# Snails - how to recognize them



## rain- (Mar 29, 2004)

I've noticed that there is some need for a good guide to recognizing snail species. So here it is, just a short one.

*Freshwater Limpet - Acroloxus lacustris*

















Size: 0,1 - 0,8 cm ; 0.04 - 0.3 inches

These are the snails which are usually thought to be baby snails, but their adult size is usually only max. 5 millimetres. They are small and can't do much damage to plants, but since they are small, it's impossible to find and remove eggs and the baby snails. There's also River Limpet, _Ancylus fluviatilis_, which grows a bit bigger and darker, the top of the shell points straight back when freshwater limpet shell's top points to the side. No trapdoor (operculum). Hermaphroditic (no separate sexes).

*Small ramshorn snail species - Family Planorbidae*










Size: 0,3 - 1 cm ; 0.1 - 3/8 inches

There are several small ramshorn snail species. The one in the picture is most likely _Gyraulus albus_, white ramshorn snail. It's rather hard (nearly impossible for a regular hobbyist) to tell them apart, but they all behave the same so there's no need to find the exact species. They lay tiny egg clutches on the plant leaves and other surfaces and I would say that it is near to impossible to actually spot and remove the eggs. They are capable of damaging the plants if population is too large, but usually don't do much damage. No trapdoor (operculum). Hermaphroditic (no separate sexes).

*Bladder Snails - Family Physidae*










Size: 1 - 2 cm ; 3/8 - 6/8 inches

Also called pond snails. The one in the picture is _Physa fontinalis_. These are probably one of the most common snails in the aquariums. They multiply fast and lay clear, jellylike egg clutches on plant leaves and other surfaces. The eggs are possible to find and remove. Sinistral shell, thin tentacles. No trapdoor (operculum). Hermaphroditic (no separate sexes).

*Common Pond Snail - Lymnaea peregra*










Size: 1 - 2,5 cm ; 3/8 - 1 inches

These are probably one of the most common snails in the aquariums. Has dextral (when you keep the snail towards you and the spire pointing up, the shell lip/opening points to the right) shell, dotted skin and flat, triangular tentacles. When Physidae's feet end pointed, Lymnaeidae's feet end rounder and they are shorter. They multiply fast and lay clear, jellylike egg clutches on plant leaves and other surfaces. The eggs are possible to find and remove. No trapdoor (operculum). Hermaphroditic (no separate sexes).

*Malaysian Trumpet Snail - Melanoides tuberculata*










Size: 1,5 - 3 cm ; 1/2 - 1 1/4 inches

These are considered the most useful snail species. They burrow in the substrate. Hard to get rid of once you get them, since they give birth to live offspring and don't need to get the eggs fertilized in order reproduce (parthenogenesis) (most, or quite likely all of the MTS in our tanks are most likely females). There are several different colour variations and also some other species which look alike. Has a trapdoor (operculum). Separate sexes.

*Ramshorn snail species - Planorbidae *










Size 1 cm - 2 cm ; 3/8 - 6/8 inches

There's also medium sized ramshorn snail species, for example _Planorbis planorbis_ and _Planorbella duryi_. Again it's hard to actually know the exact species, but they also behave the same. They lay clear, disc shaped thin egg clutches, there's about 10-30 eggs per clutch and they are protected by a singular hard disc shaped layer (like there's a contact lens on top of the eggs). The picture is of blue, red and brown ramshorn snails, species isn't certain. Seems that in most cases these snails will leave the plants alone and it's possible to keep them in a planted tank (like I do), but in some peoples tanks they have eaten live plants too. No trapdoor (operculum). Hermaphroditic (no separate sexes).

*Great Ramshorn Snail - Planorbarius corneus*










Size: 2 - 3 cm ; 3/4 - 1 1/4 inches

_Planorbarius corneus_ is the biggest of the ramshorn snail species belonging to family Planorbidae. In the picture there's a young, adult and baby snail. They behave the same as other ramshorn snails, but since they are bigger, they might do more damage if they get interested in live plants. But it's also possible that they won't do any damage at all. No trapdoor (operculum). Hermaphroditic (no separate sexes).

*Nerites - Neritidae*



















Size: 1 - 3 cm ; 3/8 - 1 2/8 inches

The first one is zebra nerite, _Neritina natalensis_, the second one is olive nerite _Vittina usnea_. There are several nerites available in stores once in a while. Many of them are actually marine or at least prefer brackish water, but the two mentioned, zebra and olive nerites will do fine in fresh water. Olive nerites are said to even reproduce in fresh water, but zebra nerites will assumable need brackish water for the eggs to hatch. The eggs are white, round or seed shaped and hard, they are laid separately on the glass or other surfaces and are tightly attached to the surface. Nerites are excellent algae eaters and won't usually do any damage to healthy plants. They have a trapdoor (operculum). Separate sexes.

*Zebra Apple Snail - Asolene spixi*










Size: 2 - 2,5 cm ; 3/4 - 1 inches
Zebra apple snails are cute and small apple snails. They are more prone to eating live plants, especially the young snails. But they are usually compatible with a planted tank. They are more closely related to Marisa than Pomacea and can actually cross-breed with Marisas, so don't mix them. The egg clutches are laid under water, usually attached to plants, the colour is light peach and the clutch is clear and jellylike. Has a trapdoor (operculum). Separate sexes.

*Trapdoor snails - Family Viviparidae*










Size: 2,5 - 4 cm ; 1 - 1 1/2 inches

Vivs, trapdoor snails, are cold water snails so they don't do that well in tropical tanks. They give birth to live offspring like malaysian trumpet snails do. The one in the picture is a young _Viviparus viviparus_. They have a trapdoor (operculum). Separate sexes.


*Apple Snail - Pomacea bridgesii*










Size: 4 - 6 cm, 1 1/2 - 2 3/8 inches

Apple snails, _Pomacea bridgesii_, are beautiful things with amazing variety of colors. They usually don't touch live plants and are considered plant friendly. They lay peach coloured egg clutches above the water surface, so it's best to keep them in a tightly sealed tank or else you might find the females wandering around the room and possibly getting in an accident. They are considered a non-plant eating species by USDA and will be allowed to be shipped from state to state in USA. Has a trapdoor (operculum). Separate sexes.

*Giant Ramshorn Snail - Marisa cornuarietis*










Size: 4 - 5 cm ; 1 1/2 - 2 inches

Giant ramshorn doesn't belong to the same family as the other ramshorn snails mentioned in this post. They are actually apple snails. They lay clear, large, jellylike egg clutches under water. They have a siphon like regular apple snails and will raise to surface to breathe once in a while. Has a trapdoor (operculum). Separate sexes.

*Apple Snails - Family Ampullariidae*
















Size: 4 - 11 cm ; 1 1/2 - 4 inches

First picture: _Pomacea canaliculata_, second picture: _Pomacea haustrum_, pictures from applesnail.net. There are many other apple snail species in genus Pomacea, and there are also others from the genera (the family is Ampullariidae) Afropomus, Asolene, Felipponea, Lanistes, Pila, Saulea, and Marisa. Most of the other ones available in stores than _P. bridgesii_ aren't suitable for planted tanks (_Pomacea canaliculata_ and _Marisa cornuarietis_), but they are still really interesting species. 

If you think you have regular apple snail but it eats plants, you most likely have _P. canaliculata_. If you have an apple snail that is closer to 4 inches, you might have _P. insularum_ or _P. haustrum_. They all have a trapdoor (operculum). Separate sexes.

_Pomacea canaliculata_ and _Marisa cornuarites_ are banned in some states and won't be allowed a shipping permit in any state in the USA. USDA might confiscate the snails if they find out that you've gotten some shipped from another state or if you own them in a state where they are banned.

Well, that's it for the most common ones. If there's any typos or weirdness for example with the centimeters to inches conversions, PM me and let me know.


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## James From Cali (Dec 15, 2006)

Great guide to identifying snails. Its quite helpful because I always called Ramshorns Pond Snails lol.


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## blueguppygirl (Oct 30, 2006)

That's a greast post! I wish I someone had posted this a year ago when I had a pond snail outbreak in my tank. Very nice.


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## spypet (Sep 15, 2006)

Rain- another amazing contribution, thank you for spending the time assembling all that.

I wish blue ramshorns were more common so I could get my hands on some without going broke.



your MTS photo is stunning... I comment since they usually look like crap, literally :hihi:
don't count on feeding MTS to your snail eating fish as their shells grow very hard.

I had olive nerites so let me expand on your comments a bit.
nerites will lay eggs in freshwater, but they will only hatch in brackish water.
these white unhatched 1mm eggs will calcify and are very difficult to remove.
nerites are non-buoyant "heavy" snails so they are not able to climb
finer leaf plants to get at their algae like most ramshorns can.

my red ramshorns seem to manage a bubble of air in their shell
the allows them the buoyancy to get at algae on even fine moss.
because ramshorns can literally float, it's a good idea to let a few
of your plants grow to the surface to snag on any loose ramshorns.

Apply snail warning: many LPS sell Mystery snails mislabeled as Apple.
many of these Mystery snails will devour plants as they grow larger.


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## James From Cali (Dec 15, 2006)

Those are awesome looking snails spypet! I wish they were common too I would buy some!


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## ianiwane (Sep 7, 2004)

spypet said:


> I had olive nerites so let me expand on your comments a bit.
> nerites will lay eggs in freshwater, but they will only hatch in brackish water.
> these white unhatched 1mm eggs will calcify and are very difficult to remove.
> nerites are non-buoyant "heavy" snails so they are not able to climb
> finer leaf plants to get at their algae like most ramshorns can.


There are actually olive nerites that will hatch in freshwater. I believe Tom Barr is the one that continually states that olive nerites are not a brackish water snail. 

Aquatic Plant Central- aquascaping...a living art - View Single Post - Olive Nerite Spawn In Freshwater


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## spypet (Sep 15, 2006)

I had nerites in my tank for Months with hundred of annoying white eggs all over my tank, and nothing hatched, I never saw a baby nerite ever. perhaps they can hatch in freshwater, and there is some other condition that is required such as temperature or water chemistry, whatever.

rain or anyone; can you give me an educated guess what this is:



I thought it was a 1mm baby red ramshorn, but I didn't see any eggs in my tank, and the shell lays flat against the leaf, so I'm assuming it's one of the "Small ramshorn snails" you profiled. If they are the "Small" type, I'd like to know so if I notice one again I can pick him out of my tank before enough of them assemble and risk damaging my plants. I found it on a Anubias that already has a few tiny holes and some leaf edge gnawed off.


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## rain- (Mar 29, 2004)

I'm glad that you like this thread. I though it might be useful at times. 

I have some blue and white/pink ramshorn babies growing right now and I might have some available next Spring. They sure are beautiful.

spypet: Yup, that's a small ramshorn snail species, might be _Gyraulus sp._ or something totally different. The larger ramshorn snail babies look square when they are about that size (like in the great ramshorn snail picture), so they are easy to tell apart from the small species.


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## Color Me Blue (Nov 10, 2005)

Great thread Rain!


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## Color Me Blue (Nov 10, 2005)

Maybe a Mod. can make it a sticky?


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## RoseHawke (Mar 10, 2004)

Rain, I seldom vote on threads (usually forget that it's there, really,) but I voted on this one :thumbsup: . Well done!

Really does need to be a sticky.


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## daFrimpster (Mar 7, 2005)

Excellent job Rain! A great reference for commonly found snails.


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## NeonShrimp (Mar 9, 2006)

Thanks rain, another winner!:biggrin:


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## Gregor Samsa Mendel (Jun 8, 2006)

Fantastic!


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## rodney (Apr 10, 2007)

Bumping because this thread was extremely useful to me!


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## Spacefly (Jun 25, 2007)

Great job, thanks for the guide.


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## budd (Mar 31, 2007)

thank u very much for this guide


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## voxmeus (Mar 26, 2009)

This should definitely be a sticky.

what about Anentome helena? will these just replace the ramshorns in number?


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## Lupin (Nov 21, 2006)

voxmeus said:


> what about Anentome helena? will these just replace the ramshorns in number?


Assassins are obvious. Bumblebee stripes form on the shells. They're not really fast breeders but they can take down almost any snail in their path although a few have been lucky not to have their nerites destroyed by their assassins. I have 9 assassins myself and they're just in their own tank with their prey.

Here are some other nerite species. I got them only yesterday and will be adding more soon. Ignore the burgundy snail included in the pic. It went inside the breeder trap to grab the hair algae meant for the nerites.









_Melanoides loebbeckei_









Possibly _Septaria livida_.


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## kimmy (Apr 1, 2009)

This is a great guide


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## southerndesert (Sep 9, 2007)

Very well presented and great info! Always enjoy when a passionate hobbyist gets stuck at the keyboard, thanks!


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

Is there another snail that looks like a pond snail, but isn't? I have this one snail that sort of looks like a pond snail on steroids. I see no others like him/her. I have been trying to locate him the last couple days to get a pic.


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## lake_tuna (Jan 20, 2010)

I have no idea how I got these, but I have a ton of the small ramshorn snails ("Family Planorbidae") in my 29g. I've been diligently hand picking them off the glass for a few months, but they are slowly getting larger in population.. They're all over the gravel! does anyone know if anything small eats them? I keep only micro fish that are smaller than an inch. The snails are so tiny that I'm not sure if a dwarf puffer would care for them. I've tried assassin snails, and even a baby assassin snail don't want these. Any help will be appreciated! Thanks!


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## simplesue (Aug 18, 2010)

This is the best information I have ever seen on the various types of snails. Thanks for posting!


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## Kat12 (Aug 11, 2013)

not what I was looking for at this moment, but still interesting.


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## nyxkitten (Jul 24, 2012)

Can I steal this? ehehehe


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