Pest freshwater aquarium snails can turn a beautiful aquarium into an eyesore fast.
In this blog, I’ll talk about how to get rid of unwanted snails in your fish tank.
Where Do Pest Freshwater Aquarium Snails Come From?
Usually, pest freshwater aquarium snails like ramshorn snails, bladder snails, Malaysian trumpet snails (Yuck!), and others, make their way into an aquarium through plants, substrate, or ornaments from other aquariums.
Yep, those beautiful plants you bought for your aquarium can sometimes lead to unwanted snails.
Even though plants you purchase may appear to be free of snails, snail eggs can be hard to see and stick to plants.
Types of Freshwater Aquarium Pest Snails
Below are some of the common pest snails that you can find in aquariums.
Bladder Snails
These little guy-gals can be quite a nuisance.
Bladder snails are brown in color and mostly round but pointy on one end of their shell.
Bladder snails only grow to be about a half-inch and live for up to two years.
They are hermaphrodites that can reproduce on their own. And this can lead to a problem.
This means one bladder snail in your tank can quickly become many bladder snails in your tank.
They feed on algae and any other decaying matter in your aquarium.
Pond Snails
These snails can create a problem for any aquarist.
Pond snails are brownish in color.
Pond snail species vary, but they usually grow to be around one-fourth to one-half of an inch. They live for about a year.
Pond snails are also hermaphrodites. Which means they too can reproduce all by themselves.
They are algae eaters and will also, in some cases, go after the live plants in your aquarium.
Ramshorn Snails
As you will notice, a lot of snails are hermaphrodites, and this one is no different.
Ramshorn snails get their name from their shell that is spiral-shaped, like a ramshorn.
Ramshorn snails come in numerous colors. Often, though, they appear as red, reddish-brown, or black.
They grow to be 1/4 to 3/4 of an inch long and they live between one to two years.
These snails will eat algae, plant matter, and dead fish. Some types of these snails will eat the leaves off of certain live plants.
Malaysian Trumpet Snails
Any overpopulation of pest freshwater snails can be a problem, but these guys can really become a total nuisance. That’s because they are hard to get rid of.
These snails look like, well, trumpets, and are off-white or brownish in color.
Malaysian trumpet snails are known for not just being pests, but for breeding a whole bunch. Like a whole whole lot.
Malaysian trumpet snails grow to roughly one inch in size and live for one year.
They eat decaying plants and leftover fish food.
How to Do You Get Rid of Snails in Your Aquarium?
There are several options for getting rid of pest freshwater aquarium snails.
Some of the options are pretty basic while others are pretty extreme, like bleaching your plants or washing them in other solutions.
Prevention should always come first. But even if you are careful when buying plants, sometimes you may still inadvertently put snails into your aquarium.
Below are a few ways to help you sort out a pest snail problem.
Remove Them Manually
This method is pretty simple. Honestly, though, this should just be a small part of resolving any issue with snails.
Depending on the magnitude of your snail issue, many can be removed.
Often, with snails, you will see them climbing the glass of your aquarium, especially in the morning.
This is your opportunity to get them out.
I’d suggest using gloves, planting forceps, or both.
Add Aquatic Life to Destroy Pest Freshwater Snails
Below are some really cool types of aquatic life that would love to help any aquarist with a snail problem.
Assassin Snails
When I first learned of assassin snails for helping control unwanted snails in my aquarium, I thought it was pretty odd.
But, assassin snails will definitely do a number on pest snails like ramshorn snails, Malaysian trumpet snails, and others.
Like little assassins, assassin snails will bury themselves in the substrate and wait for their prey.
Shortly after putting an assassin snail into a tank with pest snails, you’ll probably notice empty snail shells on the top of your aquarium gravel.
Assassin snails are a great choice for managing unwanted snails in an aquarium.
Yoyo Loaches
These fish are the best. If you are looking for a cool fish that will go on the rampage against snails, the yoyo loach is your fish.
About a month after setting up one of my new tanks, I noticed a few snails in my tank. They had gotten into my tank from plants that I bought at a local pet store. It happens.
After placing a clown loach, and an assassin snail in my tank, I started to see empty snail shells just laying on the top of the sand in my aquarium.
I watched my yoyo loach for a while as he went nose down into the sand and basically sucked the snails out of their shells.
Yoyo loaches are beautiful fish and fun to watch. And, they are great in the war against pest snails.
Corydoras
Corydoras are one of my favorite freshwater fish, hands down.
These fish are beautiful, peaceful, super playful, and definitely have personalities.
Corydoras are also awesome because they are known to eat snail eggs as they scavenge around a tank.
Clown Loaches
Clown loaches can grow to be about six to eight inches. That’s a pretty big fish.
So, these fish should be kept in larger tanks.
Another thing about clown loaches is, as the yoyo loach, they love to snack on some pest snails.
They too simply suck snails right out of their shells. Slurp.
Pea Puffers
Pea puffers, aww, they’re so cute.
Let’s be realistic, these pea puffers are aggressive little guys and gals.
Although you do need to be careful with keeping pea puffers with other types of fish, pea puffers can be great at helping destroy the snails in an aquarium.
Like loaches, they essentially suck pest freshwater aquarium snails right out of their shells.
German Blue Rams
This is one you won’t see on many snail management lists. However, I’ve watched my German blue rams nip at snails in my tank more than once and kill them.
Personally, I never thought they’d be interested in snails, but, again, I’ve seen them have their way with a snail or two.
Dwarf Crayfish
Overall, dwarf crayfish are pretty peaceful. Their temperaments are a bit different than larger crayfish.
But, they are still crayfish.
Dwarf crayfish like the Mexican dwarf crayfish and the dwarf blue crayfish will go after unwanted pest snails in an aquarium.
Snail Traps
Another way to fight a snail problem in a fish tank is with the help of a snail trap. You can buy one, or save a few bucks and make one.
Making Your Own
To make a snail trap, follow these few steps.
- Cut off the top of a plastic bottle.
- Put sand or gravel in the bottle. This will ensure that the bottle sinks.
- Place blanched zucchini and a couple of sinking pellets inside the bottle.
- Before bed, put the bottle upright in your tank.
- In the morning, your trap should have snails. Empty them from the bottle and repeat as needed.
Purchase a Snail Trap
If you don’t want to make your own snail trap, you can always buy a snail trap. They are pretty inexpensive.
Personally, I prefer the do-it-yourself aquarium snail trap above.
Water Changes
Water changes are an essential part of keeping a clean and healthy aquarium.
Also, if you want to tackle your snail problem, you need to be sure to do frequent water changes.
Try doing water changes every week or a couple of times a week. The frequency will depend on your tank, feeding schedules, etc.
As you clean your tank, make sure you scrape the glass and really vacuum your substrate with a gravel vacuum like this one. The goal is to minimize the snails’ food supply.
Additionally, be sure not to overfeed your fish. Snails would love nothing more than old food to munch on.
Getting Rid of Pest Freshwater Aquarium Snails: A Recap
With aquariums, sometimes you may run into issues with pest freshwater aquarium snails. These snails can become unsightly and in some cases destroy plants.
Prevention is the best way to stop the overpopulation of unwanted snails. But, sometimes unwanted snails can get into your tank by mistake.
Usually, this occurs through the introduction of new plants, ornaments, and substrate from other tanks, etc.
If you noticed unwanted snails in your tank. Such as pond snails, ramshorn snails, and Maylasian trumpet snails, you have options.
It’s always best to take care of a snail issue as soon as you can or to be proactive by keeping certain types of aquatic life in your aquarium, to begin with.
Assassin snails, clown loaches, yoyo loaches, and others can be a huge help with ridding unwanted pest snails.
If your tank allows, I’d suggest adding a few of these snail-eating options to your tank.