# HOW TO: Get rid of those unwanted pesky ramshorn snails



## jobber

I'm not a mollusk or snail expert but I've gotten my fair share of ramshorn snail infestation in an old 10 gallon planted tank as well as in a well established 30 gallon tank of which did not see any snails for the past 20 years. These ramshorn snail reproduce very quickly as they feed on organic matter, algae, and left over fish food. Some hobbyists may find these snails unsightly and a nuisance; whereas, there are also people who don't mind them in the tank providing a natural look. I am one of those hobbyists that find the sight unsightly. This thread is to provide information for those hobbyists who wish to control or eradicate their ramshorn snail population. There are no right or wrong, ethical or unethical way, to manage and rid these snails; methods provided below may or may not work for all; so finding the right combination of methods are my suggestion. The best solution is always to prevent the introduction of these snails into your tank...so don't put aquatic plants into your tank if the origin tank has had snails. Be smart and prevent yourself the trouble getting rid of them.

I've personally tried many things including dosing copper, overhauling my tank, assassin snails, .... and most recently introducing dwarf and red rainbowfish.

I don't like dosing any extraordinary chemicals into the tank for the health of the fish as well as not having a bunch of dead snails rotting in the tank. Keep things natural and have some patience.

If you've had any successful stories or information, please share with us all and add to this thread. There is also a list of other BCA threads of other forum members dealing with ramshorn snails...have a quick read through to see what information may work for you. I'm a big advocate of finding a natural way to resolve a tank issue; so I don't like dosing any chemicals that may harm my priceless fish.

Good luck with your resolution.








(Picture obtained from: Aqua Qube: Ramshorn snail infestation)







(Picture obtained from: Aquarium Snails)

*What are Ramshorn snail?*
Is a type of air breathing snail in the Planorbidae family of mollusks. The shell of the snail is shaped like a ram's horn and such name for this description. It is a common snail found worldwide.

*How did I get this snail into my fish tank?
*#1 thing is to prevent the introduction in the your tank to start off with.
In most scenarios, the snails hitched a ride from aquatic plants you may have bought from your local fish store or from another hobbyist. Even though you may have soaked the plants in a chemical compound to clean parasites; the snail's may have laid eggs onto the surface of plant leaves that are hard to clean. Trust me, I've inspected and went thoroughly on each plant leaf blade, yet a few weeks later, found snails in my tank.

*How can I prevent the introduction of these snails?*
The methods listed is not limited to:

Don't have a planted tank
Buy plants that are grown out of the fish tank (Aquaflora plants are grown parasite and snail free)
Inspect the fish store's aquatic plant tanks to see if there are any snails in the tank
When trading plants or buying plants from another hobbyist, ask them if their tank has snails
If you have existing fish that eat snails, this may not be a problem at all as your fish will make a nice snack out of the snails
Quarantine your new aquatic plants
*Which type of fish or snails in the hobby eat these snails?*
This list is not limited to the following as new species will be found to feed on the snails. The list below contains fish that may be too aggressive for the community tank or not the right setup for the planted tank. The names of the fish that are more suitable for community tanks and do the most effective job are bolded. What has worked for me has been assassin snails and rainbowfish. After I introduced rainbowfish into the tank, a week after, I noticed less snails on the tank glass. As the assassin snails hunt for ramshorn within the substrate, I observed rainbowfish hunting and pecking at snails off the glass and surface of tank ornaments. They do spit out the crushed shells.


_*Assassin snails*
_
_*Dwarf Rainbowfish **(other various rainbowfish may also snack on the snails)*_
_*Red Rainbowfish (other various rainbowfish may also snack on the snails)*
_
_*Clown Loaches (Botia macracantha) 
*_
_*Skunk Loach (Botia morleti, formerly Botia horae) 
*_
_*Puffers (Tetraodon species) 
*_
Banjo catfish (Bunocephalus species)
Malawi Cichlids (Pseudotropheus & Melanochromis)
African Butterfly or Thomas' Cichlid (Anomalochromis thomasi)
Malawi Cichlids (Pseudotropheus & Melanochromis species)
Yellow Labs, Electric Yellow (Labidochromis caeruleus) (Malawi Cichlid)
Chocolate Cichlid (Cichlasoma coryphaenoides / C. hellabruni)
Asian Bumblebee catfish (Leiocassis siamensis)
Giant Gourami (Osphronemus goramy)
Betta/Fighting Fish (Betta splendens)
Keyhole cichlid (Aequidens maronii)
Black ghost knifefish (Gymnotidae family)
various Lake Tanganyika Synodontis catfish species
Red Devil Cichlid (Amphilophus labiatus) (C.America)
Slender Bumphead Cichlid (Steatocranus gibbiceps) (Tanganyika)
Black-Banded Leporinus (Leporinus fasciatus)
Opaline/Blue/Three Spot Gouramis (Trichogaster trichopterus)
Convict cichlids (Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum)
*What are other methods to get rid of these snails?*

You can dose copper into your fish tank (can be purchased from your LFS) to a level not harmful to your fish
If you have a fish tank with acidic conditions (less than pH 7), then you may consider lowering the pH a bit more as acidic water erodes the snail's shell -- this controls the growth of younger snails.
Manually remove them by squishing them with your fingers or tongs
Set up ramshorn snail traps in the tank (clear glass bottle with fish food inside, or weigh down a plastic pop bottle with fish food inside; after a day or two, when you see enough snails in the tank, remove the bottle and find someone who has pea puffer fish)
Overhaul your tank - throw out all existing ornaments, plants, substrate, then quarantine your tank by running a bleach and water solution for two weeks.
Time to get a new setup and start fresh with all new substrate, plants, ornaments
Get some assassin snails
*Use a combination of assassin snails and a snail bait trap*
*SNAIL BAIT TRAP*
*Instructions:*
1. Find a glass bottle (coke, snapple, sobe, check the 7-eleven fridge) with a bottle mouth that is narrow so fish doesn't get in, but snails and or pleco fries can (the glass bottle can weigh itself down)
2. Clean the bottle and ensure no residue or labels are still in or on the bottle
3. Place some fish food (zuchinni, shrimp pellets, pleco pellets) inside the bottle and fill with tank water
4. Leave the glass bottle trap inside the tank for a few hours or day(s) until you see fit (ie. enough snails are trapped inside to warrant emptying the bottle) BEST TO LEAVE IT OVERNIGHT SINCE SCAVENGING SNAILS TEND TO COME OUT MORE AT NIGHT
5. Take out glass bottle with the goodies inside and dispose of the pest snails 
6. Repeat steps 3 to 5 until you have achieved your goal.

*Other related material and BCA threads on the same topic:*

http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/freshwater-chat-9/i-need-out-control-snails-28914/
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/freshwater-chat-9/clown-loaches-snails-28169/
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/planted-tank-specific-13/pest-snail-planted-tank-27650/
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/planted-tank-specific-13/so-snail-hitched-ride-into-my-tank-23838/
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/freshwater-chat-9/snails-bad-tank-21107/
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/crustaceans-inverts-mollusks-23/snail-overload-22972/
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/freshwater-chat-9/snails-20995/
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/crustaceans-inverts-mollusks-23/holy-ramshorns-10960/
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/crus...s-23/ramshorn-snail-eggs-birth-control-12726/
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/freshwater-chat-9/can-snails-planted-tank-die-starvation-8624/
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/freshwater-chat-9/snail-infestation-help-7815/
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/crustaceans-inverts-mollusks-23/assassin-snail-question-10986/
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/breeding-spawning-section-15/breeding-snails-7478/
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/freshwater-chat-9/should-i-get-snails-2416/
_"Rule 4: Before making a new post, please use the search function to make sure a similar post was not already made. We reserve the right to lock threads that already exist." - BCA rules, http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/freshwater-chat-9/site-rules-2782/_

*References:*

Need a good snail eating loach [Archive] - Aquarium Forum
Ramshorn Snails Breeding, Pictures And Answers
Planorbidae - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## Reckon

So far none of my dwarf rainbows have touched ramshorn snails.
Neither has my Opaline Gourami (as posted in one of the website attachments)

I'm planning to try Dwarf Chain Loaches.


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## jobber

Starve the rainbow's for a few days, they'll go for them. What's worked for me, may not work for others. But you're a smart hobbyist, you'll figure it out.


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## Reckon

jobber604 said:


> Starve the rainbow's for a few days, they'll go for them. What's worked for me, may not work for others. But you're a smart hobbyist, you'll figure it out.


I'll try that for the next 3 days. I'll update afterwards.


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## jobber

It's always hard to starve your fish 
The fish will naturally find another food source if they're hungry enough. Try to observe them pecking at the surface of the substrate the spit out shells. Hopefully yours will do the same.


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## sunshine_1965

Find someone that has puffers to come and get them from you. Advertise for free they should get snatched up pretty quick. Put a piece of zucchini in the tank and they will start eating on it once you have lots on it take it out of the tank. Repeat this until there are none left. Good luck.


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## jobber

Updated and included Jobber's Snail bait trap.


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## snailies3

Or you could just put the veggie in, bait most of them onto it, and I'll come pick them up : )
Love ramshorns!


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## Rossco

I always need snails too and will pick up as well!


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## effox

I'm not a fan of ramshorns at all. I love Assassins though.


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## josephl

Get a razorback turtle, cleaned me out of all snails other than MTS in a month and they never came back


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