snails in your fish tank?

Question

how do you get rid of them and how did they get there i have no plants so they didn't come that way

Answer 1

DO NOT allow them to multiply. While many snails may clean your tank they will also produce more bodily waste. Snails require food and oxygen. If you permit their population to get out of control they'll destroy the biological filter, possibly suffocate the fish and become vectors for parasites.
Probably the best way to get rid of snails is to place a snail eating fish into the tank. Fish like puffers and loaches from the botia family are all good candidates for "snail busting." Just make sure whatever snail busting fish you put in their will get along with what you have now.
Another effective way is to place in weighted down cucumber slice. Such a tactic might work will in your unplanted tank. The snails will come out and feast upon the cucumber. Once you have a lot of snails feasting upon the cucumber then just remove the cucumber from the tank and throw it away with the snails still attached to it. It’ll take some time to remove them but avoid using anti-snail chemicals; they’ll harm the health of your fish.
Pond snail egg sacks are generally invisible to the naked eye unless you are paying attention. Otherwise it is very easy for someone to miss them when bagging your fish.

Answer 2

When you got your fish from the store the tank you got them from may have had snails living in it. (This is what happened to me) When I brought my fish home and put them in the tank there looked like there was a little bitty rock in the net with the fish. I mean it was sooo small you couldn't tell what is was. Well, it was a snail. When the person who worked at the pet store got my fish out of the tank with the net it also got a baby snail out by accident. Well, a few weeks later I noticed it in the tank and all of a sudden it clicked that that thing I thought was a rock was a snail! But there wasn't only one there was two! I guess I never even saw the second one. It was just my luck too to find out that snails breed like crazy. Before I knew it I had tons of snails in my tank. I had to pick all of them out individually by hand and give them away. I finally have the situation under control. So, good luck.

Answer 3

Ours came with the fish my daughter's teacher gave her. Our tank is only 2 gallon, but I had tons of pond snails at one point as they breed like crazy. When I change the water, I get out all the snails I can find. I also look for the small clear jello like bubbles which hold the snail eggs. I rinse all of the aquarium plants (all fake) very carefully to get of the snail eggs. Also rinse out your filter very carefully. I've had to do this 3 or 4 times but I'm almost there. I haven't seen any new snails since I last did this a few weeks ago. Good luck!

Answer 4

Depends on what kind of fish you have and how large your tank is.

If you have goldfish they should be eating them.


If you have community or semiagressive tropical fish you could add:

A few drawf puffers or a clown loach. These fish eat the snails and help cut down the amount you see. They should be fine with community or semi agressive fish. Just make sure you have enough room in your tank to add new fish.

There use to be a chemical that killed them. But I know that many commercial pet stores stopped selling them. Maybe search online and you may find it.

Answer 5

There are many ways snails can enter your tank, but if there is not to many leave them alone, they help your filters and clean your algae, if you get to many for your liking take them out as you find them and keep them under control that way. Don't use the chemicals on the market as they can harm your fish sometimes
also introduce fish that eat snails, some types of catfish help.happy fishkeeping.

Answer 6

snails can come from all kinds of places , in the food you bought (if you buy live food ) or on the new fish you bought , this is why you should all ways have a doctor tank it can all so come from your own home , they all so clean your tank just pick out the big ones and leave the little ones , hope this helps , "B"

Answer 7

If you have bought fish from a shop they may have come as eggs in the water. You can buy traps to catch them(not very good) or you can buy a treatment which will get rid of them all but as they act the same as worms on your soil and constantly turn the gravel and clean up you dont want to get rid of them all. I would sugest a loach of some kind which will eat most of them.Clown loach, Botia loach Pakistani loach. Hope this helps

Answer 8

It may have "snuck in" with the fish somehow; they do start out very small, after all. They are doing nothing but good, as was stated, by cleaning your tank. You can get rid of them if you want. Call around to your local pet stores and see if any of them would like to have them...no point in killing them, really. Tell them you're just giving them away because their numbers got out of hand. Also, call around to local elementary schools and ask if any teachers want them for their classrooms.

When you next clean out your tank, get all of them harvested into a glass bowl or vase, or even a plastic sack similar to the one they came in. Use this to bring them to their new home. Rinse your tank...rocks and all...with HOT water to kill any eggs. Be sure to let it cool thoroughly before putting the fishies back in.

Answer 9

sometimes snails can come in in gravels or if anything in the tank is used. Snails can go dormant and hybernate long periods. the best way to get rid of them is to physically scoop them out of the tank it takes time and effort but is the best safest way.

Answer 10

Don't worry about them I've been trying to get some snails myself for years but can't get them anywhere. if you didn't have live plants i don't know where they came from but5 do be careful when you clean your tank not to throw them out put them into the tank or bowl you put the fish in.