Although snail pests in the aquarium are not one of the most serious fish problems you will face throughout your journey, they can turn into a huge headache if you don’t know how to effectively keep their numbers as low as possible. Fortunately, there is a very easy way to get rid of snails in your fish tank setup – all you will need is a piece of lettuce or zucchini!

Once you have chosen the type of vegetable you want to use to get rid of snails, you will need to blanch it. By doing this, you will accomplish one of two things: 1) the chunk of veggie will be soft enough for the fish to eat it, and 2) it will sink to the bottom of your fish tank with very little effort. The easiest way to blanch a piece of lettuce or zucchini is to microwave it for several seconds. Just be sure to use a microwave safe container!

After the veggie chunk is ready to eat and sinking in, you’re ready to start getting rid of those snails! In fact, the whole process is essentially done once you’ve thrown the lettuce or zucchini into the fish tank. You should let it sit in your tank long enough for the snails to be attracted to it; this generally takes no more than a few hours.

Once you see a sufficient number of snails in the chunk of veggie you put in, you can scoop it out and throw it away. Just remember not to get too excited when you go to get them out of the tank; quick movements will only shake them off and they will go back to their gravel.

While this won’t completely eliminate snails in your fish tank setup, it will barely make you even notice they are there. In fact, you may find that instead of viewing them as one of those dreaded fish problems, you actually enjoy having some of the pest snails present to act as additional cleaning equipment for your aquarium. Just remember to use this method at least once or twice a week – less than that and you won’t be able to stay ahead of your growing snail population!