Rabbit Snails

Rabbit snails are freshwater aquarium animals, not terrarium animals, and they are grouped here because they suit the same keepers. They are slow-breeding compared with most aquarium snails — a few young at a time rather than a population explosion — which makes them practical in a planted tank where other species become a problem. They need hard, alkaline water with sufficient calcium to build and maintain the shell; soft or acidic water causes shell erosion that cannot be reversed. Stable temperature in the tropical range, gentle filtration and a soft substrate they can forage over are the other requirements. They graze biofilm and leftover food and will take blanched vegetables and sinking wafers. They do not eat healthy plants, which is the usual reason keepers choose them. Copper-based medications are lethal to invertebrates, so check any treatment before dosing a tank containing them.