See also
Family Thiaridae
The red-rimmed melania (Melanoides tuberculata), also known as Malayan livebearing snails or Malayan/Malaysian trumpet snails (often abbreviated to MTS) by aquarists, is a species of freshwater snail with an operculum, a parthenogenetic, aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Thiaridae.
The common name comes from the presence of reddish spots on the otherwise greenish-brown shell.
The species name is sometimes spelled Melanoides tuberculatus, but this is incorrect because Melanoides Olivier, 1804 was clearly intended to be feminine because it was combined with the feminine specific epithet fasciolata in the original description.
This species is native to northern Africa and southern Asia, but it has been accidentally introduced in many other tropical and subtropical areas worldwide. It has also been accidentally introduced to heated aquaria in colder parts of the world.
This species has an elongate, conical shell, which is usually light brown, marked with rust-colored spots. An operculum is present. In some places, such as in Israel, the shells are colored in black or dark brown, probably to help conceal the snail on the background of the basalt rocks of the Sea of Galilee (Kinnereth).
The average shell length is about 20–27 millimetres (3⁄4–1+1⁄8 in)[8] or 30–36 millimetres (1+1⁄8–1+3⁄8 in), but exceptional specimens may be up to 80 millimetres (3+1⁄8 in) long. Shells of this species have 10–15 whorls
Although normally a freshwater snail, this species is very tolerant of brackish water, and has been recorded in waters with a salinity of 32.5 ppt (1,024 specific gravity salinity).
It is however a warm-climate species. It appears to prefer a temperature range of 18 to 25 °C (64 to 77 °F) or of 18 to 32 °C (64 to 90 °F). Research has been conducted to determine the snail's lethal high water temperature, which is about 50 °C (122 °F). This information is helpful in the disinfection of fishing gear and research equipment, which otherwise may inadvertently spread the snails to uninfested waters.
This species is resistant to low oxygen levels. The pollution tolerance value is 3 (on scale 0–10; 0 is the best water quality, 10 is the worst water quality).
This snail feeds primarily on algae
Red-rimmed melania females are both parthenogenic and ovoviviparous. Females can be recognized by their greenish coloured gonads while males have reddish gonads. Under good conditions, females will produce fertilised eggs that are transferred to a brood pouch where they remain until they hatch (parthenogenesis and viviparity). Melanoides tuberculata has 1–64 embryos in its brood pouch. Snails will begin reproducing at a size as small as 5 millimetres (1⁄4 in) or 10 millimetres (3⁄8 in) in length and broods may contain over seventy offspring (iteroparity). The size of the shell of the parent at peak release of juveniles is 20.0 millimetres (3⁄4 in). The size of juveniles at birth is 1.2–2.2 millimetres (3⁄64–11⁄128 in).
Melanoides tuberculata grows to a similar size as Tarebia granifera, are similar in size at first birth and juvenile output.
It is a r-strategist species
Red-rimmed melanias can sometimes be an agricultural pest species, as has been reported on Chinese cabbage plantations in Hong Kong
Red-rimmed melanias are quite commonly found in freshwater aquaria, but opinion in the hobby is divided between those who see them as a pest species, and those who value their usefulness as algae-eaters and substrate-cleaners. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-rimmed_melania
Red-rimmed melania - Melanoides tuberculata fossils from Cyprus Found by George Konstantinou
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