do pond snails eat plants.

[Joonkun]

i've seen people answer both ways. im just curious as i have gotten some snails in my new tank ive set up/ i did soak the plants but obviously not long enough, or some were reistant or something to the soak. anyways, im trying to decide whether the snails are to blame for the holes in m plants, or maybe just because the plants are new they are jsut melting a bit while acclimating. its not potassium deficiency, i've already ruled that out. i guess i want to know whether i need to remove the snails asap. or having some is fine, as they are not to blame. (i know they multiply fast but tbh ill just pick them out as they multiply to feed to my other tank). im more worried about my plants.

[dbosman]

The answer is yes and no.
There are different species of snails. Some eat only detritus while others eat living plant matter. Some of the detritus eaters would eat spots on the leaves, but only because the spots were dead or dying tissue.

If the spots are only on old leaves, potassium deficiency jumps to the top of the suspect list.
If the holes start as pin prick size on new leaves, the plants are probably not getting something necessary for complete photosynthesis. That could be light, carbon, or any of several other chemicals. If the spots are between leaf veins manganese could be an issue.

[Joonkun]

They are acclimatinf just planted. I expected some melt on older leaves especially the crypts