At some point or another, every aquarist has experienced an unexpected outbreak of snails in the home aquarium. It can be incredibly frustrating too. There are these small little animals in tremendous numbers that have seemingly appeared overnight, and you did not put them in the aquarium. Where did they come from?
The most common culprit for this sudden phenomenon is the Malaysian trumpet snail. This small snail is shaped like a cone and can rapidly reproduce with a single female giving birth to hundreds of miniature snails. The Malaysian Trumpet snail is nocturnal, and lives burrowed in the gravel, meaning that you generally do not see them. However, this type of snail does not eat plants and actually improves substrate health by burrowing into it and turning it over. They can also be successfully used to eat dead or rotting fish eggs from a spawn and are great for cleaning up any uneaten food.
Snails are incredibly resilient creatures. They can handle low temperatures, warm temperatures, foul water, medications, salt and even survive without water for a good time. They’re tough. Ridding the aquarium of them, similarly, can be tough.
There’s an old adage about an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure. Snails are not able to teleport, nor do they spontaneously arise from nowhere. If you have snails in your tank, you put them in there. The most common means is through adding live plants. Snails, or their eggs, can hitch hike on most types of plants and arrive in our home aquarium. Outbreaks generally occur due to over feeding. Excess uneaten food provides exactly what the snails need to reproduce in vast numbers.
The recommended way for getting rid of snails that are not wanted is to place your new plants in a new separate quarantine tank and observed for several weeks. Any snails that appear are picked off and crushed. This has added benefit of giving the aquarist an opportunity to be rid of other pesky hitch hikers (like planaria)
Snails can also be an interesting addition to the home aquarium. They’re great algae eaters and scavengers and provide something a little different from fish. Many aquarists rightfully enjoy keeping snails in the home aquarium.
Another biological solution for snail infestations would be through the addition of clown loaches or Pakistani loaches that love to feast on snails (keep in mind these are a social species that should be kept in small groups and not by themselves)
Other chemical solutions are on the market which are generally copper based and can potentially cause more problems if dosed incorrectly or used with other species that cannot tolerate copper.
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FAQs
Snail outbreaks are usually a response to available food such as uneaten fish food, dead plant matter and other organic debris.
Why do snails appear? ›
Both snails and slugs rely on moisture to survive. Their bodies dry out very quickly when they are active without moisture to support them. This is why they only become active when it rains or when you've recently watered your garden.
How do pest snails appear? ›
Most pest snails reproduce by laying clutches of eggs. The eggs are held in clear, jelly-like sacs that stick to surfaces like plants and other objects.
Why do snails multiply so fast? ›
Snails multiply quickly because they don't need a mate to reproduce; they simply fertilize their own eggs.
Why do slugs suddenly appear? ›
How did I get snails and slugs? Moist plant debris, underneath rocks, low weeds, mulch and fallen logs all provide hiding places for snails and slugs. Moisture is a key requirement for snails and slugs since they are adversely affected by dry conditions and the loss of body moisture.
Why do snails spawn? ›
Outbreaks generally occur due to over feeding. Excess uneaten food provides exactly what the snails need to reproduce in vast numbers.
Can snails sense danger? ›
All prey animals, whether a swift-footed deer or a slow-moving snail, use cues from their environment to sense the presence of a threat. It's what keeps them alive — or at least gives them a shot at getting away.
What attracts snails? ›
Slugs and snails are attracted to beer, wine and yeast products. Pour a small amount of these fluids into a plastic 'deli' container buried in the soil up to the top of the container. Slugs and snails will crawl in and drown. Slug damage to canola leaves.
What are the signs of a snail? ›
Slime Trails: You might notice a slimy trail on your plants or the nearby soil. This is snail slime, a clear sign that snails have been feasting on your plants.
What do snails hate the most? ›
1: Coffee Grounds. If you love coffee, coffee grounds might be your best bet when it comes to protecting your plants and deterring slugs and snails. Slugs and snails, unlike us, hate coffee. And coffee grounds also add nutrients to your soil.
Common draws for snails and slugs that may bring them inside include potted plants, mold and mildew, foods sitting out on the counter, and even trash. 1. Consider removing these temptations (house plants, trash, mold and mildew) from your home, or at least making them less accessible.
Why do snails randomly appear? ›
The most common ways unwanted snails enter our aquariums accidentally are via eggs or juveniles hitchhiking on plants or decorations, or in gravel cultures transferred from one tank to another.
How long do snails live? ›
Lifespan. Most species of land snail are annual, others are known to live 2 or 3 years, but some of the larger species may live over 10 years in the wild.
What causes an increase in snails? ›
Snail plagues do not come out of the blue, snail plagues are caused by an overabundance of food. In addition to measures such as feeding less or higher-quality feed and removing dead plants, there are a lot of options for reducing the amount of snails in the aquarium.
Can snails just appear in your tank? ›
The most common ways unwanted snails enter our aquariums accidentally are via eggs or juveniles hitchhiking on plants or decorations, or in gravel cultures transferred from one tank to another. Many snail eggs are transparent and are often attached to the undersides of plant leaves, making them difficult to see.
Why are there snails in my backyard? ›
Like any pest, snails are probably seeking two things when they appear on your property: food and shelter. Because of their slimy, moist bodies, snails thrive in environments that shelter them from the heat of the sun.
