Mysterious Snails

[Attenbruh]

I set up a new tank for my 1yr/old Bristlenose catfish and found this snail in the tank. Now there are tones of babies and I'm wondering if they are bad?

 

[Essjay]

Can you take a photo of the side of the snail, please? It's difficult to ID from that angle.

Snails that arrive unwanted are usually Phyids (bladder, tadpole, pond etc snails) or those tiny species of ramshorn. Yours is the wrong colour for the tiny ramshorns which are usually red or reddish brown. But it doesn't look right for a Physid either

 

[Attenbruh]

The tank is now full of babies, but that is the last adult left I think

 

[Attenbruh]

Could they do any damage??

 

[Essjay]

That's a Physid snail. They don't do damage, they are actually a good thing to have in a tank. But they can take over. They multiply fast when they have a lot of food, so the way to control their numbers is by restricting their food. Don't over feed the fish as the snails will feed on any uneaten fish food. If you have live plants, remove any dead leaves as the snails will eat them.
I've had these snails in my tanks for years, together with those tiny ramshorns, but their numbers stay low.

 

[Attenbruh]

Ok, thank you. I have been squashing all the ones I see but I will try remove their food source. There are currently no fish in there as it is fairly new and lots of algae.