About the species

The pink ramshorn snail has a white, translucent shell and a red body that shines through to give its soft pink tone. The red comes from haemoglobin in the blood — ramshorns are the only European snail group with that trait. It is peaceful, easy to keep and a diligent cleaner.

Facts

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

Behavior

Ramshorn Snail Pink 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 Pink 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

The same haemoglobin that gives the pink colour lets the species cope unusually well with oxygen-poor water. It suits tanks from about 20 litres and is a pleasant way to add colour to the lower layer. Remember that it is a lung breather and needs access to the surface.