Snails

Natural Aquariums

Snails
(Gastropoda)

Snails and limpets have a single coiled, one piece shell. New shell growth is on the outermost part of the coil. Some shells are round and flat and some are like a cone with a point.

Snails have a distinct head with a pair of tentacles, that extend and retreat. The eyes are at the base of the tentacles. They have round mouths with a row of teeth that are replaced as they wear down. Snails also have a tongue called a radula. Most snails feed on dead plants and animals.

Snails have a muscular foot with slime glands. The slime aids them while they crawl on their foot.

There are two main types of snails, those that have just gills and those that have lungs. The snails with gills are called Gilled Snails. The ones with lungs are called Pulmonate snails.

Pulmonate Snails

The most obvious observable physical difference between the two snails is the door like plate attached to the foot of the Pulmonate snails. This plate is called an operculum. There is one visible in the snail photo above. Apple snails and Columbian ramshorn snails are examples of snails with an operculum.

Pulmonate snails have lungs and can breath air at the surface. Some pulmonate snails can stay under water indefinitely breathing through their body surface.

Most of these snails lay eggs in jelly like cocoons. Winkles, another type of gilled snail, hold their eggs until they hatch. My Columbian ramshorns tend to like to lay their eggs in a gooey mass in plants floating at the top of the tank.

Gilled Snails
(Prosobranchs)

The most common aquarium snails are gilled snails. These include the common pond snail to the left, and ramshorns and Malayan livebearing snails, below. All of these snails can get well populated in the aquarium.

Gilled snails are hermaphroditic but not all of them in the same way. Some species change sex, some fertilize their own eggs and some cross fertilize. Most of these snails lay eggs in gelatin masses attached to submerged rocks, plants and other surfaces. The Malayan livebearing snail is an exception.

A common way to rid tanks of unwanted snails is to use one of several types of Botias. These fish are commonly called loaches and include the well known clown loach. Water dogs will also clear out snails but they will also probably clear out any fish in the tank too.

Malayan Livebearing

The Malayan livebearing snail, pictured to the right, can be a gift and a curse. They are very good at going through the aquarium gravel and keeping it clean. They are also very prone to over populate. Unfortunately these snails seem to be harder for Botia to eat. I have these, and other snails throughout my tanks.

Ramshorn

Ramshorn snails are the most commonly seen snails in the home aquarium. They come in a number of different colors and shells. Red ramshorns, like the photo to the left, are often the most desired, brown ones are most common and there are even some almost white ones. Snail shells are often thin enough to show at least some of the body color through them, most are tinted brownish. Some of mine even have black spots.

Snail Links