Synonym: Ampullaria australis (old, no longer valid name); synonyms from English literature: Apple Snail, Mystery Snail.
Family: Ampullariidae.
Origin: South America.
Size: up to 7 cm (shell diameter).
Water: neutral to alkaline, moderately hard (without calcium the snails’ shells disintegrate while alive).
Food requirements: omnivore. Not that it is a particularly good algae destroyer, it enjoys fish food much more. To keep the fine-leaved plants away from them, I feed them with salad cucumber (cut into rounds), steamed lettuce or fish fillets (they like the meat best of all). It is good to weight down the vegetables – I do it by piercing them with a regular safety pin).
Aggressiveness: peaceful, trouble-free animal. However, beware of the eggs – only place in the cleaning tank (to dispose of food debris and dead fish) after the fry have been flushed!
they move all over the tank (unfortunately, they also like to travel outside the aquarium, for which they often pay with their lives).
Sexual dimorphism: none.
Interesting facts and notes:
Bladderworms have several peculiarities. Probably the most striking at first glance is the so-called siphon – a trunk-shaped ejection tube used to draw air above the water surface. Ampularia can breathe not only through their gills, but (if the water contains little dissolved oxygen) also through so-called lung sacs.
In times of danger or drought, an amphipod may retract completely into its shell and cover the entrance hole with a so-called operculum, which is completely separate from the shell.
Other peculiarities concern reproduction. First, ampullaria are (unlike most other gastropods) of separate sex (gonochorism). Their alleged hermaphroditism (I own several books on it myself) is an endlessly described myth. Second, ampullarians are the only aquatic snails that lay their eggs outside of aquatic environments.
Due to their imperfect digestion, they have a rather large food consumption and also a rather large production of feces, polluting the water. Therefore, it is recommended to count on 30-40 litres (!) of water per adult ampullaria.
They live for one to four years – depending on the water temperature, which should be between 18-28 °C. Care should be taken with soft and acidic water (this will irreversibly decalcify the shells) and also with covering the aquarium (sometimes they get something like wanderlust).