Phylum — Mollusca.
Class — Gastropoda.
Superfamily — Cerithioidea.
Family — Pachychilidae.
Genus — Tylomelania.
To be continued…
— Tylomelania sarasinorum [Kruimel, 1913]. Lake Towuti. Has a very beautiful coloration. On the black mantle, two small white spots are sometimes found, but more often it is completely black; a distinctive feature is the luxurious black-and-white striped antennae, the shell has a rich reddish-brown and chocolate-brown color. An adult specimen reaches up to 6 centimeters in size, and newborns are up to 8 millimeters. The number of carried embryos can range from 1 to 14. There is sexual dimorphism. Males are slightly smaller in size than females.
— Tylomelania towutensis [Sarasin & Sarasin, 1898]. “Sulawesi Snails Tylomelania”. Sulawesi, Lake Towuti and Tominanga River. The size of adults reaches 9 centimeters. The shell (from 4 to 10 whorls) is brown or reddish-brown in color; in adult specimens, pronounced corrosion is observed at the apex of the shell, the inside of the shell is either white or cream-colored, the mantle has frequent small white or yellow speckles, although specimens with a monochromatic mantle are also found. The head is decorated with luxurious white-striped antennae.
In the aquarium, it quickly acclimatizes and usually gets used to the new environment within 14 days. It is not as afraid of light as other snails from Lake Sulawesi. Prefers a soft substrate: fine sand or clay, very rarely appearing on low flat stones. Most of the time this happens during feeding. The aquarium should not be shorter than 80 cm, preferably 100 cm long. This is an active snail with a large body, so equipment should be chosen so as not to hinder movement. It only needs sand or clay, leaves, and driftwood; arranging stones is not necessary. It is better to refuse planting long-stemmed plants. However, mosses or floating plants are convenient.
It can live in soft water, but it is desirable that the pH value does not drop below 7.5. For adult Tylomelania, it is really not so easy to climb on driftwood and plants, and they do not appear on stones often, but the juveniles easily hang not only on the aforementioned objects but also climb the glass panes, without rising above the waterline, however. Regarding feeding: they eat dead parts of plants, vegetables, algae fouling on the walls of the aquarium and driftwood, and do not refuse a piece of frozen shrimp or cottage cheese. And, most importantly, they eat some plants. Therefore, mosses, Cladophora, and floating plants should grow in the aquarium. The female can carry from 1 to 8 eggs. Most active at 28°C, but easily tolerate a gradual decrease to 18°C and an increase to 32°C.
— Tylomelania towutica [Kruimel, 1913]. Lake Towuti and Tominanga River. Very similar in coloration to some of their relatives: white-dotted mantle, striped antennae, brown shell, but the main difference is the inner part of the shell, which is most often dark gray, although sometimes it can have a brownish tint. Offspring can range from 1 to 7 embryos. In adulthood, snails reach 6.5 centimeters, newborns – about 9 millimeters.
— Tylomelania turriformis [Rintelen, Bouchet & Glaubrecht, 2007]. Lake Matano. These snails are very similar to zebras because the mantle and antennae are colored with white stripes; white speckles arranged in stripes are less common. The shell has a delicate brownish-yellowish tint, the inner part of the shell can be with a brownish tint or white. The female can carry from 2 to 24 eggs at a time, the young do not exceed 8 millimeters at birth, and the size of an adult is about 9.5 centimeters.
— Tylomelania wolterecki [Rintelen, Bouchet & Glaubrecht, 2007]. Lakes Mahalona and Towuti. A very spectacular black and yellow snail. The mantle is dotted with small yellow points, the antennae have yellow points, the shell is black with a pearlescent sheen. The sizes of these snails are not very large: adults – up to 5 centimeters, young – up to 8 millimeters. Reproduction form – viviparous. Offspring can be expected to be small – from 1 to 3 eggs. Snails are of separate sexes, although males are not much smaller than females.
— Tylomelania zeamais [Sarasin & Sarasin, 1897]. Lakes Motano, Sulawesi. They have medium sizes, up to 4.5 centimeters in adulthood, young – up to 7.5 millimeters. Females do not differ in size from males. They can produce offspring from 1 to 10 individuals. Visually they have a fairly simple coloration – a black mantle with several white dots and a black shell; sometimes the shell coloration can also vary from soft cream to black, including the entire spectrum.
Methods of controlling mollusks.
