Snails can be an excellent addition to many aquariums due to their ability to eat large amounts of algae, detritus, and biofilm but if the tank conditions are ideal, some snail species are able to quickly reproduce with their population often getting out of control.
This is one of the main reasons that we have noticed a spike in the number of people reaching out and asking for advice on how they are able to control the population of the mini ramshorn snails in their tanks recently.
With so many people seemingly having problems with mini ramshorn snails right now, we have decided to publish our own dedicated article going over the more common questions that we see people from the community asking as well as share our own tips and tricks on controlling the population of mini ramshorn snails.
Now, you have to keep in mind that a common mistake that we see people make is that they will start to remove or control the population of their snails without taking steps to replace the functionality that they provide in the tank.
Without thinking of adding something like a pleco to the tank to take over the algae and detritus eating duties after removing your snails, a build-up can quickly occur.
This can then have a rapid effect on the water parameters in your tank as well as increase the amount of tank maintenance required to keep your tank clean and maintain steady water parameters for your fish.
Are Mini Ramshorn Snails Good?
In ideal situations, mini ramshorn snails can be a good addition to any aquarium due to them being able to consume large amounts of algae and detritus from a tank.
Many fish keepers will intentionally add mini ramshorn snails to their tanks with colder water as most other algae eaters require higher water temperatures to be effective at keeping algae growth under control.
This makes the mini ramshorn snail and regular ramshorn snails great options for ponds too as they are often better suited to their water temperature.
In addition to that, mini ramshorns snails tend to be much cheaper than most of the other popular algae eaters to making it a much better option for anyone on a budget or who is trying to keep their costs as low as possible.
The main downside of mini ramshorn snails is that they really do reproduce quickly if tank conditions are ideal and they have enough food.
This can quickly expand the population of the mini ramshorn snails in your tank and cause potential problems with overpopulation as well as result in huge amounts of snail poop.
How Big Do Mini Ramshorn Snails Get?
The majority of mini ramshorn snails will remain small but some can get as large as an inch in size if they have enough food and water temperatures are optimal.
The average size of a mini ramshorn snail tends to be around half an inch though with it usually being rare for them to get any larger than that.
Relative to their small size though, mini ramshorn snails can eat a surprisingly large amount of algae and detritus relative to their size. On a consumption to size ratio, this can make them one of the better options for algae and detritus control, especially with their low price point.
Even though mini ramshorn snails are small, their sheer numbers can end up causing potential problems due to the amount of poop they produce if you allow their population in your tank to get too large.
This is why so many people look for ways to either remove mini ramshorn snails from their tank or to at least control their population in their aquarium.
How Do I Get Rid Of Mini Ramshorn Snails?
The easiest way to control the population of mini ramshorn snails in your aquarium is to control the amount of detritus and algae they have available to consume as less food will discourage breeding.
Some people also choose to add an assassin snail to their tank as it will eat the larger ramshorn snails and control the population build-up that way.
Depending on your situation, getting one assassin snail can be the best option to take as they are able to keep the adult mini ramshorn snails to a minimum to ensure that there are fewer breeding pairs in the tank.
Some assassin snails will also eat the smaller mini ramshorn snails too helping to remove as many of the snails as possible but just keep in mind that you will have to remove the empty shells from your tank.
Some people will choose to take the path of keeping the organic matter in the tank available for the mini ramshorn snails to eat to a minimum.
This includes algae, detritus, biofilm, and discarded fish food as the less available food your mini ramshorn snails have available, the less likely they are to breed helping to minimize the population of the mini ramshorn snails in your aquarium to a minimum.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over how to control the mini ramshorn snail population in your aquarium to an end. We hope that we have been able to help you better understand the advantages of having mini ramshorn snails in your tank but once their population becomes too large, they can quickly become a pest. We have also covered the two main ways that you are also able to keep your ramshorn snail population in your tank in check too so you are able to easily reduce their population if needed.
