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Orange Track Snail
Taia naticoides
📍 Southeast Asia
The Orange Track Snail is a small, colorful freshwater snail with an orange-brown shell and distinctive track-like markings. These peaceful grazers are excellent algae eaters and detritus consumers, making them valuable additions to planted and community tanks. They are hardy, easy to care for, and relatively long-lived for their size.
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Care Guide
Diet
Orange Track Snails are primarily herbivorous grazers that consume algae, biofilm, and decaying plant matter. Supplement their diet with blanched vegetables (zucchini, spinach, lettuce) and quality algae wafers. Provide calcium-rich foods or calcium supplements to maintain shell health and prevent shell erosion.
Behavior
These snails are active grazers, spending most of their time on substrate and surfaces consuming algae and biofilm. They are nocturnal and more active during evening hours, though they may graze throughout the day. They are completely harmless to plants and fish, making them ideal for community and planted tanks.
Breeding
Orange Track Snails are dioecious (separate sexes) and lay small clusters of eggs above the waterline on hard surfaces. Eggs hatch in freshwater without requiring brackish conditions, so populations can increase rapidly in established tanks. Excess snails can be manually removed or controlled through feeding management to prevent overpopulation.
Tank Mates
Both are peaceful algae eaters and detritivores with no competitive or predatory interactions
Peaceful invertebrates that share similar grazing habits and water parameter requirements
Small, peaceful fish that occupy mid-water column and do not prey on snails
Tiny, peaceful community fish that ignore snails and thrive in similar water conditions
Generally peaceful but may occasionally investigate snails; monitor for aggression
Bottom-dwelling catfish that share detritivore role without competing or predating on snails
Common Diseases
Shell Erosion / Calcium Deficiency
Pitted, thin, or crumbling shell; slow growth; shell becoming translucent or chalky
Increase water hardness (GH 6-12 dGH), add calcium supplements or cuttlebone, feed calcium-rich foods (blanched spinach, algae wafers with calcium), perform regular water changes
Copper Toxicity
Lethargy, withdrawal into shell, inability to move, death
Immediately remove snail from copper-contaminated water; perform large water changes; never use copper-based medications or fertilizers in snail tanks; use copper-free plant fertilizers only
Parasitic Infections (Flukes/Worms)
Excessive mucus production, shell damage, lethargy, refusing to feed, visible parasites on body
Quarantine affected snails; perform frequent water changes; use snail-safe treatments (avoid copper); improve water quality and tank cleanliness; remove decaying organic matter
Bacterial Shell Disease
Discoloration, pitting, or fuzzy growth on shell; foul odor from tank
Improve water quality through frequent water changes; increase aeration; remove decaying plant matter and uneaten food; maintain proper pH and hardness; ensure adequate calcium availability
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Quick Facts
- diet
- Herbivore/detritivore - grazes on algae, biofilm, decaying plant matter, and soft algae wafers
- lifespan
- 2-3 years
- max size
- 1.3 cm (0.5 in)
- tank size
- 5 gallons minimum
- temperament
- peaceful
Water it likes
- ph
- 6.5-7.5
- ammonia
- 0 ppm
- nitrate
- <20 ppm
- hardness
- 6-12 dGH
- temperature
- 72–82°F (22–28°C)