16 Freshwater Fish That Eat Snails (with Pictures)
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A snail infestation is quite a common problem in home aquariums. Snails are known for having rapid and uncontrolled breeding rates, and a few can turn into hundreds within a few months. This is a dreaded problem for aquarists who use live plants and other natural items in the tank or pond.
Snails hitchhike on plants as eggs or hatchlings and can remain undetected as they enter a new body of water.
The 16 Freshwater Fish That Eat Snails
Experienced fish keepers have identified the following fish as effective snail eaters that can be kept in ponds and tanks. Keep in mind that you should only add these fish to the tank if the conditions allow it. This is because most of them are large and can grow to extreme sizes.
The tank or pond should be large enough to accommodate their size. Some fish are better for nano tanks, whereas some should only be kept in a large tank or pond.
1. Clown Loach
The Clown loach is a tropical fish that feeds on hatchlings and even eggs that are found on surfaces like glass, rocks, or pieces of driftwood. The Clown loach will also eat hatchlings of all snail species.
- Eats: Ramshorn, nerite, bladder, eggs, hatchling snails.
2. Pea Puffers
The Pea Puffer’s natural diet consists of tiny snails. They benefit tanks with large populations of snails and hatchlings like the nerite, ramshorn, and bladder snail.
- Eats: Nerite, ramshorn, eggs, hatchlings, bladder snails.
3. Bala Sharks
Bala sharks are large shoaling fish that readily eat small to medium-sized snails. The snails they are most likely to eat are nerites, ramshorn, bladder, and apple snail hatchlings.
- Eats: Nerites, bladder, hatchlings, ramshorn snails.
4. Gourami
Gourami primarily feeds on small snails, eggs, and hatchlings. These shoaling fish are skilled at their job, and snails make a delightful meal.
- Eats: Ramshorn, nerite, bladder, eggs, hatchling snails.
5. Cory Catfish
Corydoras are bottom dwellers that eat small snails. They don’t eat larger snails and aren’t interested in snail eggs.
- Eats: Ramshorn, nerite, bladder snail hatchlings.
6. Yoyo Loaches
Yoyo loaches eat the snails right out of the shell. They also take an interest in eating small eggs. They do not eat large snails like mystery or apple snails.
- Eats: Bladder, ramshorn, trumpet, nerite, and hatchling snails.
7. Zebra Loach
The Zebra loach is a variation of the Clown loach. They eat similar types of snails and their hatchlings.
- Eats: Ramshorn, nerite, bladder, eggs, hatchling snails.
8. Cichlids
Cichlids are aggressive and large tropical fish. Blood parrot cichlids, Malawi mixes, and African cichlids eat snails, including larger species, right out of the shells.
- Eats: Young mystery and apple snails, ramshorn, bladder, nerite, trumpet snails, and hatchlings.
9. Oscars – Best for Large Tanks
Oscars are very large and aggressive fish. They are known to eat small and large snails. If they can catch the hatchlings, they will also eat them, but due to their large size, they struggle to reach into small spaces where hatchlings hide.
- Eats: Mystery, apple, ramshorn, nerite, trumpet, bladder snails.
10. Jack Dempsey
Jack Dempsey fish are the best species to introduce when you have too many large snails. An adult can fit a fully grown mystery snail in their mouth. They also eat mystery snail egg clutches.
- Eats: Nerite, ramshorn, apple, bladder, eggs, and bladder snails.
11. Betta Fish – Best for Small Tanks
These popular small fish are perfect for nano tanks with a large snail population. Adult bettas will eat small hatchlings and bladder snails. Since they are such small fish, they are at risk of bloating from eating too many snails.
- Eats: Bladder snails and hatchlings.
12. Khuli Loach
The Khuli loach is an eel-like tropical fish that eats snails out of their shells. They only eat small snails and hatchlings, not large snails like the mystery and apple snails.
- Eats: Ramshorn, nerite, bladder, hatchling snails.
13. Goldfish – Best for Large Tanks/Ponds
Goldfish are colorful and popular cold-water fish that can live in ponds and tanks. They primarily eat small snails, eggs, and hatchlings.
- Eats: Nerite, ramshorn, hatchlings, eggs, and bladder snails.
14. Striped Raphael Catfish
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These catfish live along the bottom level of the aquarium and eat small snails out of the shells. They eat hatchlings whole and dead snails.
- Eats: Ramshorn, nerite, bladder, and hatchling snails.
15. Triggerfish
Triggerfish enjoy eating small species of snails. They can consume hatchlings with soft shells and the soft body of adult snails.
- Eats: Ramshorn, nerite, bladder, and hatchling snails.
16. Koi – Best for Ponds
Koi are large cold-water fish that inhabit ponds. They are the best snail eaters for ponds. Due to their large size, they can easily eat snails whole or chew them out of their shells. They are effective at removing large snail populations within pond environments. They scavenge for snails amongst the substrate or on plants.
- Eats: Ramshorn, nerite, eggs, hatchlings, mystery, apple, bladder, trumpet snails.
Types of Freshwater Snails That Fish Eat
There are several types of freshwater snails. Each snail has different characteristics and plays various roles in an aquatic environment. Many aquarists admire snails, but others dislike snails inhabiting their ponds or tanks. Some snails can be an excellent addition to an aquarium, whereas others may be unwanted.
Determining the type of snail in your aquarium is crucial before you can find the right type of fish that will eat them or their eggs.
- Mystery snails are among the most beloved in the aquarium hobby. They come in a range of delightful colors and grow to a decent size between 3 and 4 inches. Mystery snails lay clutches of eggs above the surface of the water, which makes it easy to dispose of eggs to avoid unwanted baby snails. They do not eat live plants, which allows many aquarists to tolerate them.
- Our next favorite is the Nerite snail. These small and attractive snails have the advantage of not being able to breed in a pond or tank. The eggs can only hatch in brackish water with a high salinity content, which many home aquariums lack.
- The Ramshorn is a colorful snail that grows to a small size. They are a favorite in planted aquariums since they don’t eat live plants but rather aid in the clean-up of decaying plant matter. The only downside is that ramshorms breed rapidly, and their eggs are hard to see and much harder to remove.
- Bladder snails are among the least attractive and have little to offer a freshwater aquarium. They are not colorful, rapidly breed, and overpopulate a tank or pond in a few weeks. They are commonly introduced into an aquarium through live plants and driftwood.
- Apple snails are one of the largest freshwater snail species. They wreak havoc on planted aquariums and enjoy feasting on live plants. They grow to a large size of 4.5 to 5 inches and typically have a chestnut brown shell.
- The trumpet snail is a delightful beauty and is rare to find. They have an elongated mouth that looks like an elephant trunk.
The Problem with Overpopulating Snails
Snails can negatively affect aquatic environments. They can eat live plants in a few hours and produce a large amount of waste that can lead to foul water chemistry. Some species, like the nerite, ramshorn, and bladder snails, lay unsightly eggs around the tank. The eggs are sticky and cannot be properly removed.
Some pest snails, such as the bladder snail, can produce hundreds of babies that clutter the tank or pond and make it unenjoyable to view. The babies are so small that they are hard to remove. Hatchling snails can also dig into the substrate and remain undetected for a while.
Aside from the negative aspects of freshwater snails, some species have advantages. Snails like the mystery, ramshorn, nerite, and trumpet snails make good clean-up crews. They feed off dead plants that would otherwise be left in the water to decay, which will result in high levels of ammonia. Snails also feed off fish waste and debris. Some snails even take a liking to algae, which they will readily munch on to keep the aquarium algae-free.
Assassin Snails – Alternative to Fish
If you are looking for a simple alternative to removing snails from your tank or pond, the assassin snail is perfect. They are small snails with a banded black and yellow cone shell. They hunt and primarily feed on other snails. They eat the snail straight from the shell and then feed off the shell as a source of calcium.
Large populations of assassin snails are the most effective. The only downside is that they will remain in the tank and breed. Using a fish to remove the leftover assassin snails is recommended.
Disposing of Snail Eggs, Hatchlings, or Large Snails (Humane Methods)
Snail eggs
Snail eggs can be disposed of by blunt force. Place the eggs in a Ziploc bag and crush them instantly with a heavy object. If that is too difficult, you can put the Ziploc bag of eggs in the freezer for 3 days and then throw it away in an airtight container.
Hatchlings
Hatchlings can be lured into a snail trap with tasty food in the center. The snails will enter but be unable to leave, and you can then remove them and rehome them.
Large snails
Large snails like the mystery or apple snail can be hand-picked out of the tank and rehomed to another person who doesn’t mind having snails in their tank. Your local fish store may also be willing to take in large snails for a small fee.
Conclusion
The best fish for controlling snail populations are the Khuli loach, goldfish, koi, Clown loaches, and cichlids. They are the most effective at removing eggs, hatchlings, and some adult snails. Assassin snails are a good alternative to fish and sometimes do a better job than most fish. Keep in mind that the fish may take a while to remove snails, and the whole population may not be completely gone.
Ensure each plant or piece of wood in the aquarium has been dipped in hydrogen peroxide before it’s placed. Wood should also be soaked in boiling water to remove eggs and snail hitchhikers.
Featured Image Credit: Arunee Rodloy, Shutterstock
