Posthorn snail deep Brown - Planorbella duryi

An absolute rarity is the post horn snail deep Brown of the species Planorbella duryi duryi. Normally post horn snails deep Brown belong to another species, which grows significantly larger. However, this one is the black variety of the ever-popular American posthorn snail. The brown wild form originated in southern North America, but has become common in aquariums around the world. The shell of the black color form is relatively thick and has a black layer formed by the shell skin. The body of the snail is also very dark. The black post horn snail, often affectionately abbreviated as PHS deep Brown , does not grow quite as large as other species, with a shell diameter of up to 2.5 cm, so it can be kept very well in smaller aquariums. Like all post horn snails the black color variant is hermaphroditic. According to literature black post horn snails can also fertilize themselves. Only about 4-8% of these eggs are then viable, but even this low survival rate can be enough to build up a PHS population. However, the black ramshorn snail prefers sexual reproduction.

The Deep Brown posthorn snail is not difficult to breed, you usually don't need to take any special measures for it. The more food is available, the faster the black PHS will reproduce. Their clutches have a watch glass shape, so they are curved upwards. The lid is surprisingly firm, the clutch does not feel gooey. The eggs inside are on one level. The black posthorn snail lays its eggs on all kinds of surfaces and is not picky. The young snails develop inside the eggs and hatch after about two to three weeks, depending on the temperature.

If you want to keep the dark color of the PHS pure (which is recommended because of the rarity of this color), you should not keep it together with other color varieties of Planorbella duryi, so that the colors do not mix.

Besides its fascinating appearance, the black ramshorn snail is also very useful. It will eat anything that organically accumulates in an aquarium, be it plant debris, uneaten food, dead animals, detritus, algae growth, etc. Thus, it acts as a health police in the biotope and keeps the aquarium clean. In the past, people were warned about the post horn snail in the aquarium, you often heard the warning about snail plagues. However, this is always due to the fact that the snails find too much food and therefore proliferate. In a well running, not overfed aquarium, a basic population of the black post horn snail will always persist, but their numbers will not get out of hand.

Targeted feeding is only done if you want to breed the black ramshorn snail in a larger quantity. It likes to eat vegetables, nettle and other green food, but it also likes fish food or special snail food and much more. The vast majority of aquatic snails are omnivores, not pure herbivores, and so the black posthorn snail is also grateful for protein foods such as frozen foods. Live animals and healthy plants are not eaten by the black post horn snail.

The black ramshorn snail is an excellent co-stock in aquariums with non-snail-eating fish, or with Dwarf shrimpsother snails (not with the predatory snail Clea helena, except of course as a feeder snail) or with Mussels. Dwarf crayfish, large crayfish, longarm shrimp and crabs are very fond of snails and will also eat the black posthorn snail. Due to the rarity of this color form we would like to advise against such a socialization.

The PHS deep Brown copes very well with medium to hard water and tolerates temperatures from 10 to 30 °C.

Our food recommendation: With the Natureholic snail feed Power Paste you create a feeding lawn, which is very well accepted by all growth eating snails. Even delicate wild-caught snails such as racing snails or staghorn snails, which are stressed after transport and do not accept conventional food, can be fed up well with it.

Our plant recommendation: Use for the planting NatureHolic InVitros. These are free of snails, planarians and other unwanted co-inhabitants. Also free of algae spores, bacteria and fungi.

Expert Tip: We recommend for fish keeping the NatureHolic 3 Phase Liquid. The care set offers the best all-round protection for your animals. It ensures optimal conditions for successful breeding and keeping.

Actively prevent outbreaks: With the invisible Natureholic Snail Barrier you prevent the escape and loss of your snails from the aquarium.