This article is a follow up to a previous post entitled “Clearing Cloudy Water In A Marine Aquarium“.

While snails in fish tank don’t really harm the fish, they do tend to nibble on the aquatic plants in your aquarium. Having too many snails in fish tank will definitely cause your plants to look tattered and unsightly. The problem with snails in fish tank is that they tend to breed really fast if left uncontrolled. There are numerous ways to get rid of them from chemical treatments to gadgets but as a personal preference, I’ve always preferred a more natural way in combating any of my aquarium problems.

Before we get into the method that I favor, let’s look at the various other ways.

Snails In Fish Tank

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There are numerous chemical treatments sold in the marketplace today that such as Snail-Rid and Aquari-Sol that do kill snails in fish tank. But when choosing any chemical treatment, ensure that it does not contain Copper Sulfate which can be fatal to your fish. I’ve always had a thing against pouring chemicals into my aquarium.

Snails In Fish Tank: Salt

You could also try Aquarium Salt or Sodium Chloride. Everyone knows salt kills garden snails and it works the same for snails in fish tank. However, the smaller variation of aquarium snails have a higher tolerance to salt and might not have a reaction to aquarium salt.

Snails In Fish Tank: Natural Methods

My favorite method to get rid of snails is to use Loaches. There are two breeds of Loaches that you could keep; Clown Loaches and Lohachata Loaches.

Clown Loaches are better suited for larger aquariums between 40 to 50 gallons. They tend to grow a little big and survive better in schools of six or more. But Clown Loaches are notorious for troubling tiny fish like Neon Tetra.

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Lohachata Loaches also known as Yoyo Loaches are smaller and can live comfortably in groups of three, so they are suited for smaller aquariums. But Yoyo Loaches can be a little hard to find in smaller fish shops.

These two fishes will go immediately to work devouring all the snails they can find.

Snails In Fish Tank: A Cool Trick

This is one cool trick that I read online somewhere before and put it to the test with surprisingly excellent results.

Get a small jar, the size of a pepper shaker. You could even use a pepper shaker without the cap. Wash it properly with plain water, do not use detergent to wash anything you plan to put into an aquarium. Place a piece of lettuce in the jar and sink it to the bottom of the tank and that’s it. When you come back to it tomorrow, there will be lots of tiny snails inside it. Just remove the jar, get rid of the snails and repeat the process again. In a couple of days, your tank will be snail free.

These are some of the best natural ways to get rid of snails in fish tank.