Are you noticing a lot of snail poop in your aquarium?
If you have snails, snail poop is a normal thing to see in your aquarium. Like other creatures, snails create waste. Of course, you have to clean this waste to ensure that your tank is clean at all times.
In this article, we’ll discuss snail poop in your aquarium and what you can do about it.
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Do snails poop in aquarium?
The first thing you have to understand about snails is that they are herbivores–and heavy eaters at that. If you have plants inside your aquarium they will eat that, both the living, vibrant ones and the ones that have already decayed.
However, most aquarium snails will only eat algae and other similar wastes. Once they’ve digested all this food, they will now have to release it as waste. They don’t eat their own poop, so if you have many snails, you’ll see their poop inside your tank all the time.
Do aquarium snails poop a lot?
The rate at which aquarium snails poop depends on how much they’re eating. If they have a lot to eat, then that means they’ll have a lot of waste, too. However, if they don’t have a lot to eat, then they won’t be able to create a lot of waste. It’s as simple as that.
Why do aquarium snails poop so much?
Again, it depends on how much the aquarium snail is eating. It may also depend on the size. A bigger aquarium snail will have more poop than a smaller aquarium snail.
If you don’t like seeing a lot of aquarium snail poop, you should opt for aquarium snails that are on the smaller end of the scale, such as Nerite snails and Malaysian Trumpet snails. Due to their size, you won’t see a lot of their poop inside the aquarium.
What does snail poop look like in an aquarium?
You might see their poop looking like tiny dark black logs. If you have a lot of snails, it can make your tank look very messy.
At times, snail poop may even cover the gravel or your substrate if there’s a lot of it. This usually only happens in tanks that aren’t maintained well with regular water changes or that are overrun with snails. In the case of the latter, it’s a whole different problem that you should deal with, as well.
Do I have to clean snail poop?
If the snail poop isn’t a lot, you don’t technically have to clean it. Aquarium snail poop isn’t really toxic, which means it doesn’t pose any danger to your plants or even your animals.
However, having a lot of snail poop can make your tank look very dirty. If you don’t do any water changes and there’s a lot of snail poop, there’s a chance that it may cloud up the water.
Therefore, if you do water changes regularly as recommended to all aquarists, you shouldn’t have to worry about cleaning snail poop specifically. They should go with the water that you siphon out of your aquarium.
How do I get rid of snail poop in my fish tank?
As mentioned above, you technically don’t have to do anything special to get rid of snail poop in your fish tank. However, if you’re feeling bothered by the amount of them in your tank you can also do other things to speed up the process.
For instance, you can use a siphon and aim it directly on the substrate, acting as a vacuum for the snail poop. This method may not be possible if you have a planted tank, however, since you may disrupt the roots while doing it. Make sure that nothing else in your tank will be damaged if you do this method.
If you’re absolutely desperate to remove them, you can also just drain your tank of water and clean out the substrate. Obviously, though, this is much more labor-intensive so it should only be done if you really have a lot of snail poop in your aquarium.
Dealing with Aquarium Snail Poop
Aquarium snail poop may look messy and dirty, but they’re a relatively easy problem to solve. If you only have one snail, a bit of snail poop here and there isn’t going to do anything to your tank. Plus, if you do regular water changes, you won’t have to worry about getting stuck with an aquarium that’s filled with snail poop.
Did you learn something from this article? Check out our other aquarium-related posts now!