Aquarium snails

Aquarium snails are useful members of the cleanup crew: they eat algae, leftover food and decaying plant matter. Some people add them on purpose, others get them as hitchhikers on plants. Knowing the species helps you decide whether they are a benefit or a future problem.

• Nerite and horned nerite snails: excellent algae grazers on glass and decor. They do not reproduce in freshwater, although they lay small white eggs on surfaces.
• Ramshorn and bladder snails: breed quickly when there is excess food; their numbers are a good indicator that you are overfeeding.
• Malaysian trumpet snail: burrows in the substrate and aerates it; mostly active at night.
• Rabbit snail (Tylomelania): large, slow and peaceful, prefers warm, harder water.
• Assassin snail: eats other snails and helps control pest populations; it breeds slowly.

Snails need calcium to build their shells: very soft or acidic water causes thin, eroded shells. A pH above 7 and some hardness help. Avoid copper-based medications, and remember that many loaches and puffers eat snails. Apple snails are restricted in many places, so we do not cover them; never release snails into the wild.

Aquarium snails