Pet Shop Haven

When it comes to a home aquarium, most owners focus on the fish. Whether it is a salt-water or fresh-water tank, the fish temporarily become the pride and joy. Trips to the store to select a new lively friend, research on which fish can and can't live together, fish food and filtration and all of the other necessary life-sustaining aquarium products. One way to really liven up your tank is through the addition of some aquarium plants. Sure, they may be green and rather stringy, more like seaweed than any graceful outdoor flower. They may even give the appearance of dirtying the water. Many owners focused on the beauty of their fish overlook the plants. But in the end, the fish rely on aquarium plants as much as they rely on food and a refined, nourishing aquarium tank requires a good variety of life-giving plants.

A Plant For Every Need

Live plants help to ensure the proper balance of water, chemicals and elements in any aquarium tank. A properly selected, planted and cared for variety of plants beautifies the aquarium, increases the health of the fish and even gives joy to the owner. Selecting aquarium plants and arranging them can be as enjoyable as purchasing new fish. Plants come in a variety of shapes, textures and sizes, and while there are limits based on the size of the tank and the pre-existing plants, most owners can greatly experiment with aquarium plants and discover the perfect arrangement.

But in the end, aquarium plants exist foremost for the fish not the owners. Happy fish are fish that feel at home, and in an aquarium only plants are going to give the appearance of nature. Plants help the aquarium mimic the ocean floor and they help filter light and filter water, giving fish places to hide and helping them to believe they are swimming through the various ocean levels. Aquarium plants also provide natural filtration, as they eliminate the need for many fish care products and external chemicals, including pH adjustments and ammonia absorption resins.

Oxygenators specifically are some of the most important aquarium plants. Growing completely under water, these plants release oxygen fixedly into the water. They also offer numerous other benefits such as helping to balance the chemistry of the water by softening it, and help to maintain proper pH balance, a necessary concern for the survival of fish. Elodea is one of the most popular oxygenating aquarium plants. Dark green leaves, arranged around a narrow stem, help to indicate the quality of the water in the tank. The leaves will become covered in calcium deposits if the water is too hard.

Have you ever seen the giant aquarium at the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas? Go deep into the mall past the Red Piano gift shop, past the Coliseum where Elton John, Celine Dion, Bette Midler and Cher perform. Keep going, past the slot machines, the blackjack tables and the poker room.

Deep under the ground, where the interior lights grow dim, you will start to notice a spectacular, enormous aquarium. Thousands of vivid fish draw the eye. And if you look very meticulously on the floor of the aquarium, or perhaps climbing on one of the rocks or walls, you will see the aquarium snails, working their way through the environment, cleanup up dead plants and animals as they go.

Spot The Snail

Playing spot the snail is a fun game whenever you visit a home or mall where there is an aquarium, like at Caesar's Palace. Snails like to conceal, so they repeatedly place themselves in the shadows or behind rocks. Their shells provide camouflage, making them even harder to spot than ever.

The head of the snail is easy to spot because of its two eyebrow-like tentacles. The tentacles can extend and retreat, and the eyes are located at the base of each one. Snails have tongues that they use to eat the dead matter that forms the basis of their diet.

Gilled Aquarium Snails Prosobranchs

The kind of snail most generally found in an aquarium is a gilled snail. These snails reproduce publicly, and they'll momentarily populate an empty aquarium. Snails with gills are hermaphroditic, which makes it easy for them to reproduce. Some species of aquarium snail change sex to reproduce; others fertilize their own eggs, and other cross-fertilize. Gelatin masses filled with eggs lie under submerged rocks and plants until they hatch.

Red ramshorn aquarium snails are also popularly found. Red shells are the most highly desired. Brown ones aren't rare at all.

Population Control

Overpopulation of aquarium snails can be a problem. Snails are good when they're keeping the aquarium gravel clean, but they can soon overpopulate and become a problem in the aquarium.

The easiest way to keep the tank free of unwanted aquarium snails is to use Botias, also known as loaches. These fish will feast on the gilled snails, and your overpopulation problem will before long be over. If you have other fish, don't give in to the temptation use water dogs to clear out snails. The water dogs will eat the fish in no time.