Unless you’re a sponge living under the sea, you probably don’t have an aquatic snail as your primary pet. That’s not the case in my household, however, where our only non-human friend is Sir Loin, the freshwater ramshorn snail.
Sir Loin was introduced to my household as a companion to our betta fish, Mr. McFish. Originally, he had two other snail siblings: Chuck and Angus, who were also ramshorn snails. Sir Loin has proven to be the most resilient mollusk as he’s outlived all of them, far outstripping the typical lifespan of a snail of his kind.
Like most planorbids, he relies on algae and other aquatic vegetation for sustenance. His favorite things to eat are algae disks, which is great because that’s my favorite thing to feed him.
The life of an aquatic snail is simple and doesn’t require many gadgets or toys. Sir Loin spends his time sliding across rocks, sliding across the inside of his cylindrical tank, and occasionally sliding across the ceiling of his tank as well. When he’s feeling particularly playful, he sometimes hides in-between the filter and the tank lid; tricking me into believing that he’s escaped. Although he’s not the most exciting pet in the world, we love our gastropod amigo and wouldn’t change him for the world. We couldn’t have asked for a better snail to slide into our hearts.
Sir Loin, the freshwater ramshorn snail