Ramshorn snails are a colorful addition to almost any aquarium, though most are introduced inadvertently. Their name comes from their planispiral shell, which resembles a coiled ram’s horn.
The term ramshorn snail in the aquarium trade actually encompasses two families of snails, and while most come from the Planorbidae family, there are also some from the Ampullariidae family. Because they share very common traits, most aquarists are comfortable classifying them under the broad name ‘ramshorn snail’.
They can come in several different colors, and their shells range from a shimmery translucent color, to red, brown and nearly black. Red shelled ramshorn snails were once very common in the aquarium trade, but they seem to have been mostly replaced by brown shelled snails in recent years.
Unlike many other snails, ramshorn snails do not breathe through gills. They have an organ that is referred to as a snail’s lung, which allows them to trap air in their shell and breathe underwater. Because they require air, they will often climb to the surface of the aquarium, or simply float up to refresh their air supply.
It’s very important to avoid any ramshorn snails raised in the wild. It it has been reported that if they are raised in a pond, they may carry parasitic flukes that can affect both humans and fish. If you do decide to add some outdoor snails to your aquarium, they should first be kept in quarantine for a least a month away from any fish. Since the flukes require an intermediary to breed, they should be parasite free after about a month.
Unfortunately, many people’s first experience with ramshorns snails is as a pest in their aquarium. They often hitchhike into a fish tank on live plants, or on aquarium accessories that are transferred from tank to tank.
If there is an abundant supply of food in the aquarium, they can quickly breed out of control. For ideas on how to control the snail population in your aquarium, you can read the Aquarium Tidings article, How to Control Aquarium Snails.
However, if the population is managed, they are excellent aquarium cleaners. They will consume dead plant matter, uneaten food, and algae in the aquarium.
Housing
Ramshorn snails will thrive in nearly any size aquarium that can comfortably house fish. Since almost no one ever sets up a tank specifically for these snails, there isn’t really a recommended tank size for them. As long as the aquarium is heated and filtered, it should be sufficient for these snails.
Unlike the more destructive varieties of pest snails, they tend to do little damage to live plants. With that being said, if they exist in sufficient numbers, and their tank contains some of the more delicate plant species (Cabomba, Anarcharis, Water Sprite), you may begin to see some damage to the plant leaves. Some species have also been reported to eat more hardy plants, though it is hard to determine which species to avoid.
If you are actively trying to keep these snails in your aquarium, then you should avoid any fish that prey on snails. Ramshorns are very susceptible to predation, since they don’t breed as fast as pond snails, and can’t hide in the substrate like Malaysian trumpet snails. Most loaches, bettas, dwarf puffer fish, and assassin snails should be avoided if you’re trying to keep ramshorn snails.
Breeding
It’s not difficult to get ramshorn snails to breed – it’s difficult to get them to stop. If sufficient food is available, they will breed almost continuously. They are hermaphroditic, so any two snails can quickly populate an aquarium. If left to their own devices, they will completely overrun an aquarium.
Ramshorn snails lay eggs in small brownish clusters. Each ball of eggs will contain around ten to twelve eggs, though it tends to vary from snail to snail. If you can spot the tiny egg clusters, you will be able to see the snails develop through the translucent eggs. The eggs will hatch in two to five weeks, and the temperature of the tank influences the incubation time. Newborn snails are mostly white, and will begin to take on color after a few weeks.
Giant Ramshorn Snails
These snails should not be confused with the ramshorn snails discussed in this article. They are a species of apple snails and will grow to very large sizes in an aquarium. They will also prey on the smaller ramshorn snails and can be extremely destructive towards plants.
Hi Robert I had many baby snail come out of their eggs and it has been about a week now and I haven’t see any more snails. Do you know what could have happened to them. Also will I need to provide the new snails with shells
A few things could have happened. Many fish eat ramshorn snails, so they may have been eaten. But more likely, they’ve dispersed through the aquarium and are likely hiding. Although they can sometimes run into problems if you have very soft water.
And you don’t have to provide them with shells. As long as the water is moderately hard, with a basic pH, they should thrive in most aquariums.
They love to hide inside ur filters
I got 3 snails and 1 baby snail from a local pond, reading this made me realize that it’s bad to house them, but I decided to keep them my fish are very hardy and lived without a filter for a long time. So 1 is lively and 2 I haven’t seen move and I think they may be dead I’m not sure if I’m giving them brought food, please help
If they’re not moving, they are most definitely dead. While some species like trapdoor snails can be somewhat immobile, ramshorn snails regularly move around in the aquarium. Also, be careful getting anything from the pond. There could be dangerous hitchhikers (for you and the fish) on the snails, and there could be many dangerous organisms in the water. I had an annoying outbreak of water hydra early in my fishkeeping days, and it was a pain to eradicate them.
Somtimes snail can sleep for a long time. So if you wanna know if its dead smell its shell if it has a rotting smell its dead. Another thing you can do is gently turn it upside down and sniff the body inside the shell if both smell fine your snail could just be sleeping if only 1 of the 2 smells weird i would say try smelling your snail everyday almost. Snails rot really fast so that smell sould start is they are dead for more than 2 days.
Hi!
We had some ramshorn snails that were in a 1 gallon aquarium with a dwarf aquatic frog. They cleaned the tank really really good and bred like crazy! Then they started turning white and dying off. They are all dead now. Do you know why? The tank has no filter or bubbler. I would give them pleco-wafers and cut up grapes every once in a while once most of the algae was gone.
I read maybe there wasn’t enough calcium? What about nitrogen? Should I get a moss ball?
I just ordered more snails and I want to keep them around.
Thanks for your help and advice.
My bet would be soft water or lack of calcium. Do you know what your water is like there?
HI, I had an aquarium full of these snails and loved them for cleaning up all the algae I use to have a problem with. Well we had to put in a water treatment system on our well water because it was so acidic (eating out our copper pipes). It raised the pH so much that I can’t use that water to replenish my tank and I have to use rainwater. Gradually all my snails have disappeared due to the low pH of the rainwater even though I use a pH up product to raise it back up to around 6.8.
My question is, can I simple place a slow dissolving calcium source in the tank like a piece of cuttle bone they have for parrots, to both raise the pH and provide calcium for any snails, or would that raise the pH too high?
Thank You
I strongly discourage people from trying to change the pH of their tanks. Any fluctuations of pH can be deadly to fish and you often end up with wild swings of the ph, although what you’re describing likely wouldn’t raise it nearly high enough.
May I ask why you can’t use the well water for your tank? How high did it raise the pH?
You can easily raise the pH of your water by using baking soda but you have to acclimate the livestock inside before doing so. Remove the fish, transfer them in a container or a bag with your old tank water, change the water with the high pH, test the water to be sure and acclimate it by using drip method or any method to prevent shock.
Yes, you can easily raise, but it become incredibly difficult to keep the pH stable after you’ve raised it. And in my experience, large swings in the pH are far worse than the problem you’re trying to fix in the first place.
What about just trying a substrate such as fluval. I know it’s not ideal for established tanks but I know the fluval shrimp stratum increases pH.?
Get yourself some tufa rocks. They are calcium based. They are mostly used for marine tanks.
My snail just excreted some yellow fluid and came out of its shell completely. Is this normal? What does it mean?
A snail isn’t able to come out of its shell and survive. Something was wrong with the snail and it’s passed away.
Does lower temp slow down breeding of ramshorn snails? I have shrimp as well and anything that eats snails will also eat my shrimp.. and no assassins.. I have mystery snails I’d like to keep. The “lettuce overnight” trick really isn’t working because the placos eat it and knock the snails off before the snails can gather on it…. Am I reduced to purging and/or starving the tank?
A lower temperature will reduce the number of eggs snail produce as well as reducing their survival time in an aquarium. However, if you have tropical fish like plecos, it’s probably a bad idea to lower the temperature.
Unfortunately, the only advice I can give you is to reduce the food for a while. It will help to at least slow the spread of snails. Any other options I can think of probably wouldn’t work for you tank.
Place the lettuce in a bottle and place the bottle in the tank no lid, the snails will enter to bottle for the lettuce the plecos can’t get in it?
Is it possible for a snail to lay it’s eggs on another snail’s shell?
i had 2 ramshorns in a container when i received it and there was a translucent growth-patch-thing attached to one of them. i managed to get it off with a cotton bud thinking it was a parasite of some sort but im not too sure?
i’ve submerged the patch inside a bottle cap filled with water.
I suppose it’s possible, but I’ve never seen it before. It’s more likely some kind of parasite or hitchhiker, so I’d discard it if I were you.
Lol, All the time! I had just gotten two mystery snails, in the tank after acclimation about 20 min and had rams horn snail eggs on its back! Too funny.
They are a silly lot!
Yes i have over a three dozen ramshorn and they have laid egg patches on each other and they have hatched on the larger snails free riding for a while.
I have a 5 gallon tank that I am using as a nursery for my ramshorn’s until they get big enough to add to my 40 gal with goldfish. So they laid at least 15 egg sacks in the small tank but they are not growing or developing. Why not?? Currently only thing in the 5 is the eggs and 1 nerite. I know his seseme seeds won’t develop.
How long has it been? The eggs may take up to 12 days to hatch, so I wouldn’t worry about it just yet.
New to snails!! We have a 3 gallon tank with one beta fish, and about 20 rams horn snails. Just noticed some eggs were laid! We e also got two moss balls and live plants that float at the surface of the water. I must be over feeding…once hatched I’m guessing we’ll have too many snails for this size tank….?
Also… How often should I change the water? How much if the water each change? Do I add enough conditioner for just the amount of water being exchanged, or enough for 3 gallons?
Somtimes snail can sleep for a long time. So if you wanna know if its dead smell its shell if it has a rotting smell its dead. Another thing you can do is gently turn it upside down and sniff the body inside the shell if both smell fine your snail could just be sleeping if only 1 of the 2 smells weird i would say try smelling your snail everyday almost. Snails rot really fast so that smell sould start is they are dead for more than 2 days.