Snail Eating Fish

[glctsc]

Hi Everyone,
Just wondering what the consensus is as far as the best all around freshwater fish for cleaning up a snail outbreak. We just started stocking the tank this past weekend with 6 Otos, and 3 SAEs. A week earlier we received our last shipment of plants from AquariumPlants.com,needless to say we were given a bonus....SNAILS!
I guess sometimes these things happen. We blame ourselves for letting them in the tank,(not giving the plants a bleach wash). We are completely satisfied with the plants we purchased,they were all in excellent shape and are growing quite well. Our tank is a 75gal with...at the moment 24 plants of varying species. We plan on a peaceful fish population.

ph 7.1
kh 9.1
gh 15
CO2 17ppm
Phosphate 0.2-0.5
NO2 0
NO3 10mg/l
NH4 0
temp 78.6F
I'm probably forgetting something!

Thanks
Greg

 

[diVer]

Puffers will probably eat all the snails in there within a week. But they are very territorial and will nip other fish (the Otos will be fine with them, I don't know about the SAEs). If you want a peaceful tank, the puffers will have to be moved to a different tank.

 

[FrankSlapperinni]

Well, in a tank that size, you could keep a shoal of Clown loachs (Botia macracantha) happily. Loach's and puffers are what most people will say are the best snail eaters, but unfortunately they either need large tanks because of size or aggressiveness. since you have a 75 gallon, Clown Loach's would fit in perfectly. they grow around 8-12 inch's, and like there name says, they are very foolish, often turning pale and lying on their sides. I have heard reports from some people though of the loach's hurting corries, so I would recommend you make them the only bottom dwellers in the tank.
If these fish sound too big for you, you could always opt for the 4in yo-yo/Pakistani loach (botia lochata). although they are slightly more aggressive, they also eat snails.
As for other food you should feed these fish besides snails, many people will feed hollowed out slices of cucumber, algae wafers, and any other sinking food (they are omnivorous)
Please double check this info though, although I am currently keeping Kuhli loachs, and plan on keeping clowns in the future, I have no real idea of the actual temperament of these fish besides what I have read. I hope I helped

 

[modernhamlet]

Clearly clown loaches are the best answer, but if you don't want 4-6 12" fish, then take a look at some of the other snail eating loaches. Zebra loaches for example, are attractive, eat snails, and only get to 4".

 

[cometcattle]

I used to have a small snail prob, my 2 zebra loach made short work of them. No more snails.

 

[pendragon]

There are several species of loach that are prolific snail exterminators. I love the Yo-Yo Loach. Some folks say they have marginal aggression problems with them, but many people don't. I have four that are as "community" as community gets. They swim and frolick (do fish "frolick"?) with the other fish and are all-around cut-ups. It's hard to imagine my tank without them. Many loaches are "personality" fish, so I suspect they have varying temperaments as well. I chose Yo-Yos for my tank because, well, I wanted a loach species because of their personality aspect, and the other species were either too semi-aggressive for my liking (some loach species definitely can cause problems) or grew too big. The Yo-Yo fit the bill for me very nicely, and so far I've not regretted choosing them for even a second.

Clown Loaches are also great snail hunters, but eventually grow large. I've read that Dojo Loaches are effective snail exterminators too, and *great* personality fish, but they are widely considered coldwater fish (though you will hear some varying opinions on that). Zebra Loaches (also commonly called 'Striped Loaches' (Botia Striata)) are supposedly good as well. Don't know if Kuhli's are adept at snail removal or not.

Basically, loaches rule. But remember, pretty much all loaches are community fish that need the company of their own kind to prosper and for their personalities to "come out". IMHO, if you can't house four or five of a particular loach, you need to look elsewhere.

pendragon!

 

[bkk_group]

i have a female betta that kills every small snail she comes in contact with.

 

[jh1987]

put salt in water

 

[Opcn]

that would kill the plants faster than the snails jh

IMHOpcn

 

[CFC]

The two best snail exterminators ive come across are Megladoras irwini (a huge doradid catfish) and Leporanis affinis, both of which make loaches look like snail friends in comparison. Unfortuanatly the Megladoras grows to around 2 feet and the Leporanis can be aggressive fin nippers so neither fish would be suitable really but it does give you another couple of options.
Banjo catfish are also snail eaters but dont eat often enough to make a dent on a large snail population.

 

[x-router]

put salt in water

I have a salted tank with one apple snail and a few pest snails and they are doing fine.

that would kill the plants faster than the snails jh

Again my salted tank is fully planted and salt has no effect on them at all.

My clown loach tank has no snails

 

[glctsc]

Thanks for the insight everybody.I think its going to be a toss up between the clowns and the zebras. If we get the clowns and they do get too big,(I've read they don't get much more than 6" in aquariums,I know there are exceptions to the rule) I'm sure someone somewhere would want LARGE adult fish!

Thanks again
Greg

 

[konrad05]

pick up the clowns, you'll never get tired of watching them. They'll snag every last bit of snail, even the ones that hide deep in the gravel.

 

[rollntider]

look at the botia /loach species, I have a skunk loach and no snails. I look to buy plants with snails on them so he can eat them LOL....but I have read they can be aggressive (while mine is a good egg) they do like to be loners and grow only to 4 inches. If you have plenty of hidding places i think the skunk may be a good choice. Also look at the blue botia i hear they are good snail hunters and arent as aggressive as a skunk botia, but like I say I havent seen mine harm a fish yet, just snails. good luck deciding.