What kind of freshwater snail do i have

This is the biggest about 0. Should I remove them or let them be? I live in Singapore, if that helps your I. Cheers and thank you so much for your time, Duncan.

They're basically harmless and feed on algae diatoms, primarily and organic detritus. Some people report damage to plants, but I have them in my planted tanks and they never seem to do any noticeable harm.

They do breed fairly quickly, laying jelly-like masses of eggs, but they rarely become plagues in the same way as Melanoides spp. I think they're rather fun to watch and add character to an aquarium. Unidentified Snail. This evening I was looking at my 20 gallon long planted tank when I saw a tiny snail on a piece of driftwood. I attached a photo. Do you know what it is? Amongst my purchases I had two hitch-hikers -- one baby Apple Snail and this little fella.

He is tiny -- no more than a couple of mm long. He is super active and speedy -- would circle a cup within 30 seconds and comes straight out of his shell within a second or two of popping him in the water. I would love your help trying to ID him before he gets too big in case he ends up being a pest would be far easier to get rid of one of him than say !

Oh, and I'm from Australia if that helps any. Snail eggs! Looking at the picture, yes, those are snail eggs. It seems these eggs should have been laid above the water line.

Maybe there wasn't enough room up there or maybe they fell, because they are in the bottom of the tank and the number of eggs has decreased, dramatically. Re: Help! I'll make sure we keep a lower water line so there is some space at the top of the tank for next time. I just saw your comments about omelets! He was purchased a local Pet Store 4 months ago or so.

See attached pics. He is active again at this point but not to the extent he was previously, before the altercation. He is not acting the same i. He used to cruise around in a speedy fashion on a regular basis. He is out of his shell somewhat, but not like before as you can see in the Pics.

Is that enough? It obviously was enough for the past few months but is it healthy for him to only eat that. What do you think he would prefer? How do I check the exact PH balance of my tank? Is he growing his own shell? Bob Fenner, on too-slow a conn. Your snail looks very healthy I know its has something to do with snails because I have had this in my fresh water tank as well only when I added snails to the tank , and I cant find any pics showing that they could be eggs.

Hope the pic is clear, took with webcam. Speedy Gonzales Snail. FW, ID, comp. I say the snail is a 'he' because I am thinking of 'him' that way. He's been around for about a week, and now I want to know how he contributes or not to my tank. He's small and hard to spot, and moves so fast that in 30 seconds he's on the other side of the bogwood.

Hence, I named him Speedy Gonzales. Questions are: 1 From the below photos, apologies for poor quality, can you tell me what type of snail he is? I'm guessing Ramshorn. I've seen no other signs of snails in my tank. He usually hangs out on the bogwood. I'd like to keep him, he's pretty cool so far.

As always, thank you so much! You could remove the one, keep it elsewhere Magic Snails, FW, sel. I have a 75g reef tank as well as a 30g freshwater tank. I've noticed over the past few weeks that I have dozens of what appear to be Cerith snails in my freshwater tank. They're useful, predominantly nocturnal snails that burrow through the sediment feeding on organic matter. They are livebearers, and can become very numerous if they find enough to eat -- a comment on the cleanliness of the tank more than anything else!

They don't do any harm, and numbers can be controlled by physical removal, trapping, cleaning the tank, or installation of a suitable predator such as the whelk Clea helena. I've let all of the ornamental fish complete their lifecycles, and I only have one Pleco and a few feeder fish for my fuzzy lion I'm weaning him off successfully, but he's taking his time. I've had a ton of Cerith eggs in my reef tank, is it possible that they hitchhiked on the net while in the plankton stage, and developed in my FW tank?

They don't tend to breed in freshwater tanks though, because their larvae need saltwater conditions to develop. This said, most snails sold for reef tanks will be stenohaline rather euryhaline species. Thanks for your help. Snails, horns? So please could you clear up this question for me. Not sure what you mean by "horns". Clearly not the keratin structures specific to certain mammals, such as goats and cows! But if you mean antennae or "feelers" then snails have varying numbers of these, depending on the type of snail in question.

Most snails have at least one pair, but these may be very short and little more than triangular stubs as in the case of Physa spp. But other snails have long, mobile antennae that they use to locate food and find their way around. Apple snails family Ampullariidae not only have antennae but also eyes at the end of eye-stalks and a single long breathing tube called a siphon that they use to gulp air while remaining under water. Molluscs don't have horns, period.

They may well have eyestalks and antennae, but that's about it. Slimy brown worms are back! Remember me? Usually when I hear people mention "slimy, sticky worms" I think of my brother-in-law, but I do remember you and your infestation. I realized a few days after I sent the first email that they look a lot like slugs. I took a picture, do you think these are coming from the tank water?

To me, it looks like a run of the mill garden slug except being much darker brown than we usually see. So while it's possible that the slugs came from the lawn or the garden Slugs need a lot of moisture to survive, Samantha, so try dumping your water somewhere else for a while -- let's see if drying out the back yard a bit sends the slugs away.

Am I correct that it is a red-ear slider? Tiny water snail? It was never identified and I was wondering if you could satisfy my curiosity as to what type of snail this is; or if it is a snail at all.

The original poster stated that it was found on the remains of a muskrat along a creek bed. Thank you in advance for any help you can provide. Certainly doesn't look like a snail. What's the size of the thing? Did it move? Was it "hard" or "soft"?

Tom: Limpets? Somewhere along the way I accidentally introduced what I thought were common pond snails to my aquarium. I do have live plants but I removed as many snails as I saw and quarantined the plants as well. No more snails showed up, so I put the plants in the tank.

I certainly could've missed one though. They appeared after I added the mystery snail, so one could've come in on his shell. Eggs might be easily missed as well. They've been hanging out on the tank walls wherever there's algae, and on the leaves of the plants. I couldn't find much information on their diet--what I did find was that they eat algae, fungus, and bacterial slime.

Sounds great. My plants aren't the focus of my tank, but I would like to at least keep them alive, and the leaves have been looking ratty lately. Think the limpets are the culprits? I'd like to think the limpets are just eating bits of algae off the plant leaves If anything, they might be making a meal of the plants due to their condition rather than creating the condition. I'm certainly no authority on either but I've run across information that suggests that plants that are 'ratty' would be far more enticing to these than healthy plants would be.

Rotting vegetation would be more to their liking. They're so tiny and they move so quickly I can hardly describe them myself, much less get a picture--just little tiny spheres zipping around. They seem to be a brownish color. I'm betting they're some kind of harmless freshwater pod, but is there any chance they'll munch on my fish? Enjoy the rest of the 'Season'. I really appreciate having a second opinion from someone so much more knowledgeable than me!

A few shrimp breeders have reported seeing Assassin snails eating their valuable shrimp, but experts believe that this happens very rarely, and the victims are most likely weak or sickly. Assassin snails are known to breed in captivity. They are gonochoristic, so if you want to breed them, you should start with at least 5 or 6 to make sure you have males and females.

Reproduction is slow because females only lay 1 to 4 eggs at a time. Eggs are transparent and difficult to see, hatching out in 8 to 9 weeks, depending on temperature. Ramshorn snails have been in the aquarium hobby longer than almost any other type of snail. Some aquarists use them to help keep fry-rearing or shrimp tanks clean, while others consider them a pest that should be eliminated at any cost. They are great at eating soft algae, dead plant matter and leftover food, but they can multiply quickly, especially in aquariums that have a lot of organic debris.

They are also known to eat soft-leafed plants when food is scarce. The two most common species in the aquarium trade are , the Red Ramshorn and Planorbarius corneus , a larger species known as the Great Ramshorn. Red Ramshorns are red, as their name suggests, while Great Ramshorns are typically olive-yellow to brown, with stripes on the shell. Other variants, such as pink, yellow or blue are also available. Ramshorns are air-breathers, making it necessary for them to come to the surface to breathe.

Great Ramshorn snails are usually introduced intentionally into aquariums to control algae and help keep the tank clean, but Red Ramshorns often appear spontaneously. More often than not, tiny individuals or eggs sneak in on live plants, rocks, driftwood, ornaments and even gravel transferred from one aquarium to another. A sudden population explosion is often a result of detritus and organic waste building up in the aquarium.

Depending on your outlook, these small, cone-shaped snails can be the best scavenger known to aquarium keeping or the most despised creature on earth. To be sure, they are prolific.

They are parthenogenetic — not hermaphroditic — meaning females can give birth to more females without requiring contact with a male. In short, one tiny hitch-hiking female is all it takes to get things going, and they are virtually impossible to get rid of once they enter your aquarium.

On the positive side, MTS forage in the substrate by day, keeping it aerated and breaking down any organic debris and waste that accumulates there, preventing anaerobic conditions which can release deadly hydrogen sulfide gas from developing. Plus, they won't eat your plants. For these reasons, they make excellent scavengers for planted aquariums, shrimp tanks and aquariums that are heavily stocked or fed generously. That is comforting if you like natural methods, but for some folks, seeing that many snails in a tank or watching your gravel actually "move" is, well…….

It is pretty much impossible to eradicate MTS entirely once they are in your aquarium but cutting back on feeding and vacuuming the substrate regularly will deprive these snails of their food source and keep their numbers down. Several species fall under the term "pond snails". To some hobbyists they are a valued scavenger, while others consider them a pest. Most grow to an inch or less and are olive-green to speckled brown in color. They are omnivores, feeding on algae, dead plant material, detritus and uneaten fish food.

They usually do not bother live plants, but they are known to reproduce rapidly when an ample food supply is present. Pond snails can be kept with peaceful community fish and make great scavengers in shrimp tanks.

To prevent populations from getting out of control, keep organic debris to a minimum by doing regular water changes, vacuuming debris and feeding sparingly. Snails are not very fussy when it comes to their water parameters, but it is important to maintain healthy conditions in their aquarium by feeding sparingly, doing regular water changes and maintaining good filtration.

Test water chemistry regularly to make sure you are providing the right conditions for all your aquatic pets. Snails naturally feed on algae, dead plant matter and bits of fish food that fall to the bottom, but they can also be fed Aqueon Algae Rounds and Bottom Feeder Tablets. Calcium is necessary for growing and maintaining healthy shells.

Assassin Snails: Hobbyists often keep Assassin Snails in their freshwater tanks to help keep populations of other snails in check. Gold Inca Snails can be good tank cleaners.

Their bright yellow shells can add an accent color to a tank especially against green plants or a black background. Gold Inca Snails can be ferocious eaters. They are always on the prowl for a bite to eat and are very interested in soft algae buildup on hard surfaces. These freshwater snails also like supplements of bottom feeder tablets, pellets, fish flakes and algae wafers, as well as some types of blanched green vegetables.

Some Gold Inca Snails may also be interested in eating live aquarium plants much to the chagrin of hobbyists. Ivory Snails: With their creamy white colored shells, Ivory Snails are another type of freshwater snail that can work well in a community tank. Like Gold Inca Snails, Ivory Snails like to scavenge the tank for uneaten food, dead or decaying plant matter and soft algae on hard surfaces.

Ivory Snails may also be interested in eating supplements of nearly any kind including fish flakes, algae wafers, tablets, pellets and even some blanched green and leafy vegetables. Calm, peaceful and non-aggressive in temperament, a Japanese Trapdoor Snail can spend hours on end scouring the tank for uneaten food, debris and soft algae.

Mystery Snails: One of the most readily available freshwater snails in pet stores are Mystery Snails. These freshwater snails have shells that are generally on the dark side, with light brown and dark brown accent colors and stripes. Other Mystery Snail shells can be ivory white. The color patterns of Mystery Snails shells are unique and nearly limitless.

This comes from their ability to quickly reproduce and take over a tank if left unchecked. This species is low-maintenance and easy to care for. A strong filter can easily suck them in not good. Out of all the types of aquarium snails, this might be the most underrated. Their shell is shaped like a swirl of frosting and usually has three distinct whorls.

The size of this species can vary greatly, with their length running somewhere between half an inch and two inches genetics and the quality of their care will impact this.

They also have the potential to live longer than a lot of other snails. Japanese Trapdoor Snails are quite active at all times even night. This makes them great for aquarists who want a spectator-friendly snail. Despite their small size, this species does a great job of cleaning the tank too. For some reason, a lot of people consider other species when they want to make an impact on algae. Pond Snails refer to a broad collection of species with the Ramshorn being one of the most popular types more on them below.

Even though we spent this guide looking at individual species, we thought it would be a good idea to address this bunch. Pond Snails are extremely common and can be found pretty much anywhere. In our opinion, the Ramshorn is one of the best aquarium snails out there and there are plenty of other Pond species that are worthwhile too. The most important thing to remember when trying to maintain control of their population is to keep an eye out for eggs.

After all, experimenting with different creatures is part of what makes having an aquarium so fun in the first place. By adding some variety to your tank with any of the freshwater snails on our list, your tank will take on a whole new dynamic. Millie is a passionate aquarist who caught the fishkeeping bug in high school and has been addicted ever since. Aquarium Source. R Resources. Table of Contents Our Favorite Types 1.

Mystery Snail 2. Nerite Snail 3.