loach for snail issue...?

[groovyfish]

I have heard that a type of loach is good to contrubute to keeping the snail numbers down in your tank.

i have kept clown loach before and have many probems and generally they get too big for the tank i have.

is there smaller type of loach i could get to help me with this?

 

[mphunk]

I learned that adding a fish to remove snails was not a good idea. Eventually it went back to my LFS. Are your snails posing a problem? I have found to love em, they help out alot and only grow(and multiply) to the extent of my tank needs'. Snails get a bad rap.

 

[zombie_vamp]

I have 3 loaches and they eat every snail I buy.. I gave up buying snails.. Now I just have a snail shell graveyard in the corner that the loaches hang out inside of! lol... I forget the name of the loaches but they are about 3" long and look like a snake.. They go inside the shell and eat out the snail.

 

[groovyfish]

they are not posing a problem really i have managed to keep them under controll by WC on a regular bases.

the clown loach i used to have also ate my apple snails. so was thinking a smaller loach might be enough to, not totally get rid but control these smaller 1s.
i'm really looking for the fish name if you can remember it'd be a great help!:idea:

 

[Jayhawk]

Loaches in the Botia family love snails. Kuhlis tend only eat baby snails and snail eggs.

A good small botias that gets to 3ish inches include Skunk loaches, Yo-Yo loaches and zipper loaches. Those are the common names. All would do fine as a trio or quartet in a 50 gallon tank, and they're fun fish to have (think semi-aggressive cories in behavior).

Eric

 

[jones57742]

I have heard that a type of loach is good to contrubute to keeping the snail numbers down in your tank.

i have kept clown loach before and have many probems and generally they get too big for the tank i have.

is there smaller type of loach i could get to help me with this?

groovyfish:

I presume that these snails "were gifts which came on plants"!

Yoyo loaches solved my problem*!

TR

*you can probably see snails on your plants and on the walls of your tank (as well as their egg sacks).

Within several weeks 3 yoyo loaches which are juvies (IMHO) will rid you of this adverse condition.

For many months thereafter you will still vacuum a ton of small snail shells from the bottom of your tank although no snails will not be visible in the tank.

Approximately six to eight months from now you will begin observing a significant decrease in the snail shells which you are vacuuming from the bottom.

IMHO eradication of these "pesky little devils" is not possible but a tremendous reduction in their number is.

 

[theotheragentm]

Remember that loaches are generally schooling fish. You're going to want to keep a minimum of 6 of any of the commonly found ones.

Yoyo Loaches will get too large to be kept in a school in your tank if it's in the 50 gallon you have listed. Kuhli Loaches might be a stretch too.

Dwarf Chain Loaches might be what you are looking for, but they are less common. You can get them, but they will cost you a bit more. They can occupy the middle rather than the bottom like other loaches.

 

[Jayhawk]

Remember that loaches are generally schooling fish. You're going to want to keep a minimum of 6 of any of the commonly found ones.

Yoyo Loaches will get too large to be kept in a school in your tank if it's in the 50 gallon you have listed. Kuhli Loaches might be a stretch too.

Dwarf Chain Loaches might be what you are looking for, but they are less common. You can get them, but they will cost you a bit more. They can occupy the middle rather than the bottom like other loaches.

I've kept skunks and yo-yos in groups of 3 with no problems. A group of 6 may be better, but 6 really isn't the size of most schools in nature and is as much an arbitrary constuct as 3, 4, or 25.

There is no way getting a group of 6 kuhlis into the 50 gallon tank listed above will be a "stretch". They'd be absolutely fine.

 

[Nuriel]

skunk botia work wonders for cleaning out snails. They stay small (mine are four years old and just about two inches) and they are a blast to watch. I only have two but they follow my clowns and yoyos about, making a small school. They are the most active fish in my tank. I want to get at least one more, but I can never find them at my LFS.

 

[Lupin]

Skunk loaches...I scale aggression 5 over 5. Regardless of the experience, please avoid them. There is a lot to regret when you try a large group or even a single one in a community tank. These are feisty and extremely aggressive fish. One may be lucky not to encounter troubles with these fish but the general consensus often meets the destructive nature of these fish. Cute faces can also be deceiving.

Overall, no, I would not advise getting loaches just to control your snails. If you love loaches, then a wise choice but to use them to control your snails is not. If you have plenty of space, clown loaches are for you otherwise stick with smaller species. Botia almorhae and Botia striata are more available than the rest of the botiine loaches. Be particularly selective in buying your fish, a lot of loaches can stress several fish to death with their boisterous nature.