Snail outbreak

[Jamie McGrath]

i have a pendant light hanging over my tank. The light was positioned about 40cm to 50 cm above the top of the water level. Ive always had problems growing carpet plants, im guessing there is not enough light getting to the sand. i finally got round to buying a longer suspension kit and lowered my light to about 10cm above the water level. what a difference that has made, lots of my plants are pearling after a few hours after light on, im so happy. hopefully the hairgrass will not flourish.
now the problem is ive noticed a large increase in snail population, there are hundreds of tiny snails all over the hairgrass. the light has only been in its new position for two days now. do snails do better in higher light , does this help them breed? or am i just noticing them more because there is more light in the tank?
what is the best way to get rid of the snails?
Do I need to get rid of the snails? do snails damage plants or do they help clean up alge?

thanks for your replies in advance.

 

[MrHidley]

More Light = More Algae = More Snails. It really depends on what kind of snails they are, I have Ramshorns in all my tanks as they only eat dead plant matter and algae. Some snails are destructive however, if you want to get rid of them, buy some assassin snails, which will predate upon them.