Fish That Eat Snail Eggs

[FoundMoney]

I've got a bit of a snail problem in my tank. I'm managing to keep the population down just by pulling out snails when I see them and especially when cleaning the tank. However, I do notice a lot of eggs. My thinking was that if I could get rid of the eggs I'd have much less of a problem.

I have a 30 gallon tank that houses 8 flame tetras and a bristlenose. I eventually plan on getting a pair or so of dwarf cichlids. I'm also looking for a fish that would fit in this community, that is also South American, and that likes snail eggs. Does such a fish exist?

 

[FoundMoney]

Bump! ^

Anybody? There must be some small fish from South America that likes to eat snail eggs.

Or maybe not!

 

[jflowers]

Kuhlii loaches will snack on tiny snails and snail eggs, if you have a big tank, clown loaches are your saviour, but only with a BIG tank. Most botia species like snails, check out the pinned pest snail topic in the inverts forum if you still have a problem.

Jon

 

[DannyBoy17]

Loaches love snails.

Edit: Beat me to it ^


DB

 

[FrAnK3333]

All loaches come from asia, he wants something from south america.

 

[FoundMoney]

Yes, I did want to keep all of my species from the New World at least. I have always liked kuhlii loaches though. I have a small tank (30 gallons) that will be centered around a pair or a small harem of dwarf cichlids. Clown Loaches are definitely out.

 

[CFC]

Banjo catfish are known to eat snails but will also snack on any fry from the Appistos, the same can be said of SA puffers and small Doradid catfishes like Agamyxsis which would be other choices.

 

[freddyk]

Unfortunately snails either lay the eggs under the substrate or out of the water, where fish can't get it. Snail eating fish is as close as you'll get.

 

[yvez9]

my pest snails laid eggs on the glass
i wasn't sure what it was doing there until i saw a clear jelly like substance full of white spots in it. after about a wekk, i see the jelly is reduced to hald it's size and white spots are crawling up the glass. I'm sure my pleco and whiptail eat some, so does my female betta.

Probably in a week or two i'll see small snails all over the place.

 

[FoundMoney]

Yes, the eggs from my (pest) snails are very visible. They are generally on plant leaves. As yvez9 describes, they are jelly-like with white spots. It seems like it would be a tasty snack for a fish. A Kuhlii Loach would be cool but it goes against the "biotope" I'm trying to form and would mean eliminating another type of fish that I would like to keep more, especially since they do better in groups.

I'm not too worried, though, and will probably just keep to my original stocking plan. I can just keep pulling the hatched snails out by hand. I don't mind having a few in the tank but left unchecked I can see how this could quickly become a problem.