Freshwater snails are omnivorous, eating animal and plant matter.
are the snails of the genus Gastropoda (mollusks characterized by coiled shells in the adult stage) that live in freshwater sources. Other members of the genus live on land or in the sea. About 4,000 species of freshwater snails exist worldwide. Of those, 650 are found in North America, according to a Virginia Cooperative Extension website article by Paul D. Johnson, research scientist at Tennessee Aquarium Research Institute. Freshwater snails are omnivorous, which means their diet consists of plant and animal matter.
Food
The plant portion of snails' diet includes anything from algae to the leaves of aquatic plants and pondweed. They do not hunt animals but eat the organic debris of deceased animals such as fish, either directly from carcasses or as sedimentary matter.
Eating Method
Freshwater snails have a tonguelike structure called a radula, which they use to eat. The radula is covered with a series of hard, brittlelike projections similar to small teeth. A snail drags its radula across submerged surfaces, and the bristles loosen bits of food that are then transferred to the snail's mouth.
Gathering Technique
Generally, freshwater snails feed on the bottom and sides of water sources, moving over rocks, submerged plants, woody debris and plant roots, scraping off organic matter as they pass. In water sources with a large percentage of suspended organic matter in the water column, however, snails extract matter directly from the water using their sticky underside and transfer the matter to their mouth via a strand of mucus that runs along the underside of their body.
Digestion
As food passes through the mouth to the esophagus, it mixes with mucus from two salivary glands. This enables an easier passage through the digestive system. From the esophagus, food passes into the stomach, where the midgut gland produces digestive enzymes that break down the matter, extracting the nutrients and separating the waste (much like the functions of the human liver and pancreas combined). It then passes through the intestines, where acids further break down nutrients before the remainder is expelled by the rectum.
In Captivity
Freshwater snails are very useful to aquarium owners because they consume the green algae that can form on the inside of an aquarium and reduce visibility. They also help to keep the plant life in check in outside garden ponds as well as dispose of dead fish. Freshwater snails in captivity also are known to eat fruit and vegetable peelings. They produce a lot of water material, however. So aquariums with them need regular water changes about once each week, depending on the number of snails.
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