During my experience in the keys, I encountered many different animals. Animals such as roosters, alligators, snails, and different kinds of fish. However, while we were at the Everglades, we made a stop at a building (which wasn’t officially opened yet) which was going to be the information and gift shop for the national wildlife refuge in the Florida Keys. While we were here several things caught my eye. The skeletons of different animals in the area and the information on the key deer interested me. However, one thing in particular, really caught my attention. In their small saltwater aquarium, they had Astera/Turbo Snails. These caught my attention because of the shape of their shell and what I learned about them.
Astera/Turbo snail are considered herbivores since they eat plants. They eat specifically algae; they do this by using their little tongues and actually scrape the algae off a surface. Think of it as a razor shaving the algae off. These snails have beautiful shells that swirl like a spiral staircase. They are brown white shells and what super exciting about that is that their shells grow with them. This makes them different from hermit crabs because unlike hermit crabs who have to switch shells when they are growing, these snails stay in the same shell, which is also a part of their body. This shell acts as a bodyguard to the snail itself. This is because it's hard and protects the snail from predators. However, there still are animals that eat these snails.
Snails are a very unpopular pet; however, these sails are common in the aquarium population. Since they eat so many algae, they help aquarist keep their tanks clean for a longer amount of time. However, you have to be careful as they will knock over any décor you may have in the tank just to look for food.
All in all, snails are beneficial creatures. They are the seas bees. They keep the water clean and limit the amounts of algae in the water. They also not only help clean the ecosystem, but they are a source of food for other organisms.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.