10 Types of Freshwater Aquarium Snails (With Info & Pictures)

Snails are a common sight in many aquariums, and for good reason. Snails can provide various services within an aquarium, from picking up leftover fish food and eating dead plant matter to turning substrate.

From the comical Mystery snail to the prolific Malaysian Trumpet snail, there’s a perfect snail for just about every freshwater aquarium setup. It’s important to select your snail residents with care because not all snails are suitable for all aquariums.

The 10 Types of Freshwater Aquarium Snails

1. Mystery Snail

The Mystery snail is one of the most popular freshwater aquarium snails, and if you’ve ever kept them, you know exactly why. They are extremely fun to watch! They’re also sometimes misidentified as apple snails. They have a solid sense of smell and are known to quickly head toward food as soon as it’s dropped in the water. Don’t be fooled by their “snail” title; they can move pretty quickly.

One of their funniest habits is going high up in the aquarium and then letting go of whatever they’re on, “parachuting” back to the bottom of the tank. They are large snails, reaching up to 2 inches, and they are an excellent option for cleaning up leftover fish food and dead plants.

Mystery snails require a male and female to reproduce, but females can hold sperm for up to 9 months.

2. Nerite Snail

The Nerite snail is another highly popular freshwater snail, and it’s widely available in pet stores. A downside is that the females will lay their eggs all over everything in your tank.

Nerite owners often refer to it as “bedazzling” the tank. The good news is that the eggs won’t hatch in freshwater. Nerite eggs require brackish water to hatch, so you don’t have to worry about being overrun.

These scavengers are an excellent cleanup crew, and they’re available in several patterns and shapes, including the Horned Nerite and Zebra Nerite. Some Nerites stay quite small and have a lower bioload than the much larger Mystery snail.

3. Rabbit Snail

The Rabbit snail is a large freshwater snail that can reach up to 3 inches long. They have an affinity for various types of aquarium algae and other plant matter, but they also scavenge for other food in the tank. They have adorable faces that resemble rabbits, giving them their name.

They are active snails that can be spotted exploring the tank day and night. Many people feel like they have prominent personalities but are peaceful tank inhabitants.

Rabbit snails are slow to reach sexual maturity and reproduce minimally, so it’s uncommon to end up with a tank overrun with Rabbit snails.

4. Japanese Trapdoor Snail

The Japanese Trapdoor snail is named for its hard operculum, which is the hard plate that allows the snail to retreat into its shell. They are relatively large snails, reaching up to 2 inches long. They are primarily algivorous or algae eaters, but they also eat detritus, leftover fish food, and debris they come across in the tank. They rarely eat live plants, but they are known to eat live plants if not enough other food is available.

They can reproduce in freshwater tanks, but like the Rabbit snail, they reproduce infrequently. They give live birth, and you won’t see any eggs with these snails around.

5. Assassin Snail

The Assassin snails are often small in pet stores, but they can reach up to 3 inches long with proper care. They are often purchased by people looking to take care of a “pest” snail population.

Assassin snails are named for their tendency to kill and eat other snails. While this can be beneficial to clear up an infestation of other snails, they also will begin to eat other things in the tank once the food supply of other snails runs out. They’ll eat all types of snails and other invertebrates in a pinch, including shrimp and crawfish.

They require a male and female to reproduce, but they can reproduce in freshwater. The females lay eggs that hatch after about 30 days.

6. White Wizard Snail

The White Wizard snail is uncommon because it is relatively new to the aquarium trade and is still considered rare. Therefore, it is not easy to find it in pet stores and aquatic shops. They can reach up to 2 inches long, and their primary diet consists of leftover food. They eat algae, but they aren’t efficient algae eaters.

They are peaceful tank inhabitants who may not be as active as other types of snails, but they are easy to spot due to their size and beautiful white coloration. They breed in freshwater but reproduce slowly, so there is little risk of them taking over.

7. Ramshorn Snail

The Ramshorn snail is sometimes considered a pest snail because of its prolific reproduction. They are beautiful snails that come in various colors and have unique and interesting shell shapes. They are omnivorous snails that love to consume detritus, plant matter, and leftover food in the tank. Unfortunately, they seem to have an affinity for tender plants, so they’re typically not suitable for tanks with delicate plants.

Ramshorns are hermaphroditic snails that don’t require a partner to reproduce. They are egg layers, and they leave their spiral-shaped, mucoid egg clutches on just about any surface in the tank, including the glass.

8. Malaysian Trumpet Snail

The Malaysian Trumpet snail (MTS) is a common snail considered a pest species in some countries. They stay relatively small, only reaching 1 inch in length, and they have a bad reputation due to the ability to reproduce without a mate. MTS give live birth prolifically, so it doesn’t take long for one snail to turn into dozens or hundreds. The key to keeping these snails is not to overfeed the tank. The more food they have access to, the more MTS will reproduce.

What is often overlooked about Malaysian Trumpet snails is the significant benefit that they can provide in a tank with a soft substrate. Sometimes, dangerous anaerobic bacteria will build up under the substrate in a tank, producing gases that, when released, can harm or kill tank inhabitants. This snail’s habit of burrowing through the substrate keeps it tilled and prevents the buildup of dangerous anaerobic bacteria.

9. Pond Snail

The Pond snail is one of the larger snails in the aquarium trade that can grow up to 3 inches or more, but most in captivity don’t exceed 1–2 inches. Pond snails are easy to care for, and they are prolific breeders. They are egg-laying snails that leave mucoid egg clutches all over the tank.

They can live up to 3 years with proper care, so they are not a short-lived snail species. Although native to Europe, they have become naturalized in most of the world and are considered invasive in many areas.

They have shells with two to six whorls, and they are brownish. Pond snails are often considered “bombproof” since they can survive events that kill everything else in the tank.

10. Bladder Snail

The Bladder snail is often confused with the Pond snail, but there are some notable differences between these two “pest” snail species. The Bladder snail stays significantly smaller than the Pond snail, rarely exceeding 0.6 inches long. They also have slightly more rounded and less pointed shells than Pond snails. Bladder snails rarely eat live plants, while Pond snails are known to occasionally eat healthy plants.

While Pond snails are prolific, Bladder snails are considered highly prolific and are often referred to as being “born pregnant.” Bladder snails typically have shells that spiral to the left, while Pond snail shells usually spiral to the right.

Feeding Your Snails

The top mistake that people make with snails is not feeding them. Snails are often purchased for a specific purpose, like removing tank algae or getting rid of other snails. However, snails should always be provided with a food source. You don’t have to feed your snails daily if there is a notable food source in the tank, but they must be fed multiple times per week.

The dietary needs of snails vary, but many species consume fish foods and algae wafers. All snails should be provided with calcium to maintain shell health. This can be provided in multiple ways, including through their food and the addition of cuttlebone to the aquarium.

Final Thoughts

Snails can be a great addition to your aquarium, but educating yourself on the species of snail you’re interested in before you bring it home will help you be prepared for what to expect. If you decide on snails that reproduce prolifically, you will likely need a backup plan for culling excess offspring. Even in the most well-managed tanks, snails can eventually take over.

See Also:

• How to Tell if an Aquarium Snail is Dead (or Just Sleeping)
• How to Make a DIY Sponge Filter for Your Aquarium (With Pictures)

Featured Image Credit: Sabine Schmidt, Shutterstock