Tropical Fish That Eat Pond Snails

Large numbers of snails in a tropical fish tank will do a lot of eating. As with any type of animal, a lot of eating means a lot of excreting. This quickly reduces the water quality which can harm your fish if you do not take measures to counteract it.

  1. Clown Loach

    • One of the most popular species for snail control in the tropical tank is the clown loach. These orange and black patterned fish usually grow to around 8 inches long and naturally live in groups of three or four. Their size and sociability means you need an aquarium with a capacity of at least 60 gallons or more to house them. Clown loaches have spines just under their eyes, so you need to take caution when catching and handling them.

    Zebra Loaches

    • For smaller tanks, a smaller species of loach such as the zebra loach is more appropriate, though they will still need around 30 gallons of water at a minimum. These are very attractive, striped fish that are generally slow, graceful swimmers. Though they will eat snails in an aquarium and will help keep their numbers under control, they will not eradicate them completely and will eat other food sources instead if given the option.

    Puffer Fish

    • Puffer fish are a very interesting variety and certainly do love to eat snails. The problem with using them in the aquarium is that they can be aggressive to other species of fish. The dwarf puffer is generally far less aggressive than larger varieties and will happily coexist with other fish even within a small tank. However individual dwarf puffers can still prove to be aggressive, so it is worth keeping an eye on the dwarf puffer to see if it nips at the fins of passing fish.

    Banjo Catfish

    • The banjo catfish is fond of eating snails but as general addition to an aquarium it leaves a little to be desired. Being nocturnal it will spend most or all of the day hiding away under rocks and even during the night it is quite docile. The banjo catfish are good tank mates with other species, though their docile nature means that they feed slowly and so will not receive enough nutrition if kept in a tank with aggressive feeders.