About the species

The orange ramshorn snail has a yellowish shell and a red body, and the combination gives a warm orange-red tone that is one of the strongest colours among ramshorns. It is colourful and useful at the same time, helping keep the aquarium clean by grazing leftovers and films.

Facts

• Latin name: Planorbella duryi
• Common name: Orange Ramshorn Snail
• Size: 1–2 cm
• Lifespan: 1–3 years

Behavior

Orange Ramshorn Snail is a peaceful, easy-care cleaner that grazes leftover food, dead plant parts and films before they can foul the water. It is a lung breather and needs access to the surface. It suits dwarf shrimp and peaceful fish, but avoid snail-eating fish, crayfish and assassin snails.

Reproduction

• The species is hermaphroditic and a single snail can found a population
• Eggs are laid in flat, transparent jelly pads of 10–15 eggs that hatch after 10–12 days
• Numbers are governed by the food supply — a population boom always means overfeeding, not too many snails

Feeding

Orange Ramshorn Snail is an omnivorous cleaner and feeds on:

• Leftover food and spilled feed
• Dead plant parts and leaves
• Biofilm and surface films

Extra food is rarely needed, but is appreciated:

• Blanched courgette or spinach
• Catappa leaves
• A calcium source for the shell

Aquarium

• Minimum aquarium size: 20 litres
• Substrate: Any — gravel or sand both work

Difficulty level

🟢 Easy

Recommendation

Our most colourful ramshorn and a good choice if you want the cleanup crew to add colour too. It works from about 20 litres and does well with dwarf shrimp and peaceful fish. Avoid assassin snails and crayfish.