Question about snails

FattyFish · Jul 20, 2026

So from the off, I don't like snails in my tank. I know there are benefits to having certain snails, and some snails look really nice, and I get why people love snails, but I don't!
From the start, I have always tried to buy lab-grown plants as they are pest-free, but I made the mistake of buying a small piece of bogwood with some Java fern on it from an LFS, and that was the start of my bladder snails. Every day I manage to grab and crush a couple, and to be honest, I only ever see a couple of these snails a day, so not plagued with them at the moment, but waiting for that day to come. I crush the ones I find, and the tetras and gouramis eat them. It's a pity they don't eat them like a puffer does, as that would solve my problem

My question is: should I add 1 assassin snail to my tank, and would this help keep my very small snail problem at bay?
Thanks in advance for any advice.

GaryE · Jul 20, 2026

My attempts with assassin snails haven't worked, but others have ended up with assassin overloads... Here, they don't thrive in my soft water. Pond snails do, however.

I too am a snail disliker, and the crush and remove approach is gross but effective. You have to keep at it though, as you know.

Biological controls in a small body of water often go wrong. They sound so appealing, but the predator eats all the prey, or the prey outbreed the assassins. People buy fish to control problems, and when the problem is solved, what do they do? Kill the fish? Assassinate the assassins?

MattW · Jul 20, 2026

I’ve never tried to get rid of them as I’m one of the ones who sees the benefits. I have seen people use loaches instead of assassins with better results. Obviously you need the room for one in the first place

If the problem is small the assassin is the better option.

FattyFish · Jul 20, 2026

Mazain said:
This is a good stress free time laps for the fish assending and desending lightings. However, I dont think most medium to high lighting plants would be healthy and lush with the assending and desending lighting cycle. Plants naturally wake up when day light falls on the tank. IMO that's when I start to feed them with stable 10 hours of light.

GaryE said:
My attempts with assassin snails haven't worked, but others have ended up with assassin overloads... Here, they don't thrive in my soft water. Pond snails do, however.

Yeah, I was thinking of just one assassin, so no breeding. I may be wrong, and I know it will be a task for one assassin snail, but if the balance is there, then hopefully...

Magnum Man · Jul 20, 2026

like @GaryE I never had good luck with assassins in controlling the pest snails they will also eat leftover foods and the same thing the pest snails eat, so it may out compete them… I had one tank I was intentionally over feeding, not a lot, just making sure everyone was getting some… the snails went wild ( like 100’s ) I now have 1 or 2 around, between 13 tanks, which at that rate I don’t mind them at all… I started feeding a little less, and only twice a week, and my snail problems all went away… seems a bloom is always related to an all you can eat buffet… if the food is limited they die off or move on…

gwand · Jul 20, 2026

I have had great success using assassin snails to eliminate pest snail infestation.

bgarthe · Jul 20, 2026

Copper is very toxic to snails, but I would prefer to avoid chemicals and place/sink a plastic container full of access holes with lettuce or sliced cucumber or squash (bait) into your tank (on the bottom) each night. The next morning, pull out the container(mine had fishing line attached for easy removal) and empty out all the bait and snails and repeat nightly with fresh bait until gone or reduced. Big tank, use two traps….small tank, one will do. It works in daylight too, but I used to get many more during the dark. There have to be many many holes for the snails to get in and yet, prevent the fish from getting at the bait and tearing it up.

FattyFish · Jul 20, 2026

Magnum Man said:
like @GaryE I never had good luck with assassins in controlling the pest snails they will also eat leftover foods and the same thing the pest snails eat, so it may out compete them… I had one tank I was intentionally over feeding, not a lot, just making sure everyone was getting some… the snails went wild ( like 100’s ) I now have 1 or 2 around, between 13 tanks, which at that rate I don’t mind them at all… I started feeding a little less, and only twice a week, and my snail problems all went away… seems a bloom is always related to an all you can eat buffet… if the food is limited they die off or move on…

I agree that overfeeding is a major problem in populating snails. They can take over within a couple of days.

CaptainBarnicles · Jul 20, 2026

I wouldn't bother with assassins, just keep crushing the pond snails as you find them and dont overfeed...they make a tasty snack

anewbie · Jul 20, 2026

puffers love to eat snails as do loaches (well boita loaches not pangio); of course getting a problem to fix a problem is just a problem.

Anyway either you have to just accept them or make a problem to get rid of a problem.

As for assassins - i had 2 then a few more and now more then i originally had of the other problem.

Boundava · Jul 20, 2026

I've has assassins, they are slow to see results. If you continue to do what you are doing and add a blanched romaine leaf (or non-blanched other lettuce) overnight, you can draw the snails to food and dispose of them. If you are diligent you can nip the issue. Also look for any egg clusters, (gelatinous clusters with white or yellow dots) and remove them.

Magnum Man · Jul 20, 2026

don’t dump them outside, if you trap them… they are already there, and nature doesn’t need any help in that department…

I raised Tilapia a few years, outside, in good grade clean tanks, no plants or other source for introduction, yet after a couple months, my filters were straining out 1000’s of them a week, came from the yard… again feeding was the issue, but growing a food fish, requires them eating as much as they could… I burned the snail filled filter floss in my burn pile, yet every week, they were inches thick when I changed the floss

FattyFish · Jul 21, 2026

Boundava said:
I've has assassins, they are slow to see results. If you continue to do what you are doing and add a blanched romaine leaf (or non-blanched other lettuce) overnight, you can draw the snails to food and dispose of them. If you are diligent you can nip the issue. Also look for any egg clusters, (gelatinous clusters with white or yellow dots) and remove them.

Luckily, I found a cluster of eggs in my external filter whilst doing a clean. They were on the side, so they easily washed away with hot water down the sink.