There are many creatures you can buy for your aquarium, but perhaps one of the most interesting is the aquarium snail. They can add a bit of variety to your fish tank as well as help keep the tank clean. If you take a trip your local pet store, you will see several different varieties of snails you can buy for your tank and while many people specifically purchase a snail as an aquarium pet, others might find that they suddenly have snails in their tank with no idea where they came from!
Many snails like eating aquarium plants, and sometimes they can hitch a ride on a plant that you’ve purchased at the store and suddenly end up in your tank. While these uninvited snails may seem like pests, there are many other types of snails which are more like pets. The Ramshorn snail has a shell that is shaped like a ram’s horn. These shells come in red, black, and even a checkered pattern. However, these snails reproduce quickly and like to eat plants so if you want to keep aquarium plants alive in your tank, the Ramshorn snail may not be your best bet.
The Trumpet snail, on the other hand, can be a great fish tank friend as they rarely eat plants and prefer to get their sustenance from the debris that has fallen in the substrate. So, not only can you have lovely plants with this snail, but he can also help clean up the bottom of the tank for you. However, if you want a snail that is active that you can watch during the day this guy might not be for you as he likes to hide in the daylight hours and come out to forage a night. You may see him, though, in the morning hanging on the glass just below the water line.
The Apple snail is one of the most popular aquarium snails. There are four species of this type of snail and some of them do eat aquarium plants while others do not, so you’ll need to take care to choose the right species for your needs. This is one of the largest snails and can grow to be 6 inches. The apple snail comes in a variety of colors including brown, yellow, and blue.
If you have discovered that you have a bunch of tiny snails in your aquarium and you’ve no idea where they came from these are probably pond snails that have hitched a ride in on an aquarium plant. The little guys are shaped like a football and reproduce very quickly, so if you see one, you’ll probably see a dozen. They can be terrible pests as they love to eat plants and will devour them quickly.
Most aquarium snails can live quite happily in the community tank and will get along with most fish. Some will eat the debris on the bottom, and some will eat the algae thus making them a valuable member of your fish tank community. While there are some fish that won’t get along with your snails you can be pretty safe with Neon Tetras, Danios, White Cloud Minnows and Guppies as well as most other popular community fish. If, however, you have some of those pesky snails that you want to get rid of, you might try adding a clown Loach to your tank and you will find that he will happily seek out your snails eat them.
Provided by Creatures Corner reader Lee Dobbins
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