The great pond snail is by far the UKs largest pond snail species and can reach a length of 6 cm although the usual size is closer to 4 cm. The snails you will receive will be 3 cm and 5cm ,Their large size makes them suitable to keep with larger fish. They are excellent scavengers and will eat detritus, fish waste, dead plants, leftover fish food, dead fish, algae and blankett weed. They also eat hydra and are great for controlling infestations of them. Being a native species the Ggreat pond snails can survive the harshest UK winters but can also be kept in coldwater and tropical aquariums. It makes a superior cleaner than most snails found in pet shops like rabbit snails or nerites, and contrary to popular belief in the aquarium hobby world, they rarely eat live plants, only the brown parts, or graze algae from the surface of the leaves. Its also easy to keep their population down if your worried there are to many in the tank or pond as they're quite large and easily removed. Snails make up an essential part of a pond or aquarium ecosystem and would make an excellent addition to a wildlife pond.
XL great pond snails ( lymnaea stagnalis )
The great pond snail is very hardy and can survive in a wide range of conditions. It is very easy to keep, although like most aquatic snails the great pond snails can be sensitive to acidic water (low ph). They can easily survive from scavenging and don't need any additional food especially if being kept in an outdoor pond, but if you want to put extra food in for them they can be fed algae wafers, bloodworm pellets and shrimp pellets or fishfood. The great pond snail is a hermaphrodite and very easy to breed and does not need any special care to do so. They lay long clumps of transparent jelly containing between 30 and 140 eggs at a time on glass, rocks and the underside of leaves. While it is a common beleif that snails will over populate your pond or aquarium this will only happen if if there is a massive surplus of uneaten food and can be a good indication of over feeding (for image of eggs see main pictures).
