Ramshorn Snail

Description

Price is per snail. You will receive one unsexed snail, size may vary between 1-2 cm depending what we have available at the time of your order.

The ramshorn snail or ram’s horn snail is a freshwater snail whose shell is planispiral, meaning that the shell is a flat coil. Such shells resemble a coil of rope, or (as the name suggests) a ram’s horn. In a more general natural history context, the term “ramshorn snails” is used more precisely to mean those aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Planorbidae that have planispiral coiled shells. They only grow to around 2 – 3cm in size and will not breed prolifically unless they have an unlimited food source.

Keeping Ramshorn snails as pets can be a fun and exciting addition to your community tank or even a tank specifically designed for shrimp or snails. These snails have a great ability to keep your tank clean by munching on leftover food, decaying plants, debris, and soft algae that tend to build up on hard surfaces.

Ramshorn snails are quite fascinating to aquarists and can bring a lot of interest to your tank. They can spend hours scavenging for food, using their rubber-like bodies to move gracefully among thin leaves, dangling from stems, and reaching out as they explore different surfaces. With baby Ramshorn snails, you can even see inside their bodies as they eat, thanks to their thin and translucent shells.

Snails are beneficial to any aquarium. They play a vital role in the ecosystem with their ability to break down excess waste into something that is easier for your beneficial bacteria (and even shrimp) to consume. People often misunderstand snails and see them as ‘pests’ because in dirty, over-fed tanks snails will reproduce rapidly. In a well maintained tank they will not over-populate. People also think all snails eat plants, because they see a snail eating a plant leaf, when in fact the chances are your plant (or part of it) was dying off and the snails were doing you a favour by getting rid of it. Most snails only eat decaying matter – it is important you know which snails you are keeping and their role in your tank.