Ramshorn Snail - Interaction With Environment

Interaction With Environment

Ramshorn snails generally will eat only the most delicate plants, preferring algae, uneaten fish food, and dead fish. Some varieties do particularly enjoy eating the leaves of stem plants such as cabomba and anacharis.

Some aquarium species will eat ramshorn snails. More voracious eaters include loaches (such as the clown loach or any other member of the genus botia), bettas, crayfish, and most gouramis— though many other fish will also consume snail meat. The larger apple snail will also prey upon ramshorn snails.

Good fish roommates for snails include, but are not limited to, danios, guppies, White Cloud Mountain Minnows, neon tetras, and cory catfish. All of these are non-aggressive fish that cohabitate easily with snails.

One should also be aware that pond-reared red ramshorn snails are able to carry various parasitic flukes, which can be transmitted to fish, or humans. Most of these flukes require intermediate hosts, so that leaving the snails in a fish-free aquarium for a month or so will eliminate any parasites.

If the population is kept to a manageable size, ramshorn snails can be good tank cleaners. They eat algae and dead or dying plants generally, so they can be useful. However, if they breed too prolifically they can become a nuisance. In warm climates (such as those in mainland Australia or the southern United states) they much prefer ponds, especially outdoor ponds. Algae, dead leaves that sink to the bottom, mulm and dead animals can be a problem, as they foul the water. Ramshorn snails eat all of these things.

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