Name: Ốc Sula Mini Tylo Poso - Rabbit Snail - Tép Sulawesi
Brand: Jack Shrimp

Sulawesi Snail · Lake Poso

Tylomelania sp. "Mini"

Mini Tylo Poso Rabbit Snail

The smallest animal in our whole rabbit snail range: around 2–3 cm at maturity, with a short, strongly ribbed black shell. It is the only one in the group that genuinely suits a nano tank. The species, though, remains unidentified.

2–3 cm, the smallestGenuinely nano-friendlyNot identified to species

A rabbit snail is not a cleaning crew — it's a collector's animal, and it has to be kept like one.

— Jack Shrimp Farm

ORIGIN

Lake Poso, and the closest candidate name

No Tylomelania has ever been described under the name 'Mini'. If the 'Poso' part of the label is honest, the most sensible candidate is Tylomelania carbo — a genuine dwarf endemic to Lake Poso with a shell only 16.5 mm high, closest relative of T. toradjarum. That is our inference from size, not a published identification, so the label still reads Tylomelania sp. 'Mini'. Worth knowing too: a German retailer sells a 'Tylomelania mini Black' as T. towutica from the Malili system — so 'mini' is being used for at least two different animals.

DISTRIBUTION MAP

An ancient cradle

Sulawesi shrimp are endemic to a handful of ancient tectonic lakes — 1–4 million years old, among the oldest freshwater lakes on earth.

Lake MatanoHome of Cardinal & White Sock (C. dennerli)

Lake PosoHome of White Orchid, Blue Legs (C. “Poso”)

Towuti · MahalonaThe Malili lake system, linked by rivers

IDENTIFICATION

Identifying the Mini Tylo

📏Only 2–3 cmAdult size is roughly 2–3 cm, well under the 4–6 cm typical of trade rabbit snails. That size is the actual reason to buy this one.

🐚Short, heavily ribbed shellA short shell, black to dark brown, strongly sculptured with raised ribs. The upper whorls are usually bleached whitish by natural wear.

🔍Candidate: T. cf. carboT. carbo is a Lake Poso dwarf with a 16.5 mm shell — a better fit for a 'mini Poso' than any other described species. It remains an inference.

🏠The one nano optionLarge rabbit snails want 45–80 L or more. At 2–3 cm, this is the only realistic choice for a small tank with a properly alkaline substrate.

WATER

Ideal keeping conditions

26–30°

Temp C

7.5–8.5

100–200

TDS ppm

6–12

3–8

The Sulawesi lakes are hot and alkaline but genuinely SOFT — Matano measures 28.7°C, pH 8.5, GH 7, KH 5 and around 87 ppm TDS. So do not chase a very high GH: a stable alkaline pH and enough KH to buffer it are what matter. Stability still beats perfect numbers.

SHELL

KH is what keeps the shell intact. An eroded apex is completely normal on a wild-caught adult — the warning sign is fresh erosion or pitting at the NEW growth near the aperture, which means KH and minerals in the tank are dropping.

SPECIES DATA

Mini Tylo Poso data

Species data

Scientific name: Tylomelania sp. "Mini"
Identification confidence: Not identified to species
Closest candidate: Tylomelania cf. carbo (inferred)
Home lake: Poso (per the trade name)
Adult size: 2–3cm
Shell: Short, black, strongly ribbed

Wild species — natural profile

A wild-caught animal. Lake Poso is an entirely separate radiation, roughly 400 km from the Malili system, and the two share no species at all.

Origin: Lake Poso, Central Sulawesi — an ancient lake system completely separate from Malili. It holds 4 described Tylomelania species and around 10 more that have never been named.

Natural habitat: A warm, clear, mineral-poor ancient lake. Dedicated hydrochemistry for Poso is not openly published, so we keep it on the general Sulawesi lake parameters.

Behaviour & diet: Grazes biofilm and detritus from rock, wood and sediment. A small mouth means food has to be soft or slow-dissolving; a large hard pellet sits there for days.

Conservation: Tylomelania exists only on Sulawesi and is under pressure from mining, pollution and sedimentation. Stock is essentially all wild-caught; growing it on and breeding it helps.

Keeping note: Small does not mean easy: less body mass means less tolerance of swings than a big snail has. A nano tank needs a properly matured filter and small, regular water changes.

BREEDING & SHELL

Why rabbit snails stay rare

🍼Live-bearing, not egg-layingMales and females are separate animals; the female broods in a uterine pouch and releases one fully-shelled crawl-away juvenile.

1️⃣One baby at a timeAbout one juvenile per female every 4–6 weeks (broods hold 1–7). This is exactly why rabbit snails stay rare and expensive.

🐢Very slow growthRoughly a year and about 4 cm to reach maturity. Lifespan 1–3 years, with records up to 5.

🐚Shell & mineralsHold KH 3–8 and feed enough calcium. An eroded apex is normal; erosion on new shell growth is the alarm.

HYBRIDISATION

Different Tylomelania species DO hybridise in aquaria. If you want to keep a line pure for breeding, keep one species per tank. Mixed-species tanks are for display only.

FOOD & SET-UP

The matching set-up

COMMON MISTAKE

Rabbit snails are NOT an algae crew. They graze biofilm and detritus, they will not clear a nuisance-algae problem, and they must be fed. Keeping them 'to clean the tank' is the single most common reason they quietly starve over a few months.

FEEDING

Omnivorous, mostly biofilm, detritus and blanched vegetables. Add White Powder + Yellow Powder 2–3 times a week, plus blanched pumpkin or cucumber for growth. A Sula Sand substrate holds the alkaline pH long-term and gives the soft-sediment species somewhere to plough for detritus.