Hi,

Several people have emailed me regarding these species of snails and I
thought I would summarize and post so everyone can know this
information.

I have found a source of freshwater Nerite snails if anyone is
interested just email me, and I'll send you the link. She is a very
friendly person.

It appears there are real differences between red ramshorns and red
ramshorns. There are ramshorns that are red in color and then there
are true european red ramshorns that are a different species all
together that do not eat plants (as far as we know). Much of the red
ramshorns sold in the aquatic trade are not this European species,
thus earning their mislabeled rap. Overall, if you have the true
species, I'd say you have a good snail.

No one seemed to have any extra brigesi snails, which I thought was
strange. They are quite prolific breeders, but I will purcahse adult
specimins instead of taking extras off the hands of hobbyists.

When it comes to MTS and there are two common species in the hobby:
granifera and tubercutula. Granifera (the species I have) are a plain
dark brown and top out at a max size of 1cm, although that is somewhat
rare (3/4 of a cm being most common). The other species, tubercutula,
is apparently quite diverse in it's markings and size. It can grow
anywhere from 2-3 cm (depending on variety) and its striping pattern
is as diverse as brigesi snails coloration it appears, with green and
red being the most prominent as stripe colors. Their shells are
lighter colored than granifera. They apparently have a great deal more
genetic variability (mutants and albinos were mentioned) than
granifera, as I have never seen a granifera that did not look dark
brown and showed any qualities that would make it different. The
varieties do indeed seem to be varieties and not seperate species as
it appears they interbreed freely. This is second-hand as I do not own
this species, but based on research and what people have told me all
of the above seems to be a good summary.

Best of luck to plant AND snail lovers,
Allen