How to get rid of snails in an aquarium

There are several ways to get rid of snails, however, they are only effective in relatively small aquariums. In huge tanks, dealing with mollusks is much more difficult. The only way that gives a 100% guarantee is the complete replacement of all aquatic plants and heat treatment of the soil and design elements. For this period, the fish should be transplanted into a separate aquarium.

If your aquarium is significantly less than 1000 liters (the figure is arbitrary) and does not belong to the “huge” category, then the following methods will work with the task of getting rid of snails:

The use of special preparations

You can buy them at any major pet or online store. Produced as a suspension/liquid and supplied in vials. When choosing a drug, it is important not to make a mistake with the choice and not to take a fake or a handicraft product. Otherwise, in place of the desired effect, you will get the death of all living things in the aquarium.

It is worth remembering that when the drug does its job, dead snails can lead to water pollution with decomposition products.

Adding carnivorous snails

Clea helena or predatory snail Helena is able to effectively fight other mollusks. This method does not give quick results, but, from the point of view of the biological system of the aquarium, it is the most natural and safe. Depending on the size of the tank and the number of Helens, either the snails can be completely eliminated or the population can be greatly reduced.

Using snail traps

As with drugs, you can purchase special traps for snails in pet and online stores, or make them yourself. They come in different shapes and sizes and do their job well.

The largest selection of models is presented on the Internet. Type snail trap into the search engine and a lot of offers will appear, including on Ebay and Aliexpress.

Note

As a rule, snails do not cause any serious harm to the aquarium. To many, they seem unsightly, but they are safe. Some species, such as Sand chalking, benefit by aerating and loosening the substrate, eating organic waste (food leftovers, fallen plant fragments, etc.). Thus, snails (not all!) can become an important part of the ecosystem.