Every aquarist sooner or later encounters unexpected guests. You may have noticed that small snails that you did not put there have suddenly appeared in your underwater world. Most likely, they got there with plants or decorations in the form of almost invisible eggs.
At first, these creatures seem harmless, even cute. They clean the glass a little and eat leftover food. But the problem is that snails reproduce at an incredible rate. In just a couple of weeks, there can be so many of them that they cover every rock and plant leaf, spoiling the appearance of the aquarium and disturbing its inhabitants.
Don't panic and immediately resort to chemicals. There are many safe and effective ways to get the situation under control. In this article, we will look at eight proven methods that will help you reduce the snail population to an acceptable level or get rid of them altogether without harming your fish and plants.
Harm from snails
Mollusks can be a nuisance, especially when they are numerous, namely:
- in large numbers, they spoil the appearance of the aquarium.
- they eat fish eggs and cover them with mucus, which prevents healthy offspring from being produced (therefore, mollusks should not be kept in spawning tanks).
- introduce parasites and infect fish with them (although this risk is significantly lower than when using live feed);
- eat food intended for bottom dwellers, leaving them hungry;
- with a sharp increase in the snail population, the balance of the ecosystem is disrupted due to the abundance of shells in the aquarium.
Melania
Some species of mollusks reproduce particularly quickly. In particular, these are melania. They breathe entirely through their gills and are viviparous, so they do not rise to the surface of the water.
Melania snails live in the ground and only leave it if the oxygen concentration in the water drops significantly. This species of snail reproduces exponentially.
Due to their small size, they can successfully hide between stones. And one day, the aquarist may notice that the substrate has suddenly “come to life” — there are so many melania snails in it that are invisible to the eye.
Traps
One of the safest ways to combat snails is to use traps and bait.
Ready-made devices
Traps can be purchased in stores. They are containers with narrow entrances for snails. Food that attracts mollusks is placed inside, and the trap is submerged in water. The snails crawl inside on their own. After that, they can be removed from the aquarium along with the container.
1- AQUAXER Trapper Snail 2-JBL LimCollect I 3-Dennerle
Another type of trap is manufactured under the Dennerle brand. It is an empty container with a slit on a telescopic handle. All you need to do is run the trap along the walls of the aquarium and collect the snails in the container.
Baits
Factory-made traps are not cheap, despite their simple design. For example, the JBL LimCollect model costs around €13. Another problem is that these devices are not easy to buy, as they are not often found in stores.
Therefore, aquarists use bait to get rid of snails. For example, fresh cucumber, lettuce or cabbage leaves are placed between the stones at night. A weight is attached to the treat to keep it at the bottom. In the morning, all that remains is to remove the bait with the snails gathered on it.
It is recommended to scald the vegetables with boiling water beforehand. Aquarists claim that this bait works faster.
Homemade traps
The bait trick is not always successful because some species of fish, such as catfish, love to eat cucumbers and cabbage. Therefore, the lettuce leaf may disappear before the mollusk crawls up to it.
If you can't use “bare” bait, you can make a trap with your own hands. This will require an empty plastic bottle.
The device is made as follows:
- Several holes are burned in the bottom. The size of the holes should be such that a snail can pass through them, but not a fish.
- Place the bait mentioned above inside.
- Weight is attached so that the container does not float.
- The bottle is closed.
- Immerse the trap in water in the evening.
By morning, there will be many snails in the bottle.
Professional methods
Aquarists often use chemical preparations against mollusks.
However, this method has side effects:
- The death of a large number of individuals can cause rapid bacterial growth.
- These preparations can be harmful to microorganisms in the filter.
- It is unlikely that the remedy will be effective against the entire population.
- It is useless against eggs.
Before purchasing a particular product, read the instructions. Copper is often included in the composition. This element is dangerous for fish and shrimp.
The following industrial products are available in aquarium stores:
Sera Snailpur
Two hours after applying the product, replace 1/3 of the aquarium water, removing the paralyzed snails at the same time. Then treat the water with Sera Aqutan conditioner at the dosage for a full aquarium and add fresh water to the full volume. Repeat the treatment after 2 weeks to remove the fry that have hatched from the eggs.
ZMF Limnacid
A powerful remedy against snails, hydras, and planarians. The product requires strict adherence to the dosage. Before use, remove adsorbents from the aquarium and replace 1/3 of the aquarium water with fresh water.
JBL Schnecktol
After using the product according to the instructions, remove dead specimens from the aquarium. The product is notable for being harmless to tower snails. The product is used at a rate of 25 ml per 100 liters of water.
The “fish” method
Some fish species enjoy eating snails. The following are effective against mollusks:
Green Tetradon
This fish looks very cute, but has an extremely aggressive nature. The small tetradon (about 15-17 cm long) does not give any of its neighbors a break, eagerly eating snails, even ampullaria. By the way, the tetradon is a close relative of the puffer fish.
Dwarf Tetradon
This fish's teeth grow quickly. It is forced to regulate their length by grinding them down on snail shells. After introducing dwarf tetradons into an aquarium, you can expect the entire population of snails and physids to be destroyed within a few days.
Eight-inch tetradon
A very aggressive aquarium inhabitant. Although it is small, only 10 cm long, one individual requires an aquarium of at least 50 liters. The eight-spined tetradon is notable for eating even melania.
Dwarf gourami
The length of this fish rarely exceeds 4 cm. Therefore, gouramis are suitable for small aquariums to combat small snails and their eggs.
Ancistrus catfish
Clean the walls of the aquarium and decorations where snails lay their eggs, thereby controlling their numbers.
Moderate feeding of fish
Another preventive measure is to strictly control the amount of food given to the fish. Any uneaten food should be removed from the aquarium immediately. The glass should be cleaned regularly; a magnetic sponge is ideal for this. This will reduce the amount of food available in the aquarium, and the number of snails will decrease.
Cleaning the aquarium
This method will help get rid of melania and black snails. Cleaning is carried out as follows:
- The fish are transferred to a separate aquarium.
- Drain the water.
- Remove plants and soil.
- Thoroughly rinse the container.
- Wash and boil all decorations.
- Add new soil.
- Rinse the algae (for details, see the section “Protect your aquarium from snails”).
- Set up the aquarium again.
This is a fairly effective method. But it has a significant drawback — the aquarium needs to be restarted.
Snails in an aquarium can quickly turn from a minor nuisance into a real problem, but it is quite possible to deal with them without harming fish and plants. The main thing is to take a comprehensive approach: limit overfeeding, clean the bottom regularly, use natural helpers such as certain fish and albino snails, and in case of a severe infestation, carefully apply mechanical or natural methods. The eight proven methods described in the article will help you deal with pests and keep your aquarium clean and comfortable for all its inhabitants.
Protect your aquarium from snails
To avoid having to deal with the problem later, it is better to prevent snails from falling into the aquarium.
One of the most effective and safest methods is to treat the plants. This is especially true for flora taken from water bodies.
This is done as follows:
- The plant is placed in an aqueous solution of an anti-snail agent.
- Leave for several hours.
The plant is thoroughly washed.- Pour dechlorinated water into a separate container — preferably taken from the aquarium.
- Immerse the plant in it and only then plant it in the soil.
Some sources mention another method. For this, you will need chlorinated lime. The product is diluted in a ratio of 100 g to 1900 ml of water. Plants are immersed in the solution for 30 seconds to 2 minutes, and then thoroughly rinsed.
This method is unsafe for both plants and fish. Therefore, for prevention, it is better to use professional mollusk control products.
Before you start exterminating snails, you need to consider that they can also be beneficial. Mollusks eat dead organic matter, rotting plant parts, and film on the water surface. Some species, such as melania, warn of water pollution with their behavior.
Video tips: how to get rid of snails in an aquarium
As you can see, combating snails in an aquarium is not about declaring total war on them. It is more about restoring balance. It is often unnecessary to get rid of them completely, as they also have benefits.
The main conclusion is simple: the best strategy is prevention and control. Keep your aquarium clean, do not overfeed your fish, and carefully check new plants. This is more reliable than fighting an infestation later.
Choose one or more methods from the article that are suitable for your aquarium. Be patient, as the process may take some time. Remember that your goal is a healthy ecosystem where all inhabitants, including a couple of snails, will be comfortable.
