# what kind of snail is this?



## FarrinDrell (Nov 23, 2006)

since i added live plants i am having my first experience with snails
now i would like to add good snails eventually

one of the plants i bought had this egg sack on it









so for fun i put the plant by itself in a little tank and a few day later i saw this little guy now my question is is this a good snail or a pest snail will my clown loaches eat him or leave him alone.


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## FarrinDrell (Nov 23, 2006)

*what snail is this?*

since i added live plants i am having my first experience with snails
now i would like to add good snails eventually

one of the plants i bought had this egg sack on it









so for fun i put the plant by itself in a little tank and a few day later i saw this little guy now my question is is this a good snail or a pest snail will my clown loaches eat him or leave him alone.










































also posted in Freshwater Inverts


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## ombcat (Sep 23, 2004)

This one is a pond snail. They are great hitchikers on plantes and sometimes on fish.
ombcat


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## bpimm (Jun 12, 2006)

The pond snail dosen't cause any problems, they will eat some algae and can do so in tight places where other algae eaters can't get to. I keep them in all of my tanks. Their population is controlled by the food source, if you overfeed they will populate to take care of the available food.


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## rusticitas (Mar 10, 2004)

I don't know, but I have TONS of them. They seem to either out-compete, or perhaps killed off the Malaysian Trumpet Snails (MTS) I had in the one tank. I have been steadily picking them out and throwing them into a bucket with various things (plant clippings, daphnids, scuds, etc).

I can't tell if they're harmful or not.

-J


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

Here is a good link for snail ID... Various freshwater snails


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## Xema (Mar 24, 2004)

That´s a Physa sp. probably marmorata...


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## Pooky125 (Jul 26, 2005)

Look like pond snails to me. They won't munch your plants, but don't do much for algae either. Your loaches will love them for a nice tasty treat.


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## tkos (Oct 30, 2006)

Standard common pond snails. Can get to be about the size of a pencil eraser or so. They munch on algae a bit, left over food, fish waste, decaying plant leaves. If the food is avilable they will multiply fast. They do require a decent calcium level in the water or food supply for their shell to grow and stay hard, otherwise they die off while small.

Harmless and a great addition for biodiversity.


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## Jane in Upton (Aug 10, 2005)

Yep, this is one of the Physa types, the common pond snail. They do not have an operculum ("trap door") on the opening of their shell, so are particularly easy prey for any loaches, and even persistent gouramis. 

Some folks consider these pests, but I find them harmless. If you experience a population boom, it may indicate your'e overfeeding, because although these guys will eat dead plant matter, they really enjoy the ease of scrounging tasty fish food. 

For me, they're just a natural part of the "background" population in any planted tank. To keep them in check, you can siphon out any gelatinous egg clusters you see.

-Jane


Great picts by the way!


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## theteh (Jan 19, 2006)

Me too I think is Physa sp as its shell opens to the left when look at it from the top with the tip pointing towards yourself. I don't have this species in my tank but I have another closely related type called Lymnaea truncatula which looks very similar to the Physa. The L. truncatula shells open to the right side instead. See photos of my snails here:
My Aquarium Snails Collection


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## Xema (Mar 24, 2004)

For me the main different between Lymnaea and Physa genus are the shape of the tentacles, Physa has thin and relative long tentacles, Lymnaea has short and triangular shaped tentacles (obviosly Physa is a more large snails...).

Limnaea on glass









Physa on glass









Greets from Spain


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