Red ramshorn snail

Indoplanorbis exustus

Also known as Indoplanorbus exustus, Indian ramshorn snail, Black ramshorn snail

FreshwaterSnail

Care at a glance

Temperature: 68–86°F (20–30°C)
pH: 6.5–8.0
Adult size: 0.8 in (2 cm)
Minimum tank: 5 gal (20 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Solitary
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Beginner
Breeding: Easy
Rarity: Very common
Origin: South and Southeast Asia, introduced widely
Family: Planorbidae

Overview

This is an easy, peaceful cleanup snail that needs no company of its own kind, though a single one soon becomes a colony. It grazes algae, biofilm, and leftover food across the glass, plants, and substrate, and its numbers rise or fall with how much surplus food is in the tank, so it doubles as a living gauge of overfeeding. It is harmless to fish and shrimp and safe with healthy plants, taking mostly soft algae and decaying leaves. Any small planted tank of 20 liters or more suits it, and it also makes a convenient live food for pufferfish and loaches.

In the wild

The red ramshorn snail comes from still and slow waters across South and Southeast Asia and has spread widely through the tropics. It is very adaptable and thrives in almost any planted aquarium, tolerating a broad span of conditions from 20 to 30 C and a pH of 6.5 to 8.0. Moderately hard water helps keep its coiled shell strong, and a mature tank with algae and plant litter keeps it well fed.

Good to know

Indoplanorbis exustus is a planorbid, one of the ram's horn snails, with a flat, coiled shell up to about 2 centimeters wide. Ramshorn snails are unusual among molluscs in carrying red, iron-based hemoglobin in their blood rather than the copper-based pigment most snails use. Breeding is easy: it is a hermaphrodite that lays flat jelly clutches of eggs and multiplies fast.

Did you know

The red color of these snails is not in the shell but in the animal itself. Its blood carries hemoglobin, the same iron-based pigment that makes our own blood red, and it shows through the translucent body and thin shell.