Overview of Freshwater Aquarium Snails
Many fish keepers enjoy adding aquarium snails to their tanks. But will the snails be safe in your aquarium?
Considering adding aquarium snails to your tanks? The first thing you need to know is whether you have fish that will eat your snails, or if the snails will be safe in your aquarium. If you deem your aquarium safe for freshwater snails, consider the following varieties.
Ramshorn Snails
Ramshorn aquarium snails are so called because of the flat, spiral shape of their shells. These freshwater aquarium snails come in black, red, and spotted varieties. They reproduce fairly quickly. This aquarium snail prefers to eat plant life and algae in your freshwater fish tank.
Apple Snails
Apple snails are one of the most popular freshwater aquarium snails. They come in yellow and black color types. These freshwater snails also eat plant food and will help keep algae growth down in your fish tank. Apple snails are very large varieties that can reach up to two inches in diameter.
Pond Snails
Pond snails are often called by other names in the aquarium store. They have elongated shells and reproduce rapidly. They often hitchhike into your aquarium on plants purchased from pet stores. These freshwater aquarium snails can eat all plant life in an aquarium.
Trumpet Snails
Trumpet snails are freshwater aquarium snails that are truly beneficial to the aquarium. They eat fish food and debris that falls to the bottom of the tank, and also eats algae. Trumpet snails are nocturnal and usually hide during the day or when the aquarium lights are on.
Why Add Freshwater Aquarium Snails to Your Fish Tank?
Freshwater aquarium snails do a variety of things in your fish tank. First, they add interest to an aquarium otherwise populated by fish. Freshwater snail shells can be very attractive.
There is also a practical benefit to keeping freshwater aquarium snails. Many eat algae or excessive fish food in the tank. This debris can otherwise cause health issues if left on the substrate.
Fish that Eat Freshwater Aquarium Snails
Several fish are notorious freshwater aquarium snail enemies. These fish can be helpful if your snail reproduces too rapidly, a common complaint of aquarium keepers. However, too many of these fish will decimate the aquarium snail population.
The fish include: loaches, catfish, puffers, goldfish, bettas, and barbs.
Adding freshwater aquarium snails to your fish tank can add extra interest. Snails can also eat algae and extra fish food and thus help to keep your aquarium clean. Aquarium snails are also entertaining and visually interesting.
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Comments: 8 | Post a CommentPost a Comment
lucy | Sep 27, 2008 | Reply
i found this very helpfull, thank you.
zaim95 | Apr 15, 2009 | Reply
i had 1 snail during my first week of setting up my tanks (which i not really intend to have at the first place) i believe the snail was brought into my tank together with the plant which i purchase & now it had become 5 snail within 2 week & there is more babies snail..what shoul i do? my tank do have a few live plant will the snail destroy my plant.
thefuzzyslippers | Oct 24, 2009 | Reply
if i want a simple aquarium that wont really require any care, if i merely get two snails will it become a problem with their rapid reproduction rate? and what kinda of snails can i get that will not eat the plants or pose as a problem if i have more than one?
i want to start a small 10 gallon freshwater aquarium tank..
John Emmanuel | Oct 31, 2009 | Reply
i had an unexpected outbursts of snail population in may fish tank, i dont remember introducing any snails in my tank, they just sprung out of nowhere. and they are just too many. they are quite small to be called an ornamental snail, they measure about a few millimeters. what are these, really?….im afraid to touch them, but the fishes dont seem to mind them at all. i have adult mollies and swordtails in my tank…..what are they?
Sara | Nov 6, 2009 | Reply
Thanks for saying bettas kill snails! I’ve never found any info to back this up, but I’m always telling people on fish forums not to mix their snails with bettas! Mine always got murdered by the bettas, and one betta would even break up snail egg nests!
Arvey | Sep 6, 2010 | Reply
Wen I set up my 5 gallon tank, , suddenly there was a very small snail. I don’t but they just com off from the java moss. Wat snail is that n it’s small like….ant
Russ | Nov 7, 2010 | Reply
Nerite Snails cannot reproduce in freshwater and don’t grow overly large so you can get a number of them. They come in several shell varieties as well.
Miguel | Feb 16, 2011 | Reply
The most common “piggy backing” snail is the trumpet snail (emmanuel mentioned it being very tiny and coming out of nowhere). If you bought any sort of plant (or anything coming from another aquarium that might of had snails) you may have picked it up in the form of eggs which are the tiny tiny snails you now see. Trumpet snails are actually quite beneficial if you have fish as they feed mainly within the substrate helping keep your tank clean. The lettuce method works well as mentioned in the article to help control population or get yourself a loach….also you may be helping the snail population grow really rapidly if you overfeed as the left over decaying matter at the bottom of the tank is prime mealtime for the snails. Some snails do not require both sexes to be present to reproduce (i forget if it is a dimorphism phenomenon or not or how it works….as in some fish that can change sexes if one sex is overwhelming the population). Even more interestingly you can keep a species specific tank and keep PUFFER FISH! yes, these fish actually enjoy dining on snails (their small teeth are meant for eating crustaceans and they need to use them to file them down, otherwise they can overgrow and prevent the puffer from feeding thus leading to death). In anycase, if is a trumpet snail (look up a picture) then you dont have much to worry about as it can be beneficial. Anything other than that can eat through your plant matter and you may need to keep in check. I NEVER suggest introducing chemicals into your aquarium as it can stress the present population even if it isnt intended for it……THERE ARE ALWAYS natural and safer alternatives.