Snail - Vittina waigiensis - Red Racer Snail

The Red Racing Snail (Vittina waigiensis) is a beautiful and practical snail species that serves as both a decorative element and a useful inhabitant in aquariums. It originates from Southeast Asia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, and its name comes from its distinctive shell color, which ranges from orange to red, adorned with black stripes or zigzags.

The Red Racing Snail measures between 1.5 to 2 cm, making it well-suited for smaller aquariums. Due to its algae-eating nature, it enthusiastically consumes green and brown algae but does not harm plants, making it an ideal resident of a planted aquarium. It lays eggs, but these do not hatch under aquarium conditions, so there is no need to worry about unwanted overpopulation.

The Red Racing Snail is peaceful by nature, coexisting well with fish, shrimp, and other snails, but it is essential not to keep them with snail-eating fish. Its porcelain-hard shell and its door (operculum) provide protection against snail-eating snails.

The ideal aquarium environment is a minimum 30-liter tank, where the water temperature is between 18-27 °C, the pH level is between 7-8, and the water hardness is between 8-15 NK°. In terms of nutrition, while it primarily eats algae, you can also provide fish food or other plant-based feed.

Overall, the Red Racing Snail is a visually pleasing and beneficial inhabitant of aquariums, contributing to the cleanliness and coloration of the water.