A long, glossy-black spike-shelled snail from Indo-Pacific estuaries, valued as a peaceful, hard-working algae and detritus grazer. It is best kept in slightly brackish water and will not reproduce in fresh aquaria (it is an amphidromous spawner whose larvae need brackish/marine water), so it poses no risk of overpopulating a tank.
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Indo-Pacific estuaries and mangroves (Southeast Asia)
Origin
Old World
Climate
🌴 Tropical
Water type
🌫️ Brackish
Family
Pachychilidae
Genus
Faunus
Part of the Freshwater crabs
Small crabs kept in aquariums and paludariums. Some, like the Thai micro crab, are fully aquatic, while many others (such as the red claw crab) are brackish and semi-terrestrial, needing both water and a dry land area to climb out and breathe air.
From the minimum an animal needs to be kept humanely, up to the ideal setup. Bigger is almost always better — minimums are floors, not targets.
Photo coming soon
Minimum
Juvenile spike snail terrarium
10 gal with 3–4 in substrate
Devil spike snails (Limicolaria spp.) are small fast-moving African land snails — coco-fibre + leaf-litter substrate, cuttlebone, humid bioactive setup, and fresh produce.
Photo coming soon
Recommended
Bioactive small-snail group
10–20 gal bioactive, 75–85% RH
Bioactive group enclosure with springtails, isopods, calcium-rich substrate, and varied produce. They are prolific breeders — restrict diet/temperature to limit clutches.
Photo coming soon
Ideal
Planted bioactive vivarium
20 gal+ planted bioactive
Planted bioactive vivarium with live plants, cleanup crew, and stable humidity. As with GALS, check local invasive-species laws before keeping.
Life & growth stages
How this animal changes through its life — each stage often has its own care, diet and space needs.
Photo coming soon
Larva
Most marine invertebrates hatch into microscopic planktonic larvae (such as the zoea of crustaceans or the bipinnaria/veliger of echinoderms and mollusks) that drift and feed in the water column. The larva looks nothing like the adult and undergoes major reorganization.
Photo coming soon
Juvenile
After settling out of the plankton, the juvenile takes on a recognizable miniature of the adult body plan — a tiny shell, a small star, or a translucent shrimp. Crustaceans grow by molting, shedding the exoskeleton to enlarge.
Adult
Adults reach full size and reproductive maturity with the species' mature shell, shape, or coloration. Many continue to molt or grow throughout life, and some show sex differences in size or claw/appendage shape.
Habitat & enclosure
Keep in a mature aquarium of 40 litres / 10 gallons or more with stable, well-oxygenated water and surfaces of algae and biofilm to graze. Although often sold for fresh water, Faunus ater is naturally an estuarine species and does best in slightly brackish conditions (specific gravity ~1.002-1.005); it tolerates hard, alkaline fresh water but tends to be longer-lived in brackish. Maintain 22-28 C, pH 7.0-8.0 and moderate to high hardness. Calcium-rich, alkaline water keeps the shell healthy; soft, acidic water erodes it. They graze glass, rock and wood and bury partly in soft substrate.
Substrate
Provide a soft sand or fine smooth-gravel substrate they can partly burrow into and sift for detritus, ideally with a calcium-buffering element (aragonite or crushed coral) to keep hardness and pH up. Avoid sharp gravel that can damage the foot.
Equipment & setup
Needs a heater (22-28 C), reliable filtration with good oxygenation, and for the recommended brackish setup, marine salt and a hydrometer/refractometer. A buffering substrate or crushed coral helps hold the alkaline, hard water that protects the shell. No special lighting is required, though it helps grow the algae they graze. A lid is wise as they can climb the glass.
Diet
Peaceful grazer feeding on algae, biofilm, detritus and leftover food. In an established tank it largely self-feeds, but supplement with algae wafers, blanched vegetables (courgette, spinach), and sinking pellets, especially when stocked in groups. They will not harm live plants. A cuttlebone or calcium supplement supports shell maintenance.
Behavior & temperament
Calm, slow and entirely non-aggressive — safe with fish, shrimp and plants, making it an excellent community clean-up animal. It grazes surfaces and sifts substrate, staying active by both day and night, though older individuals often bury and rest for long periods. There is no handling aspect; it is purely an aquatic display and cleanup species. Keep several together for a natural look, as they are gregarious and do no harm in numbers.
Health
The main health issue is shell erosion: soft or acidic, calcium-poor water pits and crumbles the spire, often leaving the tip eroded. Keep water hard and alkaline and provide calcium. They are sensitive to copper and to poor water quality (especially high ammonia/nitrite), and they breathe via a gill so need oxygenated, clean water — never use copper-based snail or fish treatments around them. Acclimatise slowly to avoid osmotic shock when moving between salinities.
Tips, DIY & hacks
Keep the water hard and alkaline and add a little marine salt for a brackish setup to maximise lifespan and prevent shell erosion. They cannot reproduce in fresh or simple home tanks (larvae require brackish/marine conditions), so they will never overpopulate — making them a safe, controllable algae crew. Avoid all copper medications, acclimatise slowly to salinity changes, and provide calcium to protect the long shell tip.
