how to eat snails???

[LMOUTHBASS]

i've heard a lot about puffers, loaches, cats etc that eat snails, my querstion is how do they do it? Dop they suck the snail out of their shell or actually just eat them whole? i guess i cant picture a clown loach gulping a whole snail no matter how small it is?i woul guess the loaches eat them some other way?

 

[PumaWard]

Generally, loaches and cats as well as other soft-mouthed fish suck the snail right out of its shell. Puffers actually have a beak from which they crack the shell right open... Now there are always exceptions to the rule, as I have seen...(and heard) a betta take a snail into its mout, shell and all, and crunch down on it. But, other then bettas and puffers, most fish 'suck' the snail out of his shell, sounds fun doesn't it

 

[LMOUTHBASS]

sounds

like it would take lots of work, do they usually stick to snails that are smaller than their mouths???

 

[LMOUTHBASS]

because

when i set up my tenty a few mos ago i had a clown loach who was always messing aroun with my blue snail who is about the size of a quarter, the loach was about 3 inches at the most, needless to say eventuaslly the loach gave up on him, but do you think he coulve gotten him- i didnt know the snails were on their dinner list - ooops

 

[PumaWard]

Generally fish have trouble with snails much larger than their mouths..

But some always have their problems realizing they can't do anything to the snail... I had a baby guppy..not even a half an inch pick on a mystery snail that is at least 1 1/2 inch from one end of the shell to the other...

I don't think, unless your loach harassed him to the point when the snail wouldn't come out of his shell to eat, then the loach probably would have gotten him... other than that, not until the loach got bigger