Yellow Rabbit Snail care guide
Yellow Rabbit Snail (Tylomelania towutensis) — minimum tank 60 L, temperature 26-30 °C, pH 7.5-8.5.
Overview
The Yellow Rabbit Snail (Tylomelania towutensis) is a livebearing freshwater snail endemic to Lake Towuti in the Malili Lake system of central Sulawesi, Indonesia. It is distinguished by its bright yellow body, elongated rostrum and slow, deliberate grazing behaviour.
Taxonomy
- Family: Pachychilidae
- Genus: Tylomelania
- Scientific name: Tylomelania towutensis
- Common synonyms: Towuti Rabbit Snail, Yellow Rabbit
Habitat
Restricted in the wild to the warm, hard, alkaline waters of the ancient Malili Lakes on Sulawesi. The aquarium environment should reproduce these conditions: temperatures of 26-30 °C and a stable, mineral-rich water column.
Tank requirements
- Minimum tank volume: 60 L (15.9 US gal)
- Adult size: 5-10 cm
- Temperature: 26-30 °C (79-86 °F)
- pH: 7.5-8.5
- GH: 6-14 °dGH
- KH: 4-10 °dKH
- Lifespan: 3-5 years
Diet
A grazer that consumes biofilm, soft algae and decaying plant matter. Supplement with calcium-rich foods, blanched vegetables (zucchini, spinach) and sinking pellets. Tylomelania will eat very soft aquarium plants and should not be combined with delicate carpeting species.
Compatibility
Peaceful and slow-moving. Best housed with Sulawesi shrimp (Caridina dennerli, C. spongicola) or with hardwater-tolerant fish that share its temperature requirements. Avoid loaches, pufferfish, Assassin Snail and tanks of soft-leaved plants.
Breeding
Livebearing — females release one to two well-developed juveniles at a time after several weeks of gestation. Reproduction is slow but reliable in stable, warm, hard water.