Wandering Snail

Ampullaceana balthica

FreshwaterSnail

Care at a glance

Temperature: 50–84°F (10–29°C)
pH: 6.5–8.0
Adult size: 0.8 in (2 cm)
Minimum tank: 11 gal (40 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Solitary
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Easy
Breeding: Medium
Rarity: Common
Origin: Europe
Family: Lymnaeidae

Overview

It needs no special social setup and does its own thing along the bottom and on glass and plants. It grazes algae, biofilm, and decaying plant matter, which makes it a decent cleanup animal. It will eat well in a tank with normal feeding, so no extra food is usually needed unless algae is scarce. Be aware it reproduces readily, so populations can climb fast in a nutrient-rich tank.

In the wild

The wandering snail is a European native found in ponds, ditches, lakes, and slow streams, often in cooler water than tropical tanks run. It is adaptable and turns up in a wide range of still and slow-moving habitats. In a tank it does fine over a wide temperature range, from around 10 C up to the high 20s C, with a pH from about 6.5 to 8.

Good to know

This is a freshwater pond snail in the family Lymnaeidae, with a thin, pointed shell that grows to roughly 2 to 3 cm across. It is a hermaphrodite, meaning each snail carries both sex organs, and it lays gel-like egg clutches on hard surfaces. Like most pond snails, it has a short life, generally about a year. It breathes air at the surface using a simple lung rather than gills.

Did you know

It does not breathe through gills like many aquarium snails. It has a true lung and surfaces to gulp air, which is why you will see it crawl up to the waterline now and then. That air-breathing trick lets it survive in low-oxygen water that would stress gill-breathing species.