Clown Loach in betta tank

[gsparsan2]

Hi Guys, I have a 20L betta tank (picture below) that is doing well except for 1 point. The tank is 2 month old and when I planted the stem plants at the back I have inadvertently introduced 2 varieties of snails in the tank. At the beginning I was seeing a snail every couple of days and I would just crush it and leave the 2 Corydoras to eat it. They seem to like it. But now I see more and more snails and I'm afraid it is getting out of hand. The regular pond snail is easy to catch and destroy but there are some tiny ramshorn snail in the nooks and crannies of the hardscape that I am having a tough time reaching.

The question is: Can I introduce a small clown loach (< 2" long, from another tank) for a couple of weeks to get rid of the snails? Tank size 20L. Stock: 1 Betta, 2 Corrydoras, 6 glowlight rasbora. I also have Malaysian Trumpet Snails in other tanks. Would they help?

 

[Pinkey]

I have a 475l tank with plants and a million snails. I introduced 6 clown loaches for this same reason. I now have 6 very happy loaches and about a million snails. This isn't to say it won't work in 20l but at 475l there is no way they can keep up.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

NO, you cannot put a loach of any kinds into that tank. I have been keeping clows for over 2 decades. Some of mine are now 12 inches long and over 20 years old. I have them in a 150 gal. and if I were not in the process of retiring from the hobby, I would be looking for a bgger tank.

Clown must be kept in groups. they are a highly social fish and it is animal cruelty to keep them alone. Please do not do this.




The reason I keep clowns was this picture from Loaches.com. The fish and pci. belong to Bob Darnell

Ivestigate assassin snails, They eat other snails. Plus, as they wipe out pest snails, the assissins reproduce. You can sell them very easily though. They got for $2-3 each in pet stores. I bring 24 or so to every monthly meeting of my fish club for the regular auction we have every meeting.

 

[Pinkey]

NO, you cannot put a loach of any kinds into that tank. I have been keeping clows for over 2 decades. Some of mine are now 12 inches long and over 20 years old. I have them in a 150 gal. and if I were not in the process of retiring from the hobby, I would be looking for a bgger tank. . .

A LFS when I was young had some ancient clown loaches like the ones in the photo. I've wanted them ever since. I only have another 18 years or so while they grow out. I'm glad you gave the advice you did. I was only thinking of the snail part of the equation.

 

[FishAddict74]

Hi Guys, I have a 20L betta tank (picture below) that is doing well except for 1 point. The tank is 2 month old and when I planted the stem plants at the back I have inadvertently introduced 2 varieties of snails in the tank. At the beginning I was seeing a snail every couple of days and I would just crush it and leave the 2 Corydoras to eat it. They seem to like it. But now I see more and more snails and I'm afraid it is getting out of hand. The regular pond snail is easy to catch and destroy but there are some tiny ramshorn snail in the nooks and crannies of the hardscape that I am having a tough time reaching.

The question is: Can I introduce a small clown loach (< 2" long, from another tank) for a couple of weeks to get rid of the snails? Tank size 20L. Stock: 1 Betta, 2 Corrydoras, 6 glowlight rasbora. I also have Malaysian Trumpet Snails in other tanks. Would they help?

View attachment 233464

I don’t see a reason why you can’t try, I doubt it will hurt anything and worst case if it doesn’t work out just put the loach back.

 

[FishAddict74]

NO, you cannot put a loach of any kinds into that tank. I have been keeping clows for over 2 decades. Some of mine are now 12 inches long and over 20 years old. I have them in a 150 gal. and if I were not in the process of retiring from the hobby, I would be looking for a bgger tank.

Clown must be kept in groups. they are a highly social fish and it is animal cruelty to keep them alone. Please do not do this.

View attachment 233466



The reason I keep clowns was this picture from Loaches.com. The fish and pci. belong to Bob Darnell

Ivestigate assassin snails, They eat other snails. Plus, as they wipe out pest snails, the assissins reproduce. You can sell them very easily though. They got for $2-3 each in pet stores. I bring 24 or so to every monthly meeting of my fish club for the regular auction we have every meeting.

He meant for a short time to clear out a snail problem, it won’t hurt anything short term.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

This is still a bad idea. Get assassin snails, they will eat the others then it is easy to sell the assassins. There is a decent chance the clown will trash the tank. They do not care what they have to do to get what they want. Plants can be damaged, substrate may get dug up. The clown will likely freak out the Betta. And because the clown is used to companions even for a short time being on its own may make act unexpectedly.

Here are a few comments from Seriously fish:

Diet​

Appears to be chiefly carnivorous they will also eat vegetative matter if available, often including soft-leaved aquatic plants. The natural diet comprises aquatic molluscs, insects, worms, and other invertebrates.

Behaviour and Compatibility​

Not especially aggressive but don’t keep it with much smaller fishes as they may be intimidated by its size and sometimes very active behaviour.


Slow-moving, long-finned species such as ornamental bettas, guppies and many cichlids should also be avoided as trailing fins can be nipped.

When kept singly it can become withdrawn or aggressive towards similarly-shaped fishes, and if only a pair or trio are purchased the dominant individual may stress the other(s) to the extent that they stop feeding.



Here is the another potential problem. Small clowns eat small snails. They actually suck the snail out of its shell. So if you have any snails that are larger the clown may not be able to eat them. And they are the ones most likely to reproduce. I doubt the clown will be able to wipe out all the snails in just a few days either.

Finally, stress is what often weakens the immune systems of fish. Both the clown and the Betta will be stressed by the situation.

It is your tank and your decision. But, there are better options, imo. Assassin snails bother nothing except the snails they eat.

@ Pinkey

You should have more clowns in that tank. However, you will eventually need a bigger tank for them. From Seriouslyfish:
"C. macracanthus is gregarious, forms complex social hierarchies and should be maintained in groups of at least 5 or 6 specimens, preferably 10 or more."

 

[FishAddict74]

This is still a bad idea. Get assassin snails, they will eat the others then it is easy to sell the assassins. There is a decent chance the clown will trash the tank. They do not care what they have to do to get what they want. Plants can be damaged, substrate may get dug up. The clown will likely freak out the Betta. And because the clown is used to companions even for a short time being on its own may make act unexpectedly.

Here are a few comments from Seriously fish:

Diet​

Appears to be chiefly carnivorous they will also eat vegetative matter if available, often including soft-leaved aquatic plants. The natural diet comprises aquatic molluscs, insects, worms, and other invertebrates.

Behaviour and Compatibility​

Not especially aggressive but don’t keep it with much smaller fishes as they may be intimidated by its size and sometimes very active behaviour.


Slow-moving, long-finned species such as ornamental bettas, guppies and many cichlids should also be avoided as trailing fins can be nipped.

When kept singly it can become withdrawn or aggressive towards similarly-shaped fishes, and if only a pair or trio are purchased the dominant individual may stress the other(s) to the extent that they stop feeding.



Here is the another potential problem. Small clowns eat small snails. They actually suck the snail out of its shell. So if you have any snails that are larger the clown may not be able to eat them. And they are the ones most likely to reproduce. I doubt the clown will be able to wipe out all the snails in just a few days either.

Finally, stress is what often weakens the immune systems of fish. Both the clown and the Betta will be stressed by the situation.

It is your tank and your decision. But, there are better options, imo. Assassin snails bother nothing except the snails they eat.

@ Pinkey

You should have more clowns in that tank. However, you will eventually need a bigger tank for them. From Seriouslyfish:
"C. macracanthus is gregarious, forms complex social hierarchies and should be maintained in groups of at least 5 or 6 specimens, preferably 10 or more."

I agree that assassin snails would be better, but I do think you’re talking about an extremely unlikely worst case scenario by although I always say anything is possible in this hobby. Odds are having a CL in there for a couple weeks to a months will be fine. I’ve had some pretty crazy combinations of fish in various undersized tanks over the last 38 years, usually just temporary while dealing with an issue and it’s never been a problem for me. Whether it will solve the snail problem nobody can predict, but it’s possible

 

[gsparsan2]

Thank you for all the good advice. I'm glad I came here before doing it. In the end I am just manually removing whenever I can and now I see a snail or 2 a week so its not so bad. I'll just keep doing that.