Snail-eating fish are one of the best ways to get rid of snails in your aquarium. These fish take care of it all, so you don’t have to go through the painful process of removing them yourself.
What’s neat is that these fish are more than just snail killers. Many of them are quite beautiful and provide a number of additional benefits too!.
This guide lists all of the best fish that can help you get rid of snails in your tank. Many of these fish are already great, so the fact that they can eat snails is just icing on the cake!
As any aquarium owner knows, snails can rapidly proliferate and take over your tank. While some hobbyists resort to chemicals or manual removal to control snails, adding the right fish can provide natural pest control. Many species will happily feast on these invasive mollusks. Read on to learn about 8 top freshwater fish that love to eat snails.
Why Snails Can Overrun Your Aquarium
Freshwater snails like pond snails ramshorn snails and Malaysian trumpet snails often hitchhike into aquariums on plants or decor. They breed prolifically, with some species able to lay hundreds of eggs at a time. Their food sources are diverse – they consume plant matter, left over fish food, algae, and microorganisms. This varied diet and rapid reproduction is why snail populations can explode.
While not harmful, proliferating snails can become an eye sore and compete with fish for resources. That’s where adding natural predators comes in handy for control.
Top 8 Freshwater Fish That Feast on Snails
Here are the top fish species that will happily gobble up snails in your freshwater aquarium
1. Clown Loach
The vibrant clown loach is a popular aquarium fish originating from Indonesia. Growing up to 12 inches long, these fish are voracious snail eaters. Their unique forward facing teeth are perfect for crushing shells and pulling snails right out.
2. Yoyo Loach
Another loach ideal for snail control, the yoyo loach grows to around 4 inches long. Their bold black and white pattern resembles a “Y” shape. Yoyo loaches use their downturned mouths to suck up and eat snails.
3. Gourami
Gouramis are labyrinth fish able to breathe air directly. They come in many color varieties like blue, gold, and chocolate. Most gourami will eat small pest snails. The thick lipped pearl gourami is especially good at crushing shells.
4. Betta Fish
The beautiful betta or Siamese fighting fish is well known for its flowing fins. Bettas will eat small snails, though they may have trouble crushing larger shells. Still, they can help by reducing snail numbers.
5. Cory Catfish
Armored catfish like corydoras are bottom feeders. They use their armored plates and barbels to dig in the substrate for food. Small snails get eaten up in this hunt for scraps. Cory cats help keep the tank bottom clean and free of pests.
6. Bala Shark
The bala shark grows over 12 inches long and does great with snail control. As an active swimmer, it roams the tank gobbling up any snails in its path. The bala shark may uproot plants in its snail pursuit.
7. Goldfish
Whether comet, shubunkin, or fancy, goldfish will feast on small snails. They forage along the bottom sucking up food. Just watch for them uprooting plants in their snail searches.
8. Green Spotted Puffer
Lastly, the aggressive green spotted puffer is an ideal snail eating machine. Their crunching beaks and powerful jaws easily crush shell. However, they also nibble plants and decor. And they eventually outgrow community tanks.
Things to Consider Before Adding a Snail Eating Fish
Before acquiring a new fish just for pest control, be sure to research if they will get along with your current fish and aquarium setup. Factors like habitat, temperament, diet, and adult size are important. You want the new fish to mesh with your existing tank inhabitants.
Additionally, no fish will fully eliminate a major snail infestation overnight. Manual removal and reducing food sources will likely still be needed. But the right fish can certainly help keep snail populations in check as part of an integrated pest management approach. With some planning, freshwater fish can be a natural way to control invasive snails.
If snails are taking over your freshwater aquarium, consider recruiting fish to help. Loaches, gouramis, bettas, catfish, bala sharks, goldfish, and puffers will all munch on these invasive pests. Just research compatibility before introducing a new fish. With the right species choice, your fish can become natural snail control. Let them feast on this bountiful food source while keeping your tank in balance.
The Importance Of Picking The Right Fish
Several fish species have a healthy appetite for snails. They’ll hunt down these pests and keep the snail population at reasonable levels.
That said, you can’t just pick any fish species and expect to see good results. Ultimately, the goal here is to save your tank and improve the living conditions for your existing fish.
To do that, you need to consider how the snail-eating fish will fit in. They must be compatible with other tank mates and flourish with existing water conditions in the aquarium.
With those two factors in mind, here are some fish that eat snails for you to consider:
Yoyo Loaches are beautiful bottom-dwelling fish that enjoy digging in the sand. While peaceful to other fish species, Yoyo Loaches will search for snails to consume.
These fish are very good at their job because they like to dig. They use their barbels to feel around in the substrate. Once they find a snail, they can suck it right out of the shell!.
Because these fish have hard teeth in their throats, you might hear them clicking as they eat!
Yoyo Loaches are a peaceful yet lively addition to the tank. They get along with most species and are hardy enough to stay comfortable in most standard water conditions.
- Size: 2.5 inches
- Difficulty: Intermediate
- Minimum Tank Size: 40 gallons
In the right conditions, the Striped Raphael Catfish can live for more than ten years. It is a beautiful fish. Like other catfish, they are bottom-dwelling fish that utilize barbels to search for food.
The body of the fish is torpedo-shaped and features dramatic horizontal stripes, hence its name. These fish are also heavily protected thanks to their curved spines and sharp fin rays.
Native to South America, Striped Raphael Catfish are used to eating invertebrates. In the wild, they often consume shrimp, snails, and insects.
Fish that live in tanks will eat a lot of the same things, which makes them a great choice for getting rid of snails in your tank.
- Size: 6 inches
- Difficulty: Beginner
- Minimum Tank Size: 50 gallons
When it comes to getting rid of snails, this colorful fish species is always there for you. The Clown Loach has quite the reputation as a snail-eating fish (and for good reason).
You might see them patrolling the waters before quickly digging under the substrate. This makes them highly efficient at getting rid of snails that like to burrow and hide.
When they’re not searching for snail snacks, Clown Loaches are peaceful community fish. They get along with other non-aggressive fish species and do very well in large community tanks.
They also adapt well to basic freshwater conditions. The species prefers temperatures around 78 degrees, neutral pH balance, and moderate water hardness.
- Size: 12 inches
- Difficulty: Intermediate
- Minimum Tank Size: 100 to 150 gallons
Naturally found throughout Southeast Asia, Gouramis are a very popular species in the aquarium trade. They can bring a lot of life to an underwater world because they are blue, silver, and even red.
Gouramis belong to a special class of fish. They’re labyrinth fish, which means that they have a lung-like organ that lets them breathe air. As a result, these fish are very hardy and capable of living in low-oxygen environments.
For the most part, Gouramis are quite peaceful and only get aggressive in overcrowded tanks. However, you’ll also see them get aggressive towards snails!.
These fish are powerful enough to rip snails right from their shells as a snack. There are plenty of species to choose from, but we recommend giving Dwarf Gourami a shot.
- Size: Varies
- Difficulty: Beginner-Intermediate
- Minimum Tank Size: Varies
The Dwarf Chain Loach is an interesting fish with a distinct look. These fish are only found in Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand. They are shoaling fish that stay near the bottom of the water.
Chain Loaches get their name from their appearance. The top half of the body features a thick band of black. However, spots of silver run along the entire band, giving it the appearance of a metal chain!.
Like other loaches, this species has delicate barbels that they use to hunt for food. For food, they often hunt in large groups for snails and other things in the substrate.
- Size: 2 inches
- Difficulty: Intermediate
- Minimum Tank Size: 30 gallons
Despite what their name would leave you to believe, Bala Sharks are not aggressive creatures. They’re relatively peaceful. Beyond their body shape and triangular dorsal fin, these fish don’t share any other characteristics with predatory sharks.
They will, however, eat smaller creatures they find in the tank. This includes snails, small fish, and shrimp.
These fish have very healthy appetites. They require food three times a day. Even still, you can often find Bala Sharks eating snails whenever they get the opportunity!.
Bala Sharks are active and social fish. They do best in groups and require a lot of space to swim and explore.
- Size: 12 inches
- Difficulty: Beginner-Intermediate
- Minimum Tank Size: 120 to 150 gallons
Zebra Loaches are another fish species that does best in a group. Zebra Loaches are not shoaling fish, but they can get mean if there are less than five of them in the tank.
Interestingly enough, most Zebra Loaches prefer to be alone. You can find them searching for food at the bottom of the tank. Sometimes, they’ll stay still for hours on end. Other times, you can see them actively exploring!.
This species requires a stable environment to stay healthy. They do best in temperatures between 73 and 79 degrees Fahrenheit, slightly alkali water, and moderate hardness. Good oxygenation is also a must.
- Size: 3 to 4 inches
- Difficulty: Beginner
- Minimum Tank Size: 30 gallons
The ever-popular Cory Catfish has a slightly different attitude towards snails. They’re not interested in some species, since as they tend to avoid larger snails.
Most Cory Catfish will focus their attention on smaller snails (and their eggs). They do a fantastic job of getting rid of snails in your aquarium that hide in the substrate.
They use their barbels to sniff out snails as they scavenge. Then, they’ll dig into the substrate to suck them out. These fish can dig very deep, so don’t be shocked if you see them with their whole heads in the sand!
Overall Cory Catfish are peaceful community fish. They look for food at the bottom of the tank most of the time, leaving other fish to live in other parts of the water column.
- Size: 1 to 4 inches
- Difficulty: Beginner
- Minimum Tank Size: 20 to 30 gallons
Snails are one of the fish that Goldfish are most likely to eat. Almost all Goldfish species, from the common to the fancy, will look for snails to eat.
They are more than willing to eat any snail that they can fit in their mouth. However, they will often avoid larger adult snails. To remove those, you’ll have to rely on another species.
Adding Goldfish to your tank can be tough. These fish require cooler water that’s lower on the hardness scale. As a result, you can’t add them to warmer tanks with tropical fish.
- Size: Varies
- Difficulty: Beginner-Intermediate
- Minimum Tank Size: Varies
Why An Out of Control Snail Population Is A Problem
Newer aquarists might be pleased by a hitchhiker snail that makes its way into an established environment. However, seasoned hobbyists know that one stray snail is only the start of a maintenance nightmare!.
Snails multiply at a rapid pace, and most species do not need a mate to reproduce. They will lay and fertilize up to 50 eggs on their own, leading to a budding population.
Once that second generation of snails starts reproducing, they can quickly take over a tank.
The issue with snail overpopulation comes down to the biological load on your tank. It doesn’t matter how big or small your aquarium is. The more living creatures you add to is, the harder it’s going to be to maintain water conditions.
Sure, many snails will eat leftover food, algae, and decaying plant matter. But they’ll also produce a ton of waste.
Even though it might not seem like much, waste from an overflowing tank can really mess up the ecosystem for everyone.
Filtration systems can only handle so much. You won’t be able to keep the levels of ammonia and nitrate low for long. This will hurt your other fish very badly.