Dwarf Puffers

[Bray]

hey all, wondering about snail control as the population in my planted 40 is booming...

would rather stay away from clown loaches- too shy for me

can anyone tell me about dwarf puffers? will they bother my school of neons? how about my amanos??

if puffers arent any option- any other loaches for snail control?? yoyos? i would like to go with the smallest fish possible- any suggestions??

 

[Kagh't]

dwarf puffers aren't that good an option if you have amanos or neons in the tank, in my experience they'll rip both to shreds.
i'd say go for some yoyo loaches, but lay off feeding them for couple of weeks so they get hungry enough and go after the snails.
yoyos are the best option, even though they can get 4-6", but you need to keep a shoal (3+) to keep them happy.

 

[TKOS]

I would say no to dwarf puffers, but maybe yoyo loaches would do. Clowns will get way too big for a 40 gallon.

 

[Catlid]

yeah i was considering a puffer untill i saw it peck the eyes out of a scat trying to mind its own business :sad

 

[dethjam316]

dwarf puffers are best kept in species-specific tanks. definitely not a nice, community tank fish. yoyo loaches or skunk loaches are very good options. in a 40g, you could have a nice school of skunk loaches. i have 7 in a 50g, and when i dump snails in there from another tank, they go to town. yoyos are great, too. i have 4 in that same tank. same deal, but i believe they get a little bigger.

 

[Dangerdoll]

I have a few skunk loaches in my tank too (remimnds me I have to update my specs) and they are my favorite choice of loach because they don't get as big and I like their look....I think my biggest is probably between 3 and 4 inches. Since adding them, I can't seem to keep snails if I wanted to. I would definitely suggest them.