How to clean around small snails.

Hello. I have a 75 gallon tank that has quite a few ramshorn snails in it. In my tank they aren't pests, they are very welcome. I'm having trouble trying to clean the gravel without feeling like I'm going to suck them up because they're so light, or like I'm going to crush them in between the gravel. Any suggestions on how to get around this, or do I just have to get in there and hope for the best?. Thank you.

 

You can try picking the gravel up manually with a small container.

 

You just hope for the best. You can use a smaller light colored bucket to see them better, so you can pick them back out if you suck them up. You are always going to have more, so I wouldn't sweat it too much.

 

Hello. I have a 75 gallon tank that has quite a few ramshorn snails in it. In my tank they aren't pests, they are very welcome. I'm having trouble trying to clean the gravel without feeling like I'm going to suck them up because they're so light, or like I'm going to crush them in between the gravel. Any suggestions on how to get around this, or do I just have to get in there and hope for the best?. Thank you.

I would just get in there and hope for the best. You may siphon out a few but if you are siphoning into a bucket you can just return them to the tank. I do hope you are siphoning into a bucket. It is best not to introduce them to the wild. In my case it might not be a problem should they end up in our septic tank but could be in a municipal sewer system.

they may not survive the trip but my motto is better safe than sorry

 

You could also stir the gravel beforehand with a skewer stick and then syphon the material that is stirred up.

 

Could you not fix some kind of mesh over the end of the siphon? Holes large enough for detritus but too small for snails.