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I have a snail infestation. How do I manage them in a human way, and what are the risks for my fish? (imgur.com)

submitted 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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They came as eggs with plants I bought months ago. I honestly don't have a problem with them but over the week their population EXPLODED. They are everywhere and covering almost the entire floor. I understand I may need to get rid of them but they are still are live beings and I dont want to be inhuman. How do I get rid of them?

https://imgur.com/gallery/mtIyOSJ

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I got a snail trap but I didn't have the heart to use it. I definitely was overfeeding so I adjusted the amount of food I'm giving to keep them under control instead.

One thing that I noticed though is that before them, I also had quite a bad algae problem on the glass and plants, now the aquarium is crystal clear, I believe they are keeping the algae in check too.

Having that said, I guess as long as don't overfeed, they are beneficial to the aquarium.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

That's good! An Otto catfish can also help keep your glass and plants clean. I got an assassin snail as I had a similar problem (mine were eating the algae my fish need, and eating my plants. The snail is keeping my tank safe :)

I've also adjusted food, just so that the bad snails can't get any supplemental food. They seem to have an exponential growth rate otherwise...