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Living Materials
Information
Snails
(Physa gyrina)
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Materials |
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1 holding pail filled with conditioned water |
Procedure
When the snails arrive, open the shipping container immediately to check their condition. The container
also holds some
Elodea. You should find the snails on or around the Elodea. Because
the snails may have contaminated the environment close to the limits of their
endurance during shipping, it is important to see to their needs immediately.
Rinse off the snails in some of the extra conditioned water you have kept on hand in the classroom. Then place them in the holding pail until you
distribute them to the class.
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Snails |
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Note: It is strongly recommended that you teach Lessons 7 and 8 very soon after the arrival of the animals.
Provide an ample supply of food—2 pinches of fish food and a few sprigs of Elodea. This will probably be enough
for about a week.
Remove any dead snails. Sometimes it is hard to tell if a snail is dead or alive. If
a snail floats for a long time or just lies on the bottom of the pail, pick it up. If it retracts into its shell, you
know it's still alive. (See Appendix B in the
Organisms Teacher's Guide for information on discussing birth and death.)
If you must hold the snails for more than a week before using them in Lesson 7,
do the following at the end of the week:
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Pour off most of the dirty water and replace it with an equal amount of room-temperature conditioned water. |
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Replenish the food supply. |
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Remove any dead snails. |
Note: Most of the organisms you receive should be in good condition.
However, it is possible that some may arrive damaged or dead. If this happens, contact your supplier immediately.
Maintaining the snails in the classroom
Once added to the aquaria, the snails have everything they need to live.
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