About the species

The golden ramshorn snail has an amber-yellow, translucent shell and an unpigmented body, giving a warm golden overall look. It brightens dark substrates and is easy to spot as it grazes along the glass. Like all ramshorns it is peaceful, easy to keep and a diligent cleaner.

Facts

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

Behavior

Ramshorn Snail Gold 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

Ramshorn Snail Gold 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

A rewarding colour variant if you want life and light in the lower layer. Keep GH above 10 for a strong shell, or supplement with a calcium source. One tip: feed moderately and numbers stay at an even, manageable level on their own.