Quarantine plants for 2 weeks before putting them into your aquarium. Aquarium plants are the most common source of unwanted snails. They often harbor eggs or baby snails, which then reproduce once they’re in your tank. Fortunately, you can avoid putting infected plants into your aquarium by quarantining them for 2 weeks before putting them in your tank.

  • If you see any snails during the quarantine period, pick them off the plant as soon as you notice them.
  • Treat plants in a 1:19 bleach-water solution before adding them to your aquarium.Create your bleach solution by adding 1-part bleach to 19 parts water. Then, dip each individual plant into the solution and immediately withdraw it. This will kill any lingering snails or eggs. Rinse the plant in fresh water before putting it in your aquarium.
  • You only need to submerge the plant in the solution for a second for it to work, so it’s okay to just dip and remove the plant in one motion.

 

Clean the entire aquarium, including removing the gravel. You can purge all of the snails by hand if you have the time. Move your fish to a temporary tank, then empty the water from the aquarium. Remove everything, including the gravel and substrate, from the tank, then scrub all of the snails from the sides of the tank.

  • Replace your gravel and substrate for best results.
  • Before you put your plants and other fixtures back in the aquarium, clean them. One way to do this is to dip them in a cleaning solution that’s 19 parts water and 1-part bleach. This will kill any snails or eggs that are on them.
  • If you don’t want to take everything out of the tank, you can use a siphon to suck out just the gravel and substrate. Additionally, you’ll need to pick the snails off the sides of the tank.
  • Introduce fish that eat snails.Some fish eat snails and can clear out your tank for you. When selecting a predator fish, check its fact sheet to make sure it won’t eat your other fish. Additionally, make sure it’s not too big for your tank.
  • For a small fish tank, you might choose a zebra or dwarf chain loach.
  • If you have a large fish tank, you can choose a clown loach, pictus catfish, koi, or large goldfish.
  • As an alternative, you might place an assassin snail into your tank. It will enjoy eating the other snails in the tank and won’t reproduce often.
  • Put a snail trap in your tank to catch and remove the snails.A snail trap entices the snails to enter a cage then prevents them from leaving. This allows you to easily catch and remove all of the snails without harming your fish.
  • You can find snail traps at your local pet store or online.
  • You can make your own snail trap by clipping a large piece of lettuce to the side of your tank. Leave it in place overnight, then remove it in the morning. It should attract a fair number of snails, which will now be gone from your tank!

 

I DO NOT RECOMMEND adding copper sulfate to your aquarium to kill the snails, if you keep fancy goldfish. Snails are sensitive to copper, so they will die if the water contains copper sulfate. Most fish are unaffected by copper sulfate, making it a safe option for most aquariums.  However, if you keep fancy goldfish, you need to know that koi and goldfish are among the most sensitive to copper.  This suggestion is not favorable to koi or goldfish.  Thank you for doing your research.

  • If you’re worried about your fish dying, check their fact sheet to see if they are sensitive to copper. Goldfish and koi are not the only fish sensitive to copper.
  • Don’t use this treatment if you have shrimp or ornamental snails, as they are also sensitive to copper.

 

How do I get rid of snails in my aquarium?

Once snails are present in an aquarium, you’ll need to make a concerted effort to remove them or risk overwhelming the tank. It is important to clean the tank, removing as many snails as possible, scraping the glass sides, cleaning all plants and objects as well, to remove any snails. Or, it may be necessary to remove the fish and use copper sulfate with all plants and decorative objects still in the aquarium.  Then, you will empty the tank, clean well, check for eggs, change the substrate, and refill before returning your fish to the tank.