Whether you want them or not, the odds are at some point that snails are going to show up in your aquarium. And usually it won’t just be one or two small snails. In most cases, they’ll appear like an Old Testament, Biblical plague, and cover your aquarium in a blanket of plant munching gastropods.
The good news is that not all snails are created equal. Several species of the more commonly found aquarium snails are actually beneficial to an aquarium – as long as you can live with the somewhat unsightly masses of them clinging to your ornaments and glass.
On the other end of the spectrum are the major pest snails – the ones that will devour a carefully planted aquarium like a plague of locusts. These are the snails that can ruin a carefully aquascaped aquarium in a matter of weeks.
Below is a list of the more commonly found aquarium snails, which will help you identify any hitchhikers that make their way into your tank.
Pond Snail – You would be hard pressed to find anyone who actually wants pond snails in their aquarium (unless they are breeding them for Dwarf Puffers or other similar fish). While they may serve some purpose in outdoor ponds, they are considered one of the worst pests in home aquariums.
Pond snails are hermaphrodites, and in small numbers, are capable of self fertilization. So if even one pond snail manages to make its way into your aquarium, you will soon be dealing with hundreds – if not thousands of these snails.
And if dealing with hordes of these snails isn’t bad enough, they love to eat plants. So once their numbers reach critical mass, they will will start to eat every plant in sight.
The term “pond snail” actually refers to several different species, and their sizes can vary greatly. Greater pond snails can grow up to 2.5 inches (7 cm), and have an elongated spire, while lesser pond snails can be as small as 0.11 inches (3 mm). Regardless of the species, they are all pests and should be removed as soon as possible.
Ramshorn Snail – Ramshorn snails are considered a moderate pest, though there are many people who appreciate the look of their colorful shells.
Like pond snails, they are hermaphrodites and breed prolifically. Once introduced to an aquarium, they are nearly impossible to eradicate. However, they rarely eat plants, and seem to focus more on algae and leftover fish food. Their numbers can be controlled by ensuring that you don’t over feed your fish.
The name ramshorn snail actually encompasses numerous species, and they may range in size from a 0.11 inches (3 mm), to 1.25 inches (3 cm). The colors also vary wildly, and you may find some with nearly translucent shells, while others have almost completely black shells. Brown and red shells seem to be the most commonly found colors though.
Malaysian Trumpet Snail – The Malaysian trumpet snails are a boon to some, and a pest to others. Many aquarists (myself included) swear by this snail, and include it in nearly all of their aquariums.
The reasons that many people actively culture this snail in their aquariums are simple – they devour algae, and perhaps more importantly, they aerate the substrate. This is very important if you use a substrate like sand, since deadly anaerobic pockets can build up if the substrate isn’t regularly aerated.
But it’s also easy to see why many people consider this snail to be pest. They almost seem to be born pregnant, and due to the fact that they burrow and hide in the substrate, it is almost impossible to ever remove this snail from an aquarium once it has become established.
Assassin Snails – These are a relative newcomer to the aquarium scene, and like the name implies they prey on other snails. While many people would be more than happy to have this hitchhiker in their fish tank, it can wreak havoc on established snail populations.
Thankfully this snail reproduces sexually, so there needs to be both a male and a female in the tank. Also, they reproduce relatively slowly, so if they are caught early enough, you can usually remove them from the tank.
However, they are capable of burrowing into the substrate, so even if you think that the problem is under control, there may still be a number of them hiding and reproducing in the aquarium.
Hey Robert,
Loved your article as it is very informative and detailed. What about Horned Snails and Apple Snails. Are they beneficial or harmful?
Regards,
Theo
I’m glad that you enjoyed it Theo. Apple snails aren’t really beneficial, and some species can be quite destruction to plants. With that being said, they still make an attractive addition to aquariums, and I’ve kept them on and off for years now. I find that if you keep them well fed, then they only tend to be a danger to really delicate plants.
As for nerite (horned snails), they are a great addition to almost an aquarium. They eat vast quantities of algae, leave plants alone, and are still relatively attractive to look at. Plus they don’t reproduce in freshwater, so their numbers are easy to control.
Trying to find out what kind of snail I have can you help me
Of course. Do you have any pictures? You can e-mail them to me at admin@aquariumtidings.com. Or you can upload them to an image site, and post the link in the comments – whatever is easiest for you. Then I can tell you what kind of fish you have.
I have one I would love o identify. Someone just gave it to us. My husband put it in a new aquarium and it hit bottom and shell cracked. I have no idea how bad also we have no food for it what do we feed it.
How bad is the crack? Can you take a picture of the snail and send it to admin@aquariumtidings.com?
My fresh water tank is infested with little white trumpet like snails! They were neat at first but now they out of control! What kind are they and will they bother my loaches or placostamus?
They should be fine if they’re Malaysian trumpet snails, and most of them will eventually move into the substrate during the day. Assuming they are trumpet snails, they don’t bother fish, and actually help benefit a aquarium by eating algae and keeping the substrate stirred up.
The best way to control them is to reduce feeding, though you can also go a little bit further and start removing them.
Hi Robert, I have a Helix pomatia, thinking it was an aquatic snail but found out differently later. Can you tell me please what this snail eats? How do I take care of this now?
Thanks so much.
Sandy
Hello Sandy. Unfortunately. I don’t know much about keeping terrestrial snails. I do know they need a humid environment, so they may be difficult to keep indoors. I wish I could help more.
hi, i have several different types of snails in my tank, and something is eating up all of my plants. i know i have the malaysian trumpet snail which i introduced, and everywhere i read, they say they are safe for plants. and i also have 2 smaller species thtat have shells that go to a upraised point on back of their shell that i dont know what they are. if i took pics, can someone help i.d. them for me ? thanks for your help.
They’re probably pond snails, which are notorious for eating plants.
You can e-mail them to me at admin@aquariumtidings.com, and I’ll do my best to identify them for you.
I like that this article is well detailed and informative but there are still LOTS of other snails to identity. There’s nerite and which require a special breeding habitat, ivory, trapdoor, gold Incas which are just big mystery snails. I have all of the snails described in this article and all are quite hardy the only exception being the gold Inca. I had a cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) outbreak and my gold Incas ate it and now they’re acting out of the ordinary staying closed. Thankfully they layed a few egg sacs before the outbreak, so I will have more to come. Other than that I just think the article could use some more snails to identity.
I was mainly trying to cover the hitchhiker snails that often mysteriously appear in an aquarium. Most of the ones you describe have to be specifically purchased, but it’s a good to cover apple and mystery snails in another article in the near future. I’ll definitely post that when I get the time.
HI I HAVE FOUND SOME SNAILS CAN U HELP ME TO IDENTIFIED THEM THNKS
I’d be happy to help. Can you take pictures of them and send it to admin@aquariumtidings.com
If you can’t send pictures, can you describe their shells?
My snails were none of these.
what do they look like?
hi plz can u help me to identify some snails i found near my house
Of course. Can you send me some pictures at admin@aquariumtidings.com?
Hi i have sent you pictures of snails but you did not reply
thanks, great info. I breed pond snails myself and usually ask around for them to feed to my dwarf/pea puffer >:D
I do the same thing. I used to have a really big bin where I cultured blackworms and snails.
Hi, I have some tiny snails in my tank that appeared soon after I put a plant into my tank, can you help identify them?should I get rid of them or care for them?they look very much like the snails I purchased for my tank but I’m worried they will eat all my plants?
Do you have any pictures?
You can e-mail them to admin@aquariumtidings.com
Thank you, I have just emailed you a couple
I have 2 blue mystery snails in a tank, and suddenly I found 3or 4 baby snails. I looked around and never found the little sack/egg thing they lay, and I’d brought a new plant in about a month or so previous to finding these little guys(It was a small plant and I visually checked it, but who knows) . I can’t seem to figure out if they’re baby mystery snails or just some kind of hitchhiking snail. Is there some identifying mark I can look for to know for sure? – by the way the little guys look a similar color, but the spiral of the mystery snails comes to a shallow point on their right, whereas the babies spiral stays in the center, not protruding off to a side at all, if this helps. I’m not sure if this is just age or a clear indication of different species…
What snail is this
Hey I have a weird snail in my tank but I have not got any thing new in my tank lately could you help with that ?
It has just a straight black shell no horn or patterns
Can you e-mail me a picture? admin@aquariumtidings.com
IRecently tried to email you about a snail that I’m worried about that could reproduce quickly and your email says it’s not a correct or usable email
Can you help me identify a baby snail? I can send the picture to your email if you want. Please and thank you.
Im not sure if you’re still active on this blog, but i just bought a snail yesterday, i know its weird to just want some snails but i am having a very hard time figuring out what kind he is.. i feel so uneducated.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting some snails – they’re fascinating little creatures. Do you have any pictures of it?
You can send me pics at info@aquariumtidings.com, or if you can describe it, I can probably tell you what species it is.
As a note: Bladder Snails (Physidae) look a LOT like Pond snails (Lymnaeidae), but in my experience bladder snails don’t eat live plants, just dead leaves, algae, and dead-anything-else.
Bladder snails have a left turning shell, and antennae that tend to be really thin like hairs.
Pond snails have a right turning shell and much thicker, almost triangular antennae (Like the one you have pictured)
Hi,
I have a 65 gallon aquarium that has a bad case of lesser pond snails.
The thing is, they do a great job of keeping the aquarium clean so I don’t want them gone. I would like to control their population, though. I just put two Assassin snails in, but I’m afraid that they will overpopulate, too.
Any suggestions?
In my experience, the assassin snails will eventually completely wipe out any snail populations. If you want to control snail populations, a good way is to put a lettuce leaf overnight. Then in the morning before turning on the aquarium lights, remove the lettuce leaf and any snails on it.
Hi I was wondering if smaller pond snails would work as a food source for my eightball puffer?
Are you considering one you raise yourself or ones you find in the wild? If you raise them yourself they should work fine, but I would never introduce snails from the wild into an aquarium. It’s far too easy to get hitchhikers and parasites from ponds and rivers.
Alright, thank you
Just bought 4 snails from the local pet store to help control our debris and algae in the tank. But we don’t know what type they are and we aren’t ever off work in time to call the pet store could you maybe help identify them.
P.s we think one escaped or is hiding very well down to 3 now until we find it
Can you describe them or perhaps send me a picture?
I believe i have pond snails in my aquarium, should i get rid of them as they show up in my aquarium?
It’s really up to you. Many people hate the look of pond snails, so they do everything in their power to remove them. I, personally, don’t mind them, as some fish feed on them and the snails clean up any uneaten food. The problem with pond snails though, is that they reproduce incredibly fast. A few snails can quickly overrun an aquarium if there are no predators and if you overfeed your fish even slightly.
The best advice is probably to try and keep their numbers under control, as once established, they’re almost impossible to remove.
Hello,
We inherited an aquarium complete with fish and snails when we moved into our house.
However, I’m not entirely sure what type of snails they are. They don’t seem to bug the plants and have helped with cleaning the tank, but I’m just curious. Anyway you could help identify them?
Hi – happily stumbled onto your site! I have a bunch of what looks like Malaysian Trumpet snails in my 55 gallon planted tank (the majority are on the back of the aquarium glass). I just added 10 assassin snails ( 3 days ago), but so far, no assassinating. Should I be concerned about the assassins not eating? I have a gravel substrate. Are they still able to burrow?
Don’t worry, they’ll start ‘assassinating’ very soon. I recently used some of those to clear out a large tank with at least 200 Malaysian trumpet snails. It’s often hard to notice them doing their work until empty shells start showing up. And with that number of snails, you may need to supplement their diet, as they will go through that number of snails pretty quickly.
Hi can you help me identify what snails these are