, since "swamps" As well as all the pond, the hermaphrodites. Especially good looking young snails - their shells are not so heavy and do not hang down, as in adults.
Inferior to the "intellect" ampullaria, they, however, differ no less interesting behavior. Proudoviks are almost always active, move relatively fast, are attractive with their habits. Here is one example: after finding something edible on the ground, a pond snake, then forced to rise up for breathing, then immediately returns to the shortest path, grabs the food and floats up with it, so that already at the surface you can work "grater" slowly.
An interesting way is their way of vertical movement along the thread of excreted mucus, described by N. Zolotnitsky. Accustomed to other inhabitants, they completely cease to fear them and can completely lean out of the shell under the very nose of some, catfish or scalar, for which they sometimes have to pay if not fatal, then rather serious injuries. In general, the color of these mollusks as food objects is very attractive to fish.
According to my observations, under suitable conditions they live up to two years - almost as much as one of the gastropods of an old resident has plied the walls of my aquarium.
Despite the seeming simplicity of keeping marsh ponders, they can not get many offspring from them in an aquarium with fish. Their soft caviar, like the newly emerged juveniles, is easily attacked by other inhabitants. And the feeding of small prudovicks without the presence of extensive algae overgrowth is problematic. Only a few are surviving. Only in a separate vessel, with sufficient light, which contributes to the growth of algae, a good feeding of snails-producers and the absence of competitors, it is possible to achieve a significant offspring. The adult pond, especially in the warm season, is laid off continually, although in winter the fertility is significantly reduced.
They feed primarily on the rotting remnants of plants and animals, absorb the surface bacterial film, eat well the dry food, lettuce and cabbage leaves, bread crumb, preferring to look for food at the air edge. Well clean the walls of the aquarium: green algae contribute to the same intensity of color.
If there is a lack of fresh fouling in their diet, the color of the leg turns pale, the characteristic orange shade disappears. With a high population density, they compensate for the lack of calcium, scraping each other's shells, which gives shells an unaesthetic appearance (this also occurs in insufficiently hard water).
Higher plants do not touch mollusks under normal conditions. Only large ponders, on occasion, if hungry, can "memorize" or hole in passing a young shoot, without, however, causing him a noticeable damage. For a long time, they can not be left without food - a drop may begin.
They do not tolerate the presence of suspended particles in water. In this respect, the way of their life and the way of feeding are the closest to the horny coil widely used in aquarists. However, it is more resilient and in one aquarium, if not to regulate its abundance, always replaces the marsh pond. In addition, limnies, like fizzy, live mainly in the surface layer of water, only occasionally dropping into the depths.
Therefore, in an aquarium, it is desirable to have floating plants floating on the surface, on which they also like to put aside oblong sausages of their eggs.
In general, I have an opinion that this pond snake, though not very fond of it, is still often unable to compete with other inhabitants, demanding increased attention in the general aquarium. In addition, the absence of a lid on the shell becomes literally the "Achilles heel" of an adult snail. Several times my population was on the verge of total extinction. Especially difficult was to get rid of unexpectedly appeared parasites - microscopic water mites, which settled on caviar and cover of mollusks, literally eating them. Revive the "herd" had only a few remaining "clean" producers.
Constantly interested in the appearance in the aquarium market of new shellfish, I want to say that these traditional inhabitants of the aquarium are not always given due attention. How boring sometimes look aquarium "walls", where the selection of plants and snails is dismally monotonous. In what glass you look - the "landscape" is one.
I think that the appearance of a new form of L.palustris will also contribute to the wider distribution in aquariums of lovers of our native inhabitants. It is these decorative snails with spindle-shaped shell of medium size, occupying an intermediate step between small (fizy) and large (ampularia) mollusks, just not enough in domestic ponds.
Among other things, the shell of the "swamps" is more solid and not as fragile as that of other ponders, which is also an important argument in their favor. Bear these shellfish a wide enough range of temperatures (up to 35 degrees C) and are quite suitable for both cold-water and tropical aquariums.
Here, first of all, it is necessary to overcome prejudices rooted in consciousness against all the ponders. It is useful to recall the history of the inclusion in the aquarium environment of ampullaria (G. Axelrod, M. Makhlin), among several species of which was first found what was suitable for keeping with fish and plants, and then several color forms appeared that replaced the main, natural , From aquariums.
I dare to argue, based on my experience of breeding, breeding and breeding of L.palustris var., That in the near future it can become no less popular snail than the well-known red fusel coils and gold ampularia known for their decorative qualities. The number of species of mollusks that are promising for our domestic ponds, including pond water, spread all over the world, can be compared to an undiscovered fossil that is still to be disassembled by the present and future admirers of the beauty of the underwater flora and fauna.


K. Popov, Novozybkov, Aquarium No. 1, 2002.