Anentome Helena (Assassin snail)
Origin: Thailand. Appearance: Colors can vary. Usually beautiful yellow/black striped. Green-brownish specimens are also known. Sexing: Life span: 2 to 5 years. Size: 2 to 3 cm. Sexually mature: 4-8 months. Gestation: They lay about 1 egg every 10 days. Character: Ideal snail for aquariums with a snail problem. This snail eats other snails and leaves its own species alone. Tank setup: Sand or (fine) gravel soil because they like to burrow. Provide regular water changes. Furthermore, they make no demands on the layout. Soft sand is ideal for digging in. Stones and wood are recommended for climbing. They do not touch healthy plants. Waterconditions: Temperature 18-30ºC. Acidity pH6.5-pH7.5 and a hardness of 2-15dGH.
Higher temperatures lead to a shorter lifespan. Feeding: Snails. They start with the smaller snails but could also attack the larger apple snails if there are no other snails left. Take this into account. On average they eat 1 snail per day. When there are no more snails to eat, they eat residual waste. Breeding: The Anentome helena will only reproduce if they get enough live snails to eat. They are unisexual animals so you need both men and women. Therefore, put at least 6 together. The eggs are laid on hard surfaces and look like a small square package.
It takes about 20-30 days for the eggs to hatch. The fry will not be visible for a while as they burrow. Tank mates: Fish that do not eat snails. Shrimp is possible, but sometimes shrimp will sit on the snail and be eaten. Copyright photos: © Garnalenkweker.nl
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