148 



aquatic MU 



Aquatic 3Ufe 



An international monthly magazine devoted to 

 the study, care and breeding of native, exotic, 

 gold and domesticated fishes, other animals 

 and plants in the home aquarium and ter- 

 rarium. 



W. A. POYSER Editor 



JOSEPH E. BAUSMAN Publisher 



542 E. Girard Avenue, Philadelphia. 



Entered as second-class matter, September 

 2, 1915, at the Post Office, Philadelphia, Pa., 

 under Act of March 3, 1879. 



Practical articles and notes on topics pertain- 

 ing to the aquarium and terrarium are al- 

 ways wanted for Aquatic Life. Readers of 

 the magazine are invited to join in making it 

 a medium of mutual help, and to contribute 

 to it any ideas that may occur to them. The 

 pages are always open for anyone who has 

 anything helpful and practical to say. Manu- 

 scripts, books for review and general corres- 

 pondence should be addressed to the editor. 



Aquatic Li?E has the largest circulation of 

 any magazine in the world devoted to this 

 branch of nature-study. It presents to ad- 

 vertisers a market that can be reached 

 through no other medium. Rates made known 

 on application. 



Yearly Subscription $1.00 



Foreign Subscriptions 1.35 



Single Copy 10 



Payments may be made by money order, draft 

 or registered letter. Foreign remittances 

 should be by international money order. If 

 local checks are sent, ten cents should be 

 added for collection charges. 



Copyright 1917 by Joseph E. Bailsman 



Vol. II July, 1917 No. 11 



running down either side, there being 

 from twelve to fourteen in U. pygmaea, 

 while the lateral markings in Umbra limi 

 are vertical. 



Aquarium Snails 



The popular snail of today is the 

 Copenhagen, Coral or Red Ramshorn, 

 this last the better common name, prop- 

 erly Planorbis corneus rubra, of Europe. 

 The demand for the species is not alone 

 due to its brilliant red color, but because 

 it is a good "worker," and excells the 

 Japanese Snail, Viviparus malleolus, 



which was formerly the dominant gaster- 

 opod in the aquarium. In activity it is 

 only equaled by the American Planorbis 

 trivolvis. These snails ravenously de- 

 vour unconsumed fish food, vegetable 

 matter, and especially the confervse that 

 develops on the sides of the aquarium. 

 Both species can be easily propagated in 

 an aquarium or tub, fishes being ex- 

 cluded, as they would devour the snails 

 as hatched. The eggs, numbering 

 twenty or more, are deposited in a round, 

 gelatinous mass, attached to the plants or 

 sides of the receptacle. The young will 

 appear in about twenty to thirty days, 

 according to the temperature. Food 

 should be provided in the form of lettuce 

 leaves or turnip tops. If the Red Snail 

 and the native species are kept together 

 they will interbreed, and much of the 

 red color be lost. Figure 5 answers 

 equally well for both species. 



In the same family (Limnaeidae) with 

 the foregoing are two other species, one 

 a favorite, the other little used. The first 

 is the sadly misnamed African snail, 

 Lyinnaea auricularia. The common name, 

 African, seems to be peculiar to the 

 aquarists' world. Inasmuch as it is not 

 from Africa, being a native of Europe, 

 it is time to give it the proper common 

 name. Ear Snail, the vernacular of the 

 conchologist, and a translation of the sci- 

 entific name. Why it should be called 

 the Ear Snail is quite evident in the illus- 

 tration, Figure 1. The spire of the shell 

 is very short, while the body-whorl is 

 large. The body and the shell are horn- 

 color, the shell being attractively marked 

 with a darker shade. This snail is quite 

 an industrious feeder, but is short-lived. 

 However, it is readily propagated like 

 the Red Snail. The allied Niagara or 

 Great Pond Snail, L. stagnalis, Figure 4, 

 has an extremely long shell, which may 

 reach a length of two inches, and is our 

 largest fresh water species. It is com- 



