Botias that don't eat snails...do they exist?

That's good news, Orion! I'm not worried about the amount of snails as much as I was them getting outcompeted for them. If the puffers are quick on the draw, then that solves the botia problem!
 
Two Comments:

- Most puffers should not be kept in a community setting- ie with most other fish. they can get very nasty

Yasuhikotakia sidthimunki -aka dwarf chain loach most certainly do eat snails However, they are a tiny loach and so will only eat small snails. I have had about a dozen of these guys for many years and have removed tons of empty snail shells from their tanks.

Two Tank I have to say there are many other sid owners who also have never had their sids eats snails and never found remains of empty snail shells. I think there was a big thread many months ago on the loach forum where people said they did and people said they didn't. I was conditioning my group for breeding so they ate a large portion of frozen bloodworms every day. Perhaps they were so well fed on worms that they had no desire for snails. I never found snail shells in that tank, even small ones.
 
Two Comments:

- Most puffers should not be kept in a community setting- ie with most other fish. they can get very nasty

If I do decide to get the puffers, it will be Colomesus asellus, which is one of the more "tankmate tolerable" species of puffers.
 
In my experience, dojos and kuhlis don't. You should be fine with either of the two. I've combined them with apple snails and they never attacked them at all.

I'm sorry but any general statement indicating ALL loaches eat snails is very inaccurate.
 
AquariaCentral.com