Ramshorn snail is a snail breed with plainspiral shaped shells and they are classified as a member of Planorbidae Family. It has captured the hearts of many aquarists because of its unique appearance and its cleaning abilities. They love to crawl around the aquarium eating dead plants, fish waste, algae, and leftover fish foods.

Appearance

It has a wide variation of appearance. Its skin can be black or red. The difference is that the black ones have melanin pigment. On the other hand, the red ones have red hemoglobin in their blood.

Other colors of the snail’s skin include spotted, brown, or blue. It has a spiral-shaped shell that grows as the snail grows bigger. At the center of the spiral you will see a hole where you can see its skin poked out.

You have to look out for species that are attached to hard surfaces and move actively when buying a ramshorn snail. Younger snails have a transparent shell that is so thin, but it will become opaque and will harden if they have a proper diet.

Ramshorn Snail Tank Requirements

Ramhorn snails are sturdy creatures, but their tanks should have some basic requirements:

Size of the Tanks

Ramshorn snails are about 1 inch in diameter and they thrive in any size aquarium. The standard amount of water in a tank should be 5 to 10 gallons. Most aquarists do not have a specific tank size, but a 10 galloons of water tank is good enough for them to roam around, as long as it is filtered, and heated adequately.

Aquascaping

 Snails thrive among live aquatic plants and oftentimes they are seen hanging out on its leaves. But most of the time they leave plants alone when they are full. They also love to eat decaying matter in the tank. They do not demand any substrate or ornamentals, but some caves and rocks can make a good choice for them to explore.

Water Conditions

Ramshorn snails prefer a well-established aquarium with oxygenated and well-aerated water. They have been successfully kept in clear, still water, so it is important to keep them safe from a drastic water change since they like to live on a stable parameter.

They can live perfectly fine in between 65-80 degrees Fahrenheit and in the pH level of 7.0 to 7.5. An acidic water will corrode the snail’s shell so it is important to keep them in neutral water conditions. Increase the hardness of the water to protect its shell.

The water tank should be free from any nitrite or ammonia. You have to control the nitrate level to make sure that there is only a minimal content of decaying matter in the tank.

 Even though ramshorn snails can survive in water in poor conditions because of their ability to breath air directly, it is recommended to keep them in a suitable environment so that their shell growth will be successful and that they can thrive for a long time.

Diet

Most of the time, ramshorn snails rummage around to eat food. Their diet consists of dead leaves, leftover food, dead tankmates, and even soft algae. When they are kept in a group, you will easily notice them huddle around in one food they enjoy eating.

 Snails love to munch on soft algae on substrates, filters, and tank glass. But you can give them some blanched veggies like lettuce, spinach, and cauliflower. Make sure to remove any uneaten vegetables to minimize waste in your aquarium.

 High quality fish pellets, algae wafers and flakes, and even calcium fish supplements help them strengthen their shells. Avoid overfeeding your snails by giving them meals that can be consumed in 5 minutes.

 Also, these snails love to eat on dead tankmates like other snails, fish, and shrimp. But don’t leave any dead tank mates longer to avoid the spike of ammonia levels. 

Tank Mates

Ramshorn snails are peaceful yet active in nature. They love climbing on the aquarium and even hanging out on aquarium plants.  But the real concern here is that you have to keep them safe by making them live with tankmates that will not eat them.

 These snails are susceptible to predation because they cannot hide in the substrate and they cannot breed quickly. Avoid keeping them with bettas, pufferfish, or even assassin snails.

You can keep them together with snail-friendly tankmates such as amano shrimp, red cherry shrimp, ghost shrimp, and blue tiger shrimp.

 They also live in harmony with Malaysian trumpet snails, rabbit snails, nerite snails, and Japanese trapdoor snails. They can also thrive well with other creatures like Cory catfish, guppies, danios, gourami, and tetras.

Ramshorn Snail Breeding

 It is so easy to breed ramshorn snails that it can overpopulate an aquarium when uncontrolled. One way to control their reproduction is to limit their food intake.

These snails reproduce faster when they are being fed faster. They are hermaphrodites. This means that they have both female and male organs and can produce eggs either on their own or breed with a partner.

It is easy to spot the eggs. You can see these as small clusters of tiny white embryos that are covered with a gel-like material.

Each of the mass has around 12 eggs that can take up to 40 days to fully develop depending on the species and the environment it is thriving. The shape of each tiny snail becomes visible as these eggs become opaquer. And then they will start looking for food. 

 If this ignites your interest in keeping and breeding ramshorn snails, just click here to purchase your very own ramshorn snails as a good startup.