Pest snail?

Just noticed this little guy, he’s appeared out of nowhere, never seen him before! The tanks been set up for about a month and has live plants, which I’m assuming is how it got in there.
Is it a pest snail? Do I need to get rid of it? Will it be ok to leave it in there?
Your advice is much appreciated

Looks like a Ramshorn I got them too in both tanks off plants from Etsy. I have no problem with pest snails and see them as a beneficial part of my tanks others will disagree. Numbers will increase if the tank is overfed. That's the best way to regulate snail population is to control feeding amounts


A ramshorn's handy work on an Anubias leaf in my 90L. Forgot to pay him the full amount so only did half the job

All snails are pest snails.

But ramshorns are the best of a bad lot!

GaryE said:

All snails are pest snails.

But ramshorns are the best of a bad lot!

Click to expand...

Tell them why the Ramshorn is good Gary . This bit of information was a real eye opener to me and it’s been awhile since the tale was told .

Ok cool I’ll leave it be and just watch feeding amounts then

Looking forward to hearing what else @GaryE has to say

Okay. I approach this as a fishbreeder, of egg laying fish. The standard pond or bladder snail is a ferocious egg destroyer. But ramshorns put in a petrie dish with killie eggs didn't eat them. I was told this, and being a skeptical sort, I collected up snails and killie eggs, and decided to see for myself. I tried with the two standard pest snails, and that was the result. I didn't have any trumpet or burrowing snails at the time, to test them.

Ramshorns will over-run an overfed tank. They still die and rot unseen inside their shells, which affects water quality. They are all still pests in the closed system that's a tank. But as far as pests go, they aren't the worst. They're mice to the pond snail's rat persona. Fancy snails are just rodents of extraordinary size.

GaryE said:

Ramshorns will over-run an overfed tank. They still die and rot unseen inside their shells, which affects water quality. They are all still pests in the closed system that's a tank. But as far as pests go, they aren't the worst. They're mice to the pond snail's rat persona. Fancy snails are just rodents of extraordinary size.

Click to expand...

This can be a tool. A lot of the effects of overfeeding aren't immediately visible. So if you have ramshorns and see a lot of them, then you know that you're overfeeding and need to cut back. I like to think of them as a bellwether in that way.