How to Get Rid of Snails from an Aquarium?
A better way of saying is nailing aquarium snails infestation.
Actually, the presence of snails in aquarium is not necessarily a bad thing. Aquarium snails perform the role of a “clean-up crew” as they eat excess food, and decaying plants and fish matter. As they burrow through the substrate, they also help to oxygenate it.
However, aquarium snails multiply like wildfire, and a population explosion can lead to the destruction of your aquatic plants, mar the appearance of your aquarium, and even upset its ecological balance.
The aquarium snails themselves may be very small, and their eggs are even more minute! Thus, they can be easily introduced into an aquarium through plants, decorations, gravel or other items derived from external sources of infestation.
It may require a little effort to thoroughly clean or sterilize all items before you add them to your aquarium, but this better than tackling full-blown aquarium snails infestation.
Five Ways of Handling Snail Problems
1. Manual Removal
This is the most straightforward solution. Reach into the tank and pick the aquarium snails out as you spot them. This method requires plenty of patience on your part.
Another method is to weigh down a piece of food, such as lettuce, on an overturned dish and leave it in the tank for a few hours after turning off the lights. This attracts the aquarium snails, which will soon converge on the plates. Lift out plate and dispose of the snails.
If you have bottom-feeding fish, prevent them from getting to the bait first by storing the food within a canister with holes that are big enough for the aquarium snails to go through.
2. Control Feeding
Feed your fish as much as they can completely consume within a few minutes, as this means less food is left behind to nourish the aquarium snails.
3. Snail-Eating Fish
This is the solution that requires the least amount of effort, and you may end up acquiring new and interesting fish for your aquarium too.
Common snail-eating fish include varieties of Cichlids, Catfish, Gourami and Bettas. Some fish species are better at eating aquarium snails than others, and each may have their won preference for different species of snail.
How far the aquarium snails population declines will depend on the types of fish you decide to use, their feeding patterns, how much food the fish are provided with the types of snails inhabiting your aquarium.
4. Snail-Killing Chemicals
Avoid this method. Anything designed to kill aquarium snails probably isn’t all that great for your ish and plants either. Never add chemicals to your tank unless you know exactly what the risks and likely side effects are. Most snail-killing chemicals contain high levels of copper.
If the chemical used kills a massive number of aquarium snails, it will result in a large amount of decaying matter and, in turn, high ammonia levels to contaminate the aquarium. If you do choose such methods, follow up with plenty of small partial water changes. Change at least 10 per cent of the water every other day for a week, check the filter, and test the ammonia level regularly during this period.
5. Tear Down the Aquarium Setup Completely
This should only be done as last resort. The only way to rid your tank of aquarium snails is to start all over again – this means removing and sterilizing everything in the tank, including the gravel, filters, plants tank and even the aquarium hood (yes, it’s possible for eggs to be attached to it!). To do this, you must have a place to hold your fish while the aquarium undergoes a new cycling process (that is, establishing colonies of beneficial bacteria).
These methods will not help to eradicate aquarium snails completely – they merely keep the population in check. After the initial weeks of snail warfare, occasional intervention will still be required to keep the numbers from getting out of control again.
Mermaid Highly Recommends:
Dec 22nd 2006
11:58 PM
Would you suggest having sails?
I’ve been keeping fish for years, since I was 13. I have never had a problem with snails.
I set up a tank at my girlfriend’s and them BAM! 100′s of them. Should I steal one or two from her tank?
Dec 23rd 2006
2:48 AM
Hi Baby Jebus,
Stealing one or two snails from her tank won’t help get rid of the snail completely. Snails multiply extremely fast, so you best bet is to follow the steps I lay out above.
Hope that helps!
Jan 15th 2008
8:18 AM
Hi there
I just read you’re very helpful article on getting rid of snails, I was wondering if you could advise me further on what to do. I read the article just after I had put one dose of ‘Snail Rid’ into my 80 litre tank (the instructions say to wait three days and put in another). At the moment my tank is a planted tank with no fish (it has been cycling for 3 and a half weeks) and I was hoping to put fish into it in a few days). I really regret putting the chemical in now and wondered what you think would be the best course to take. Its not over-run yet by snalis, I probably see about 6 or
7 when I put the light on. I have however had problems before with them over running my tank.
Thanks and regards
Robyn
Jan 15th 2008
8:20 AM
Hi Robyn,
I see you have a slimy situation here!
What’s done, CAN be undone. Since you have already wasted 3½ weeks without much success, I recommend you to start all over (hope I’m not too late!). What you think you saw may not be what it actually has, believe you me there are many more snails if you really scrutinize your plants and tank.
Remember to sterilize everything thoroughly and leave no stone unturned. Once you done with the cycling and adding the fish and plants, keep a close watch for the next few days. If you spotted a couple snails, you might want to use the first three steps I’ve outlined on the article.
Hope this helps! And thanks for visiting my site.
Feb 8th 2008
6:29 PM
Is it ok for these snails and eggs to go down the drain if we have a septic system??
Feb 8th 2008
6:32 PM
I just cleaned my tank out for the first time since my snail infestation. There are 100′s of eggs laid in my plastic plants. How do I kill them all?? Can I just boil the plants?? Help!
Feb 8th 2008
9:51 PM
Hi Jennifer,
To both of your questions, yes it is possible to do what you suggested but it is not going to get rid of them completely. Your tank still have to be thoroughly cleaned as well as other things you have in your tank.
Do follow the steps outlined above and see how it goes.
Hope this helps!
Mar 16th 2008
2:24 AM
To whom this may concern,
I have a forty gallon tank with four 5 inch piranhas. The tank probably has 100 baby snails, and they keep coming.Is it possible to add salt to the water to rid the tank of snails?
Mar 18th 2008
11:22 AM
you could kill the fish before you kill the snails. it’s best to smash the snails as they appear. even if it means stabbing them with a stick over the next couple months. sooner or later your time will be rewarded with a snail free environment.
Apr 27th 2008
6:43 PM
I’ve just found a single adult pond snail in my plant quantine tank. My plants have already undergone TWO seperate bleach baths and quarantine sessions. As my weakened sad looking plants could not handle another anti-snail treatment a different approach is needed.
Question: Would adding a few snail eating fish ERADICATE the snail problem? or just keep down the numbers?
Thanks guys.
Aug 14th 2008
10:26 AM
Read #3.. I don’t think it will completely solve the problem. I bought some african dwarf frogs a few weeks ago and shortly after I noticed a snail. I thought it was so cool, and was happy to have it.. until now. 100s of snails in my 12 gallon tank! I didn’t want to do it before, but it looks like I’m gonna have to go on a killing spree. Damn snails
Dec 13th 2008
12:19 PM
Thanks!,
Dec 27th 2008
11:31 PM
An Assassin snail is another possibility. I’ve also heard (never tried) that bathing stuff in vinegar will kill the eggs. I was looking for that article when I came across this one…
The snails I have have multiplied themselves into balance with the rest of the ecosystem. They have been that way for about 3 months. I probably have 50-100 1/4 inch snails in my 10 gallon tank.
I’m a little torn over what to do. On one hand I don’t really like looking at this horde of uninvited guests. On the other they are remarkable house keepers. I haven’t done any algae scrubbing for 3 months and the tank is spotless. Also, every gravel vacuuming I do hardly turns up anything. The water has never been so good!
Jan 6th 2009
7:21 AM
I have a growing snail infestation that came in on my driftwood that I added to my 40 gallon tank.
I have a tank of mostly livebearers (one dalmatian molly, one blue platy and her two babies, one plumetail platy, one balloon molly, and three guppies) along with two young bristlenose plecos and two small Australian rainbowfish.
I have some salt in it (1 tablespoon salt/5 gallons), but could I increase that without hurting my plecos and rainbowfish? If so, to what levels?
I’d rather not use chemicals to kill the snails if I could just salt them to death without harming my fish. Manual removal from a 40 gallon is just not feasible for me, clown loaches are out, and I don’t want to have to deal with a fin-nipping dwarf puffer…
Jan 11th 2009
4:09 PM
I’ve recently redone my tank due to snails and would like to reintroduce some live plants. How do I ensure that the live plants that you purchase from a pet store have no snails? Do I have to purchase the snail free plants in the tube or can I treat them before I put them in my tank?
Feb 15th 2009
7:42 PM
I have a big infestation of snails in my tank i am currently steralising the gravel and all of the items (boat rocks an my VW Camper
). I have tried manual removal but 2 days later they were back in force and i bought 2 gourami’s they seemed too eat a few but have now stopped and have limited feeding as much as i can. i am completly emptying the tank and have another tank ready too take the fish. Without no fish in my main tank what is the best way too blast the snails and restart the tank from scratch
Many Thanks
Jay
Feb 24th 2009
11:26 AM
I just found out that I have snails. They obviously came from the new fish i purchased couple of days ago. I know this because I had cleaned my tank already and placed new plastic plants and ornaments and I made sure that they were cleaned properly before they entered the tank. Now I have a SNAIL problem!!!! I purchased “had a snail”, from petsmart and it did not work well. Now I thinking about doing step #5. My question is, If I take the fish out, change the tank, with new gravel, etc. Will the fish that I have…can it carry the snail egg and infest the new clean tank???? Help..
Feb 24th 2009
11:27 AM
and if this happens, does this mean I need to give it up all together??
Mar 13th 2009
2:47 AM
LatinDiva2g,
Snails don’t attach to fish…probably eggs or small ones in the water, or most likely eggs survived your strip down and re set up. I have done extensive cleaning and they have started up again. Once I used super hot water and snails later were crawling about in the bucket (was washing gravel – I don’t use bleach esp on gravel).. they are tough survivors. I like them but not when the get out of control – which they often do.
Mar 13th 2009
2:50 AM
Byran,
If things are in balance (snails like fish produce waste and can add to bio load causing spikes in ammonia so on) and if you like them maybe let things alone. Cull some out every once in a while.
Apr 10th 2009
4:58 PM
Interesting coomunity! Thanks.
May 9th 2009
3:06 PM
we have hundereds of snails and no matter what we do we cant get rid of them!!!! what do i do?
May 11th 2009
7:59 AM
Okay, so I posted my snail issues here back at the beginning of January, and now I have almost no snails in my tank! Yay! I counted over a hundred one day, and now I rarely ever see any. Not a single one makes it to its adult size. So how did this happen when I did nothing to the tank? Apparently, as I witnessed about a month ago, my two Australian rainbowfish LOVE escargo! They pick at the miniscule snails on the sides of the glass until they fall off. Now, I have never heard of this particular fish relentlessly hunting snails (like loaches and puffers), but mine do an amazing job! Not sure if other rainbowfish will do it, so maybe mine are just weird… Just thought I’d share!
May 13th 2009
7:44 AM
Hi guys,
I’ve just got a 3ft tank from a friend, set it up at my house (Just transferred everything in bags & buckets).
I’ve got tons of snails, they’re everywhere.
I’m using a snail-trap at the moment, it works but there’s so many it’s fighting a losing battle.
What are the best fish to buy that will eat them?
I have a Kissing Gourami, Cobalt Blue, Plec and a Catfish and a couple of smaller fish (The names escape me at the moment…), none of these seem to fancy a snail snack!
I’d really rather not take the “start from scratch” route!
Thanks for any help
Sep 22nd 2009
12:26 AM
How fast and how often do snails multiply, I just bought one yesterday for the algaie and am worried now about a snail problem – how long till i can expect snail “babies”
Nov 30th 2009
4:10 PM
I bought some new plants for my planted tank and noticed some hitchikers. Jungle makes a water clerifier i want to say its called clear water. Either way if its purple you got the right stuff. Before i introduce anything into my tanks i clean to the best of my ability. Plants are no exception. Just give them a 15-20 min soak in a slightly heaver concentration than the bottle reccomends. Remember to use tank water not tap. And you will have a snail free enviroment! It does a nice job of disrupting their reproductive cycle and will ensure no future generations. As for getting rid of them in a tank manually is the best method it just takes patience. EVERY time you see one snag it!
Jan 8th 2010
9:24 PM
Not long after buying a few new fish, I noticed pin-dot white specks in my aquarium, and sure enough, a snail infestation had begun! I attempted manual removal for months, with no luck, and then my fish began to die. As a last resort, I set up a small aquarium for the remaining fish, removed as much water as I could, and poured in several cups of salt. I’ll allow this to soak for a few days, then sterilize it all. What a mess!!! What are my chances of success?
Jan 21st 2010
10:09 PM
We have a huge infestation of snails. We have tried manually removing them but they just keep appearing everywhere. We need to get rid of them. There taking over our tank. What should I do? We were thinking about trying the salt in huge amounts too! Did it work for you mary? What would we use to sterilize everything afterwards? please help!
Feb 11th 2010
11:30 AM
manual removal and killing as much as I can is what work best for me
Mar 17th 2010
7:28 AM
I have a snail problem, but no fish left in my tank. How do I dispose of the snails? Like, can they go down the drain? or outside? or what?
Apr 6th 2010
3:19 AM
please i am a senior citizen fighting snails. i have a 100 gallon tank that i have emptied and started over 3 times in 1 week. my tank is 5 years pld and i have never had snails, i have probably taken and fished out thousands. today pet smart tells me the only way is clown loaches. i put my previous fish in the pond outside and now have a tank of loaches and snails. my question is what do i do with the snails. i felt bad about killing them so i took them and poured them in the park pond. is that wrong???
May 17th 2010
12:29 PM
Assassin Snails are the best way to go. You can get them cheap when they come in season and they also are an attractive addition to any tank. I had bought 3 today and they already are taking care of my snail problem
If you have snails already, consult either a breeder or an aquarium expert before adding Assassin Snails. On the same note, do not put Assassin Snails with puffers, loaches, catfish or any other fish that like to eat snails. Even if the Assassin Snails take care of the snail problem, they WILL eat food debris that falls to the bottom gravel. They also prefer to not eat live plants or algae so your plants are safe (although they will eat algae more than plants). They are slow breeders (females lay 1 egg per month) and require a male and female Assassin to breed. Even if you end up with a small collection of Assassins, they are actually quite valuable to other aquarium owners who will gratefully pay a small price for them.
My recommendation is to have 3 snails per 10 gallons. This is so you are almost guaranteed a male and female plus another one. You CAN have up to 10 per 10 gallons, but I feel that’s a bit too much especially if you’re only interested in these Assassins just to get rid of a small snail population boom. I also recommend about 3 per 10 gallons so that way you don’t wipe out ALL the other snails. Not only does it ensure a near endless supply of food for the Assassins, but it also allows the other snails to clear out algae when the Assassins don’t want to!
Obviously, this is a Freshwater tank solution
Tank Setup: Lightly planted, heated, filtered/aerated 10-gal tank. Plastic plants and 4 neon tetras reside as well as the newly added 3 assassin snails.
May 18th 2010
7:45 PM
Hi it was noce to read your article and I had already taken steps to pick whenever I spot one but the problem is some snails are so minute you can not see even so next day they appear again this will make you go mad. I read that gouramis and betts are snail killers too is it true for dworf gouramis too?
May 22nd 2010
12:31 AM
hi, ive never had snails in my tank, except a couple of apple snails which bred and i had no probs with, but the other day i turned the light on my 60litre tank, and the glass was absolutely covered in inch long trumpet snails, i used some cucumber to entice them , then some one said potatoe in the end i used snail away, and quite happily thought thats the end, not seeing anymore, however i cleaned the tank out last night, put the lights back on and the gravel was moving with them , i bought some chemical stuff from poulton pets today, i do hope i dont have to do a restart as im a pensioner and not in the best of health at the moment, and i dont want to buy clown loaches as the tank is up for sale, any ideas please,
Jun 13th 2010
7:49 AM
i have just recently started up my tropical fish tank and went in to my dining room to feed my fish only to find three baby snails on the glass which i have removed.I Have been reading all of your posts and am grateful for the information,I will def being going to buy one or two of these assission snails to deal with the problem but first am going to try doing what i did when i had my goldfish.I always sterlized the gravel by putting them in an old pllow case along with the ornaments by putting them in my dishwasher without using any cleaning products i just put salt in where the tablets normally go and my goldfish were always healthy and i had them for five years then decided to change to tropical and gave them away to do it so if this helps with the snail infestation good luck it is worth a try as im goin to do it tomorrow.
Jun 17th 2010
7:48 PM
Hi, I have a 300 ltr tank which I’ve had for about 8 years,over time I have had some major troubles with snails and have tried manual removal but got nowhere, then bought couple of clown loaches but the snail population just grew even tried chemicals but to no avail, I am now in the process of stripping down the tank and have removed my fish to a holding tank but one of my best kissing gouramis died due to the stress, My question is if I empty the tank and just leave it to dry out for a couple of weeks will the get rid of the snails once and for all or will they reappear when I do the set up again? I have been told the eggs can survive for a number of years with out water? but don’t know if it is true??? Any help in this matter would be appreciated.
Jun 18th 2010
1:17 PM
hi all. Great website. Please help me with the ffg issue. I want to start a marine tank soon but dont trust the local dealers. Pls help with total setup from start to finish. Thanks guys.
Jun 19th 2010
11:51 AM
Dear Dan,
I think if you remove all water and then wash the tank with some shampoo or soap and keep it dry for 1-2 days and again wash it the same way and keep 1-2 days and then refill and re set it would be ok. Make sure to clean soap 100% with water before resetting.
Aug 25th 2010
3:44 AM
Hi, I have been fighting the snail plague for months now. Problem is you can’t starve your fish so the snails live off the left over food, my clown loaches don’t seem to be eating them or if they are they can’t keep up with the population explosion. I have brown, black and round french horn type snails. So every time I see snails I have my arm in the tank with a long pair of tweezers and I pick them out. I think I got the brown and black ones with plants and the french horn ones with either plants or drift wood, how would one know. I have three tanks, 30, 60 and 190 litres. I have used “Snail Rid” in the 30 & 60 litre tanks three times and still they survive. I live in hope that my ‘pickings’ will eventually win over. I have stripped down 30 ltr tank twice washed everything including plants and still they come. Surely good will win over evil.