Skunk Loaches, Plants, and Fancy Guppies?

[Ken]

I need to control a snail population explosion in a 55gal community tank, so I'm thinking about adding a couple of skunk loaches.

I have several nice plants which are loosely rooted in my gravel; Are these loaches prone to disturb them?

Also, I have a couple of fancy male guppies with long tails. Are skunks bad about nipping them?

Are they more likely to eat my livebearer fry than the livebearers themselves?

I am really happy with this community setup, and I hate to add anything that will shake things up, but I'm going to have to do something about the snails.

Other fish in the tank are: Cories, ottos, platies, ghost shrimp, small frogs, gourami, and mollies.

[Must4ng s4lly]

I have heard from all my research on Skunks that they are REALLY agressive and they fin nip. I wanted some that I saw at the LFS and then I researched it, and it seemed everyone said they were agressive.

I have two clown loaches and the snails were gone in two days....They do get big, but I figure trade em to the LFS if they do!

I hope this helps...

[emoore]

Yes, skunk loaches can be aggressive. I have 3 clowns in my 55 without a trace of snails :) If you don't want to upgrade your tank later (or trade the clowns in), zebra loaches (botia striata) don't get large, are good snail eaters, and are good community fish. Also yoyo loaches are good choices but they might be a little more aggresive than zebra or clown. Make sure you get atleast 3 as loaches like to be in groups.

[sprite42]

In defense of skunk loaches, I have one in a 29 gallon community tank with 2 clown loaches, 2 yoyo loaches, 1 red tailed black shark, 2 upside down catfish, and 9 tiger barbs. I never see him bothering anybody. I sometimes don't see him for days. He is a very cool little critter. He comes right to the glass to 'check me out' at feeding time. He shares a hidey hole in a log with the red tailed black shark.

I had two of these guys, but one of them died shortly after moving to the big tank from the 10g QT. I was told that they are loners when older. I am not sure about their snail control abilities. I don't have any snails in this tank, yet.

Hope this helps.

[Una]

Hello :)

I have two Botia morleti (skunk loaches), and they are definitely too aggressive for the sort of peaceful community tank you have described. sprite42 - I think you are having no problems with your skunk because it is with suitable tankmates. Other loaches, sharks, and tiger barbs make excellent tank mates for Botia morleti. Guppies and gouramis do not. Also, you are correct that B. morleti is unlike most of the other loaches, in that they do not particularly enjoy the company of their own kind as they mature. That said, both of mine are still in the same tank, along with numerous other loaches and a shark.

[dethjam316]

mine are model occupants of a community 50g...of course, i have 7. the more the merrier and the kinder, i think, and this is pretty true for most loach species. even zebras or yoyos may nip if they aren't kept in adequate schools. if you have room, add at least 3, preferably 5, and i wouldn't anticipate problems. i keep mine with other loaches and gouramis. there is a good chance that they'll eat tiny livebearer fry, however, but i wouldn't think any more likely than the parents.

sprite, you should definitely add 2 more skunk loaches, they do so much better in groups, but you're pretty well-stocked, so this might not be possible with the fish as you have them.

[yvonnedono]

I had two skunk fish who took care of my snail problem. I didn't notice them hurting my other fish at all. I have a very passive tank: tetras, platys, algea eaters. I just lost the skun fish due to an ich epidemic and those snails are right back now.

[Una]

dethjam - How old are your B. morleti? Every reliable source I've consulted says that they are an exception to the rule in the loach world and do not like their own kind in maturity.

[dethjam316]

mine are all between 1 and 2 years. they shoal it up like crazy...i've never read anything along the lines of what you're posting, una...checked loaches.com. nothing. can you point to a source or three? curious...

[dethjam316]

just checked a plethora of net sources and didn't see anything to back up what you were saying, una...when you get a chance, links would help.

everything i'm seeing confirms that they enjoy the company of other loaches and do best in groups. like other loach species, they will bicker over territory from time to time and feeding time will be a tad boisterous, but mine never show true aggression, and i've never had any injuries. i started with 3 and added 2 and then 2 later...they've become more outgoing with each addition to their shoal.

[Fishstix3000]

I had a pond snail explosion. I have guppies, platies, cories, a pleco, an oto, and a rainbow shark, a crab, a from and a handful of mystery snails of various ages. My LFS told me to get skunk loaches, three would be enough to keep them pretty passive, and they aren't known to nip fins. I got four. By the end of day two, most of my guppies were missing chunks of tail, one was missing the whole darn thing. And he was my favorite. The snail population was way down as well. I quarantined the skunk loaches in a breeder floating tank, and scooped out the rest of the snails that I could find and dropped them in. They plucked the squishy snail bodies right out of those shells. Very efficient.

But I would NEVER risk putting skunk loaches in with my guppies EVER again. And was reprimanded for not doing better research first on this very site.

They left the platies alone (or the platies were a little too quick for them). But they trimmed the tails on a few of my cories as well. My pleco and rainbow shark were unscathed. And didn't bother the live plants much either.

They were fun to watch, laying in wait for any other fish to go by and then darting out and nabbing them, but it was horrifying to see them do it to my pet guppies that I am attached to.

So I would say....DON'T DO IT!!!!!

[Fishstix3000]

Uh, by "from" I meant frog.

[Fishstix3000]

I also read in several places (when I was doing my search to see just how bad of advice I had taken at my fish store) that skunk loaches get territorial as adults and do not tolerate the company of other skunks. But I do not have any of the sites marked from which I recieved this info to give you as reference. Sorry!

[Fishstix3000]

And that was advice that came about four years to late. HA! Welcome to 2008!