HOW TO GET RID OF AQUARIUM SNAILS
Where do snails come from?
Snails usually enter the aquarium together with aquarium plants or any decoration or equipment that has been installed in another aquarium and has not been cleaned beforehand, e.g. gravel, decoration, water filter, etc.
Which snails are pests?
A variety of ornamental snails, such as the red horned coil (Planorbis corneus var. Rubra), may be purchased, but there are also snails that are introduced into an aquarium by accident and are rather difficult to get rid of. These snails include the Physa (Physa) and the Melaniya (Ground Snail). They are small snails, characterized by their different behaviour.
The physa snail crawls around on all aquarium surfaces and eats algae and detritus. It lays its eggs in small jelly balls. The bottom-dwelling snails spend most of their time in the substrate, only coming up to the surface during feeding, usually at night. Both types of snails multiply very rapidly, particularly if there is plenty of food left over from the fish, and the numbers can sometimes be in the hundreds, even in small aquariums.
How to get rid of snails?
Physical removal
Whenever you see a pest snail, pick it up with your fingers and remove it. You can use a small net or a tube for this. Siphoning is particularly effective for melanomas, as you can then suck them out of the gravel.
Snail traps
A snail trap is an effective and humane way to catch snails in the aquarium. The trap is placed on the substrate and loaded with fish food as bait. The snails smell the food and pass through the one-way door. Once they enter, they cannot get out. In the morning, the trap is removed from the aquarium and the snails are released. The trap should be placed on the bottom before lights out.
Chemicals to remove snails
Specially formulated chemicals are available for snail control. These should be used with care as they are not only destructive for snails but also kill shrimps and other invertebrates. If there are very many snails in the aquarium, it is not worth fighting them thoroughly, as their dead bodies strongly pollute the water and saturate it with ammonia during the decomposition process. Try other control methods first.
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Get fish that eat snails
Snails are tasty food for some fish. Get a few of these fish and they will naturally rid the aquarium of snails. The loaches, for example, will quickly reduce the number of snails in the aquarium. Some cichlids also eat snails.
Snails eat snails
Nature is amazing and there are snails that eat aquarium snail pests. The Anentome helena easily defeat many types of harmful snails. Fish that feed on snails should not be kept in an aquarium with helena snails, otherwise the helenas themselves might become prey for them.
What is causing the explosive snail population
There is no doubt that the explosive growth of the snail population is always due to overfeeding. Under-eaten flakes and granular food or simply plenty of detritus contribute to the unrestrained multiplication of snails. Remove all food that is not eaten by the fish from the tank and you will be able to control the reproduction of the snails.
