Another very efficient option you can use is to place predator fish into the aquarium water. These fish will eat the snails in your tank. The fish you want to add to your tank to eat your snails depends on the size of the aquarium you have. If you have a small tank, I advise you to buy green spotted puffers, dwarf chain loaches or zebra. These fish are small, but they are very efficient, as they will crack through the shell of snails and eat them. You want to be careful not to put too many of these fish into your tank if you have shrimps, as the predator fish will turn of them once the snails are gone.
Those fish are also good for larger tanks, but there are some larger fish that are not suitable for a small tank. These fish include clown loach and pictus catfish.
The most ecological option is to use assassin snails. Predator snails Antentome helena will eat most of, if not all of your tank snails. They are a popular option as they are easy to buy, quite pleasant to look at and also very effective.
Once they eliminate all other snails in your tank, they will start eating like all other snails, so that is not a problem. They are slow and they tend to spend their day in the substrate.
They feed at night. If you want, you can have your own separate population of assassin snails in a separate aquarium, so you can add them if your snails die, and it also helps you to control their population. This is one thing you can do yourself. But if you are not that type of person, you can always buy snail traps in pet stores or online. You can build a very simple trap yourself, though. Simply place a large piece of lettuce into the tank and leave it overnight.
In the morning you will find a large number of snails on the lettuce piece, and you can get rid of them instantly. For best results, you should do this a few nights in a row. The other option is to buy the traps. These traps emit a special smell which attracts the snails; these then get trapped into the trap. This option sounds good, but the thing with traps is that you will have to stay consistent and place the traps on several nights in a row to see the best results.
This option is perhaps the most natural, but if you need to eliminate a large amount of snails in a short amount of time, then it is perhaps best to consider other options. Using snail traps is your best bet for cleaning the tank consistently and also for controlling the snail population in your aquarium.
The best way to avoid getting an uncontrolled population of snails in your tank is to prevent them from spreading in the first place. Here I will provide the best tips for you to prevent the snails from spreading and keep control of the snail population. The best tip I can give you is to inspect every item you buy before you put it into your tank thoroughly. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Cookie Settings.
Learn why people trust wikiHow. Download Article Explore this Article methods. Tips and Warnings. Related Articles. Article Summary. Method 1. Avoid overfeeding. Overfeeding can led to a snail population boom.
Try underfeeding your aquarium inhabitants only feeding enough for the fish to eat at each feeding to see if that solves snail overpopulation. Use a chemical to kill the snails.
The most common, fish-safe chemical used to kill snails is copper sulfate. If this is used, you need to carefully follow the directions for use given on the bottle to make sure your fish survive the treatment.
Most times this will cause a massive snail die-off which may foul your aquarium. If so you will need to spend time removing dead snails and adjusting the water to make sure it remains healthy for your fish and any live plants. It's best to only use chemicals as a last resort after trying other natural solutions. Place snail traps in the tank. Various snail traps are available on-line or through pet stores to trap snails.
However, a very simple trap is to place a large piece of lettuce in the aquarium, clip the sturdy stem end to the aquarium's side, and leave it overnight. Doing this a few nights in a row may help rid your aquarium of vast numbers of snails.
Snails can also be picked out of the aquarium as they are seen. This is most effective when there are smaller number of snails. However, since snails are mainly nocturnal it may not make a dent in the problem. When snails hatch, they are quite small and can climb up the sides of the aquarium. Use a small diameter hose like an air pump hose and start a siphon.
Just go along and suck the little ones out. It may need to be done more than once to remove them all, though you can pull out in a couple of minutes. Repeat the process in a few hours. Add snail predators to your tank.
Scavenger fish are good fish to add to the tank to eat snails. For smaller tanks, try Zebra or Dwarf Chain loaches. For larger tanks, Clown Loaches or Pictus Catfish will do the job.
They don't reproduce as readily, so generally don't become a problem like other snails. Try multiple solutions. Clearly there are various methods to rid your aquarium of these problem pests. Since snails can quickly overwhelm your tank with their sheer numbers, this should be a priority task. You may need to try a couple in order to get rid of the snails inhabiting your tank. Clean everything. Method 2. Inspect all items entering the tank.
Preventing the introduction of snails into the aquarium can save you a lot of time and trouble. Remove any snails or eggs before placing into your aquarium. Quarantine items before placing them in the tank. Quarantine live plants before placing into your tank by having a quarantine tank. Leave the plants in there a few weeks and pick off any snails you find.
Dip all aquarium additions in a snail killing solution before adding them to the tank. Dipping plants in a bleach solution can kill snails and eggs. Dip the plants in this solution for two to three minutes, remove and rinse well under running water for up to five minutes.
You can also place plants in a killing solution of aluminum sulfate and water. Submerge the plants in this and let them sit in this for at least hours but up to 24 hours. When you remove the plants, rinse them well before adding to your aquarium. Did you know you can get expert answers for this article? Unlock expert answers by supporting wikiHow. Pest snails are actually in high demand if you own a snail-eating fish because they provide a lot of essential nutrients and enrichment for the animal to display its natural hunting behavior.
Almost all freshwater pufferfish — from the tiny pea puffer to the massive Mbu puffer — love to eat snails, and the crunchiness of the snail shells can help grind down puffer teeth and prevent them from getting too long. Many loaches — such as clown, zebra, yoyo, and dwarf chain loaches — can use their pointy snouts to poke into snail shells and slurp out the insides.
Finally, some aquarists employ the services of the assassin snail — a 1-inch 2. Assassin snails Anentome helena ambush and eat other snails, even those that are much larger in size. Some people run their plants under running water to help wash away any unseen hitchhikers.
Then place the plant in a quarantine tank with light and fertilizers, and continuously remove any snails that appear. Snail eggs can take weeks to hatch, depending on the species and water temperature, so this process requires some patience. While this quarantine plan is not bulletproof, we recommend taking a slow and steady approach rather than using chemical treatments like bleach or aquarium salt. Bladder and ramshorn snails lay egg sacs that contain multiple babies, whereas Malaysian trumpet snails give birth to live young.
Shop Menu. Method 1: Less Food Fish keeping veterans know that the easiest way to lessen the number of snails is to feed less fish food. Method 2: Manual Removal Slowly starving the snails can take a while, so speed up the process by physically removing snails whenever you get a chance.
Method 3: Snail Trap Some species like Malaysian trumpet snails are nocturnal and like to burrow in the substrate, so it can be harder to collect them from the tank. Method 4: Snail Eaters Pest snails are actually in high demand if you own a snail-eating fish because they provide a lot of essential nutrients and enrichment for the animal to display its natural hunting behavior.
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