omg xD i have them too xD what are they??? i looks like they do eat plants on my part, no solid evidence though
Sideways rams horn?
- Thread starter thebrandon
- Start date
I have them. They breed very slow compared to bladder or ramshorn snails. Yes, they do have sideways shells. They do not reach any larger than a few mm. I have a ton of them in my invert tank, and they are not eating my plants. They are, however, well fed.
Kristina
Kristina
I have a bunch of these as well. I've even purposefully taken some and introduced them to my other tanks.
Like Kristina said, they breed much more slowly than regular ramshorns and stay very small. I also have never found them to be plant eaters, even in the community tank where they're probably not fed as well, and must forage for food on their own. I have occasionally found TINY egg clutches in the tanks they inhabit - only 3-4 specs in a gel mass, much smaller than a regular ram's egg clutch. I assume those tiny ones are from these guys.
Here is the other thread where someone found them and was looking for an ID:
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=196359
I actually think they're neat - they can get into nooks and crannies the other ones won't, even when babies. Mine (in the invert tank where they're well fed) spend most of their time cleaning the glass. I would guess that they eat slowly, too, since on a piece of blanched kale or other green leafy, after the crowds have eaten and are moved on to rest, a few of these little guys will occasionally hang out as the stragglers. They don't mob the veggies like the others do, though, so I'm postulating that they prefer the bio-film or brown diatoms on the glass. Or they just don't like crowds *grin*.
-Jane
Like Kristina said, they breed much more slowly than regular ramshorns and stay very small. I also have never found them to be plant eaters, even in the community tank where they're probably not fed as well, and must forage for food on their own. I have occasionally found TINY egg clutches in the tanks they inhabit - only 3-4 specs in a gel mass, much smaller than a regular ram's egg clutch. I assume those tiny ones are from these guys.
Here is the other thread where someone found them and was looking for an ID:
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=196359
I actually think they're neat - they can get into nooks and crannies the other ones won't, even when babies. Mine (in the invert tank where they're well fed) spend most of their time cleaning the glass. I would guess that they eat slowly, too, since on a piece of blanched kale or other green leafy, after the crowds have eaten and are moved on to rest, a few of these little guys will occasionally hang out as the stragglers. They don't mob the veggies like the others do, though, so I'm postulating that they prefer the bio-film or brown diatoms on the glass. Or they just don't like crowds *grin*.
-Jane
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I can't remember where it was- one website made me laugh... talking about one of the common snails that end up in every tank:
The quote was something along the lines of:
"they prefer to eat fish food, decaying leaves, or algae but if they're starving they will eat plants. and so would you. "
That made me chuckle... I think any snail has the potential to nibble on plants- especially soft leaved plants- most of the common ones in aquariums don't as a general rule unless you cut back the amount of feeding and they starve. They normally don't reproduce more than food can sustain- but if you have a bunch and no food- then your plants are potentially dinner.
The quote was something along the lines of:
"they prefer to eat fish food, decaying leaves, or algae but if they're starving they will eat plants. and so would you. "
That made me chuckle... I think any snail has the potential to nibble on plants- especially soft leaved plants- most of the common ones in aquariums don't as a general rule unless you cut back the amount of feeding and they starve. They normally don't reproduce more than food can sustain- but if you have a bunch and no food- then your plants are potentially dinner.
Oh, and I don't have a lot of ramshorns in my tank- but I have occassionally seen one with a sideways shell.
Never thought that was a seperate species- just assumed it was one holding it's shell funny.
My favourite ex-ramshorn "Goldy"- a gold one with a gold and red foot used to hold his shell at a 45 degree angle much of the time- not straight or sideways... but he could, and would hold it straight much of the time too- so I know it wasn't stuck at 45 degrees. Don't know what happened to Goldy- he disappeared shortly after I got Ghost Shrimp- I suspect he was dinner!
I don't know if they're a different species or just the same who happen to hold their shells funny- if they're small they could be juvenile and the low muscle to turn shell theory could be correct.
Does anyone have any sideways rams in a tank with no normal rams? If not- I wonder if they're the same thing.
Never thought that was a seperate species- just assumed it was one holding it's shell funny.
My favourite ex-ramshorn "Goldy"- a gold one with a gold and red foot used to hold his shell at a 45 degree angle much of the time- not straight or sideways... but he could, and would hold it straight much of the time too- so I know it wasn't stuck at 45 degrees. Don't know what happened to Goldy- he disappeared shortly after I got Ghost Shrimp- I suspect he was dinner!
I don't know if they're a different species or just the same who happen to hold their shells funny- if they're small they could be juvenile and the low muscle to turn shell theory could be correct.
Does anyone have any sideways rams in a tank with no normal rams? If not- I wonder if they're the same thing.
The usual Ramshorn most people have can indeed hold their shells at an angle so that it looks sideways, but there are several species where the shell being sideways is the normal position.
do these mystery sideways ramshorn snails have a name? If not, I am calling them Brandon snails haha
