Snail identification and are they eating my plants?

[fishtime!]

Hello! I'm setting up a planted tank and things are going pretty well - I've had a few snails hitch hike on the plants I purchased, which I was kind of hoping for so they could help keep the tank clean.

I was wondering if anybody could identify the snails? There seem to be two kinds - one with a spiral shell, and one with more of a conical shell and a pointy tail.

As I understand it, some snails are detritovores and will only eat dead/decaying matter, while others will eat anything they can. I'm seeing some holes in my plants (pictured below) and was wondering if anybody knew if one of my snails is doing this, and if they will decimate my plants if I let them keep going.

Thanks!

Tank information:
Size: 20 gallon tall
Decorations: driftwood and dragon rock
substrate: bottom layer is fluval biostratum, top layer is sand
water parameters: pH : 6, ammonia: 0, nitrite: 0, nitrate: ~10
tank inhabitants: only snails so far

 

[Colin_T]

1st picture is a ramshorn snail
2nd picture is a pond snail (Lymnaea sp).

Something is not right with the plants, the snails might be part of the problem but if there's only 2 they should damage the plant.

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello. Ramshorn snails are likely to be on aquarium plants you get from the store. But, I've kept them in my tanks for some years and they don't harm the leaves of a healthy plant. I've never noticed this kind of thing. Ramshorn are great tank cleaners, but too many will add to the dissolved waste material in the tank as well and so if you want them, you'll need to remove and replace the tank water more often.

10

 

[sharkweek178]

Ramshorn and pond snails will eat dead plant matter. And they eat algae off the plants. But they don't eat living plants. I don't think they're strong enough to rasp away live plants.
I actually think ramshorns can be quite attractive looking. Mine breed golden brown and also blue and pink variants.

 

[fishtime!]

Thanks so much everyone! Sounds like my plants aren't getting everything they are all low light plants I think I'll get them some plant food (I'm thinking this one if anybody has thoughts on that) so they can do better. and @sharkweek178 yah I like them, I'm definitely gonna keep them. And @10 Tanks right now I'm just cycling the tank, and I think the dissolved waste from the snails is helping keep the cycle going. Because its a 20 gallon and I'm currently only intending on having 1 female betta + my snails I was hoping to not have to do serious water changes more than once a month, but I guess I'll just have to see what the ammonia and nitrate levels are like once I add the fish

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello again. The standard lighting that comes with a tank isn't designed for growing plants, just for looking into the tank. You'll need at least 3 watts of light for every gallon of tank volume if you want to grow even low light plants. Any aquarium plant will need time to adjust to its new environment., so it's going to look sickly for a while. Just give the plant enough light and some time.

10

 

[fishtime!]

Hello again. The standard lighting that comes with a tank isn't designed for growing plants, just for looking into the tank. You'll need at least 3 watts of light for every gallon of tank volume if you want to grow even low light plants. Any aquarium plant will need time to adjust to its new environment., so it's going to look sickly for a while. Just give the plant enough light and some time.

10

Thanks so much, I'm using some hand-me-down lights from a friend who successfully kept his plants happy, so I'm hoping that's enough for them. I'm not sure what brand they are, but they are ~20 in long. I read somewhere that most aquarium LED strips have similar wattage. I've tried looking up the wattage but this site says that a 24 in strip has only 3 watts? So for my 20 gallon I would need 60 strips?? That can't be right, unless I am way off base on the kind of lights I need. I originally purchased an aqueon full spectrum flourescent bulb but I bought the wrong fixture. Do you have a brand of lights that you like? Thanks so much for all your help btw!