Influence of diet on breeding and infectivity in mass cultivation of Biomphalaria glabrata.

Under well defined laboratory conditions as troughs, room temperature, humidity, water and air supply Biomphalaria glabrata was bred and kept. In feeding trials powder of pellets for mice and commercial fish food were used as high protein diet in comparison to poor protein diet consisting of lettuce only. The high protein diet resulted in more clutches and eggs per snail than the lettuce diet. Also the yield of cercariae in the rish protein group was much higher than in the group fed on on lettuce alone. The optimal amount of snails could be obtained by feeding pellet powder, fish food and lettuce.