| Aquatic snails can be a charming and interesting | | | | or decaying snails left in the tank can cause water |
| addition to any home aquarium. However, they do | | | | quality problems. Always read labels carefully |
| have a tendency to multiply at incredible rates. | | | | before applying any chemical to your tank. |
| Left untreated, snails can cause a severe problem. | | | | Consulting your fish salesperson is advisable. |
| They will damage plants, eat food destined for | | | | There are other, less risky methods to manage |
| your fish, and become an all too visible intrusion to | | | | an invertebrate population. They are |
| the beauty of your tank's more expensive | | | | time-consuming and fiddly, but they are also safe. |
| inhabitants. | | | | One treatment is to place a lettuce leaf, slice of |
| Snails are available to purchase from most pet | | | | cucumber or piece of fish food - such as a |
| shops, and there are a few common varieties. | | | | spirulina tablet - on the bottom of the tank |
| However, you may not have to buy one to end | | | | overnight. The snails congregate on the food |
| up with them in your tank. Live aquarium plants | | | | during the dark hours, and in the morning the |
| may be infested with either live snails or eggs, | | | | cluster of feasting snails is removed along with |
| and they will hitchhike right into your tank. The | | | | the bait. A lettuce leaf needs weight on top to |
| eggs are especially difficult to spot, and so any | | | | keep it down, and fish food placed where the fish |
| new addition to your tank needs thorough | | | | can not eat it. My own trials with this produced |
| cleansing. To avoid possible infestation, always | | | | the removal of some snails, but not enough to |
| completely wash plants you buy for the aquarium. | | | | warrant the exercise of getting the food to stay |
| Running water alone will not dislodge the eggs laid | | | | on the pebble floor. |
| on a plant, so run a finger gently along each leaf | | | | I found the easiest and most successful method |
| and stem. | | | | for removal of the pests was to use a pair of |
| Our own tank ended up heavily occupied by snails | | | | aquarium tweezers to pick up snails from plants |
| when we added unwashed plants to our tank. At | | | | and scrape them from the glass. This is not quite |
| first only a few snails appeared, and we rather | | | | as painstaking as it sounds. Placing the long flat |
| enjoyed the cute little invertebrates roaming at | | | | edge of the tweezers against the glass and raising |
| will. Within just a month the population exploded | | | | it carefully will remove dozens of snails in one go. |
| and we faced a major nuisance. | | | | Simply have a paper towel or newspaper available |
| One of the biggest causes of an invertebrate | | | | to flick the snails onto before dipping again. The |
| population explosion is left-over food in the tank. | | | | long handles mean the intrusion upon the fish is |
| Overfeeding your fish and not removing uneaten | | | | minimal. |
| particles results in a smorgasbord for the smaller | | | | Along with this, removing all live plant material |
| creatures. The first step is to reduce the amount | | | | eliminates multitudes of snails. This also helps |
| of food the fish are being fed. | | | | reduce their food source and areas where they |
| Obtaining a snail-eating fish is a common method | | | | can lay eggs undisturbed. Periodically removing and |
| of eradicating snails; however this is not always | | | | washing tank ornaments also helps to control the |
| possible. The tank might already contain the | | | | population. |
| maximum fish population, making this option | | | | Using natural methods of snail removal drastically |
| unworkable. The breeds available may grow too | | | | reduces the size of the problem. The need for |
| big for your tank, or have aggressive personalities | | | | intensive removal with tweezers becomes |
| unsuitable to match with your passive breeds. | | | | unnecessary, and cleaning of the ornaments is all |
| Another method to remove snails comes in the | | | | that is required for maintenance. For complete |
| form of chemical products. Introducing any | | | | snail eradication, the entire tank would need |
| chemical into your tank requires caution. The | | | | cleaning and new pebbles provided. |
| product may be harmful to some types of fish, | | | | |