Great Ramshorn

Care at a glance

Overview

A peaceful, solitary grazer that spends its time on the bottom and on plants. It eats algae, biofilm, leftover food, and decaying leaves, so it earns its keep as a cleanup animal. It mostly leaves healthy plants alone and goes for soft or dying growth. No special feeding is needed where there is algae and detritus. Add blanched vegetables or a sinking wafer if the tank is very clean. It breeds readily, so populations grow fast when food is plentiful.

In the wild

Great ramshorn snails come from still and slow fresh waters across Europe and the Middle East, in ponds, ditches, and weedy lake margins. They tolerate cool water and a broad range of conditions. In a tank keep them anywhere from the upper teens to mid 20s C, with pH from about 6.5 to 8 and moderately hard water so their shells stay strong.

Good to know

Planorbarius corneus is in the family Planorbidae, the ramshorn snails, named for the flat, coiled shell that looks like a coiled horn. It reaches about 4 cm, large for a ramshorn. It is a hermaphrodite and breeds easily, laying flat jelly egg patches on glass and leaves. Its blood contains hemoglobin, which is unusual for a snail.

Did you know

Most snail blood is bluish because it carries copper-based hemocyanin, but ramshorns use iron-based hemoglobin like we do. That gives the snail and its body reddish tones, and it helps the species cope with the low-oxygen, stagnant water it often lives in.

Related species

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  Seminole Ramshorn

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  1 in (2.5 cm)5 gal (20 L)68–82°F (20–28°C)

• 

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• 

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• 

  Japanese Trapdoor Snail

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• 

  Mystery Snail

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• 

  Triangle Rabbit Snail

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