If you have purchased plants for your aquarium, you have probably caught a few hitchhiking snails at some point. Not always, but sometimes snail populations can seriously get out of control. Many snails are hermaphrodites, so, this means these little guys can reproduce all by themselves. And, because of this, sometimes a tank can get overrun with pest snails and quickly become an eyesore. In this blog, we’ll talk about what fish eat snails and one of my favorite fish for getting rid of snails.
What Fish Eat Snails: The Backstory
When I started my first planted tank, I added hornwort, anubias, and Java ferns to my tank. Not only did my tank look much better than my first beginner tank that had fake plants and a crashed airplane, but I knew that the plants would really help manage toxins in the water from fish poop. But, I didn’t know that when I added those beautiful plants to my tank, I also inadvertently added snail eggs.
About a week after buying my first aquarium plants for my fish tank, I started seeing little snails. I saw them the most in the morning, but not so much at night.
The first time I saw them, there were only a few. So, I thought, no big deal.
Then, the next thing I knew, the numbers seemed to increase from morning to morning. This is when I knew I had to do something about these little guys before they became a problem.
Yoyo Loaches and Pest Snails
Now, there are quite a few options when you are looking for fish to eat snails in your fish tank.
People often use clown loaches, gouramis, assassin snails, and corydoras to eat both snail eggs and snails.
For my snail problem, I went with a yoyo loach and an assassin snail.
Now, maybe I just got to things early—maybe there just weren’t many snails in my tank. But, literally, the next day after adding my yoyo loach and assassin snail to my tank, I started finding empty snail shells on top of the substrate.
Sometimes, I could sit at my tank and watch my yoyo loach digging in the substrate and once even saw him yank a snail to the surface.
After several days with a yoyo loach and an assassin snail, I would only find the occasional snail shell. This was a relief!
As of now, it’s been weeks since I’ve seen any pest snails. So, it seems that the assassin snail and the yoyo loach are doing a great job.
Assassin Snails and Pest Snails
Now, more about that assassin snail.
Who would have thought, using snails to get rid of pest snails?
Well, assassin snails (and other fish that eat snails) are a great addition to planted tanks as they not only eat snails when they’ve become a problem, but they also keep pest snails from even becoming a problem.
And, unlike other snails, assassin snails are not hermaphrodites and require a mate to reproduce. So, don’t worry about having an overpopulation of assassin snails if you simply add one to your tank to help manage pest snails.
Assassin snails are very low maintenance and once you add them to your tank, you will probably rarely see them. I only see mine occasionally in the morning.
How to Avoid Pest Snail Overpopulations
Besides keeping fish like yoyo loaches, clown loaches, and assassin snails in your tank for snail management, there are other things you can do to help manage and reduce the number of pest snails in your aquarium.
For one, don’t overfeed your fish. Overfeeding the fish in your tank can not only be bad for your fish, but it can also lead to pest snails.
Excess food can be a problem for many reasons. This is where fish like corydoras and yoyo loaches can really be beneficial when kept in your aquarium. These fish are great clean-up crews and will not only help manage pest snails but, they will also eat excess food that would otherwise rot and be food for unwanted snails.
What Fish Eat Snails and Getting Rid of Pest Snails: A Recap
Sometimes aquarists can unknowingly add pest snails to their aquariums when adding plants to their tanks. This is pretty common.
However, it’s not the end of your tank in most cases. A good approach for managing snails is to not overfeed fish and to keep aquatic life such as the yoyo loach and assassin snail in your tank to help control pest snail populations.
If you find pest snails in your tank, it’s always best to handle the problem early and before your tank becomes overrun with unwanted snails.
