still cant bring myself around to the practice of squishing snails yet,(for which there must be a more technical term? mollusc control,snail culling,tank vermin euthanasia???) before i bring myself to commit this barbaric,savage act of aquarium ethnic cleansing,i have to ask.... if the fish dont finish off the atrocity i am about to endure,will the uneaten snail population start to polute my tank and give me an ammonia problem in the future?

Well... that's the scenario I haven't thought about xD

Maybe before doing that, squish a few snail and watch for a minutes if the fish eat them. If not try to find something smelly as a bait to trap them.

I really against using chemical cause' there's always a risk that will harm the fish.

Squish away! It is a horrible way to go, but short of using chemical treatments, it is the only way to keep them in check.

Before you go the squish route, try and get rid of as many as you can by setting up a trap. A small bottle with a nice big chunk of cucumber works nicely. Wait 24 hours, lift out he bottle and dispose of the cucumber + myriad of snails.

You will never get them all with the capture method, but it does mean fewer snails to squash! After a squashing session, if your fish don't eat them, clean up using a gravel cleaner.

haha,thanks again for all the advice.have found that cucumber does work pretty well but alas....i will squish away

I held back from squishing for a long time because I don't like killing for the sake of it. However, nearly any approach you take will involve you killing the snails at some point, so may as well get it over with!

If you put them out in the garden then the birds will do the messy work for you.

Some species of fish are pretty good at eating snails, if you have room for them in your tank. Most Botia species are pretty good. I used to have Bengal loaches (Botia Dario) in my tank, and they completely eradicated my snail problem, which I couldn't seem to deal with any other way. Just make sure whatever you get is suitable for your tank. I sadly had to get rid of mine as I was told they weren't suitable for my tank, and the tank was overstocked anyway. By then they had already done their job though. I'm still fairly new to the hobby, and I've still got a lot to learn, but I'm sure people on here with a lot more experience than me can advise you on what species might be suitable for your tank.

no worries james,any advice is good.im new to this too and have had some exellent advice off of here from people in the know!