But first things first, it’s important to know that having some snails in your fish tank is not necessarily a bad thing. In small populations, big snails can help regulate algae growth, aerate the substrate and get rid of uneaten fish food. Try introducing new tank tenants to get rid of snails, as long as they’re compatible with your existing fish. While this isn’t the easiest way to get rid of snails, it certainly is one of the most effective ones. 11. Chemical Treatment Getting rid of snails might sound cruel. They are living creatures that are inhabiting your tank, just like fish or shrimp. That’s why every once in a while, I intentionally add Assassin snails, Nerite, or Mystery snails to my freshwater fish tanks. They are not a bother as long as they don’t reproduce too fast or leave unsightly eggs that will never hatch in the aquarium.

This bladder snail is a hermaphrodite that can reproduce asexually and lay viable eggs, even if there are no other snails in the aquarium. While there are several treatment solutions out there, one that I found helpful is a hydrogen peroxide mix.If you have a plague of stubborn snails, it’s often easier to manage the population than eradicate them altogether. Thankfully, there are safe and natural methods you can use. “It may take a while, but you can greatly reduce their numbers with some patience and diligence,” Yarbrough says. 1. Manually remove snails I, for one, have found that scooping snails from the tank and using traps are two of the easiest and most humane methods of dealing with these pesky pests. Do this repeatedly until there are no more snails, or until their number is too low to cause concern. You must find out why you had an algae overgrowth in the first place. If you don’t get rid of the cause, there is no point in getting rid of the consequence. The usual reason behind this is too much light, too high water temperature, and infrequent water changes. You could be correct about the algae. I did manage to get the algae mostly under control a while ago, but I have had another outbreak laterly, and of course the algae is also feeding the snails.

The next method might be to use improvised snail traps. No, I am not talking about devices similar to mouse traps, although a few such products exist. A simple lettuce leaf will do. Aquarium salt is an amazing treatment for many health problems your fish might be dealing with. What many tank owners don’t know is that it can also kill the snails in your aquarium. LED lighting – available in many color spectrums, LED lighting is another way of enhancing fish hue. To lure whole families for easy snagging, try attaching a lettuce leaf to the aquarium glass before you go to bed. Snails love lettuce. The following morning, lift out the leaf and any feasting snails.The trap itself. I have found an old breeding box works well, but if you don’t have a breeding box, no problem! Any container will do as long as you are able to poke some small holes in it. The holes need to allow the water to drain out, while containing the snails, so pretty small. I think the bottom of a plastic water bottle would work great for this.

Soak all new plants in a Hydrogen Peroxide or a bleach solution to kill off snails as well as their eggs and larvae. Inspect plant leaves (including their undersides) and any other new inhabitants for signs of snails or their eggs before putting them in the aquarium.Also, most chemicals will kill other intervertebral pets, such as shrimp. Take your blue tiger shrimp out on time! This is best done right before nighttime when snails naturally come out of hiding. They will bunch up on the “free” food, making it easy for you to humanely remove them along with the trap. If you notice snails in your tank but you didn’t intentionally add them to the aquarium, they probably came with plants or decorations. Most snail species are herbivorous or omnivorous. They’ll eat live aquatic plants, algae, and biofilm.

If you’d like to keep your live plants but don’t want them to serve as food for snails, you might consider adding plants snails hate. The bait. I have always found cucumber works well, but any blanched veggie will do, or even a couple of algae wafers. Plants Aquarium Snail Traps are an effective way to control the snail population in your aquarium without harming your plants. The problem is, some types of snails, and mostly the small ones such as the Malaysian Trumpet Snail, are prolific breeders. Before you know it, they may overrun your fish tank and cause an out-of-control infestation. This is what makes them a nuisance. If all else fails, use an aquarium siphon to vacuum the gravel and make sure there are no food leftovers. This will also help keep the tank clean. 3. Snail Eaters

Many times when you have a sudden influx of snails you also have an algae overgrowth. Snails will thrive in an environment filled with algae. This is like a never-ending buffet for them!