A. In answer to the reader question:
"I was just wondering if you can help me. A while back I bought some fish aquarium plant bulbs. They grew just fine, but I have been inundated with those small snails they just keep coming. Is there some way I can get rid of them? I have mostly Mollies and some platties, some neons and 1 Snake type fish (dojo?) which hides under the castle most of the time. DonnaJeanne "

Hello DonnaJeanne,
I To remove snails without pulling plants and or hunting the snails one by one drop an algae wafer or small vegetable piece on the substrate. When the snails congregate on the vegetable or wafer you can easily remove them in one big clump. A few times doing this and you should be able to remove the majority.

Another option is to get a clown loach, and they will remove every snail in a very short time. However, that is not always practical option.

Regards, Don Matakis

Don is an Aquatic Grower & Senior Aquaculturist for Freshwater Aquarium Plants, a division of Aquatic Scapes.