Baby snail or limpet?

[Cinnebuns]

Facebook is giving 50/50 answers on this so i ask you fine people. Do I have an incoming bladder or pond snail problem or a sign of a healthy aquarium?  Snail or limpet?  I found it on the glass along with about 6 friends I didn't notice till I started looking. It has a clear part around the darker part. It is hard and sticks well to the glass. 

[ange]

Looks like a limpet to me! Even tiny pond snails and bladder snails tend to have the same shape as their larger counterparts.

[Cinnebuns]

On 4/16/2022 at 1:40 PM, ange said:

Even tiny pond snails and bladder snails tend to have the same shape as their larger counterparts

That's one thing that made me lean towards thinking limpets.  Ty!

[AndreaW]

It looks like a glossy, smooth shell to me so I would think a baby bladder snail?

I have bladder snails in my QT tank, but I've been squishing the bladder snail babies that pop up here and there in my 10G tank -- at least I thought they were bladder snails, and they do look like this, and seem to be the same size. I don't want to let them grow bigger to find out for sure, though! The bladder snail babies in my QT tank are bigger than this and DO look like mini snails, but at this size, they seem to look like a blob with a crunchy spot on top.

[Widgets]

I think it would be easier to tell the difference from a side view.

[Cinnebuns]

On 4/16/2022 at 3:47 PM, Widgets said:

I think it would be easier to tell the difference from a side view.

Well crud I threw them all. If I find another I will try

Would a baby snail have that clear outer part?

[PineSong]

I've had the same question about things I see in my tank. At first I thought they were limpets. And they might actually be. But I never see any large limpets, and I do see large snails, so I also thought maybe they are an early stage of some snail. On the other hand, I have baby pond snails and ramshorns that are the size of a pinpoint and not flat...so that makes me think limpet. Whatever they are, I have them in two of my tanks.

[Cinnebuns]

On 4/17/2022 at 10:15 PM, PineSong said:

I've had the same question about things I see in my tank. At first I thought they were limpets. And they might actually be. But I never see any large limpets, and I do see large snails, so I also thought maybe they are an early stage of some snail. On the other hand, I have baby pond snails and ramshorns that are the size of a pinpoint and not flat...so that makes me think limpet. Whatever they are, I have them in two of my tanks.

Limpets don't get any bigger. 

[PineSong]

On 4/18/2022 at 4:41 PM, Cinnebuns said:

Limpets don't get any bigger. 

Well, then, that explains that! I guess I expected them to grow bigger like barnacles.

[AndreaW]

I was able to pull one of mine out of the tank to observe it closer, and while I thought mine were baby bladder snails, they are definitely not, and I think I have limpets.

I got a couple pics in the tank attached to the glass, and then I suctioned it out so I could see the shell:

 

ETA labels

Edited April 18, 2022 by AndreaW

[Widgets]

Yes, the bottom two pictures definitely look like limpets to me.

[AndreaW]

@Widgets ~ Yes, I added labels to show the underside/top better.

I had my son pull the tiniest bladder snail out of his tank for me and here it is for comparison:

 

So, yeah, from the underside, I thought I just had bladder snails, but there's a definite difference in how they look, both on the glass and removed from the tank.

I do have to say this is a whole other level that I've never experienced in the last 20 years in my "sterile" tank with nothing but the fish I put in. I'm finding all this extra life that comes with plants fascinating! I don't think I will ever be able to go back to plastic plants.

Edited April 18, 2022 by AndreaW