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Plant friendly, snail eating fish

Aeropars

Member
Joined
9 Jul 2007
Messages
818
Location
Leicester
Hi Guys,

My snail population is getting a little bit out of hand now so i'm looking for fish that I can add which will be friendly to the plants but will control the snails.

I know I can add a dwarf / pygmy puffer which will snack on the shells as well but these are a little bit difficult to get hold of around my way. Ideally i want something that i dont have to remove as the lady of the house gets attached to the little fellas.

Any ideas?

Lee
 
Hey Lee :)

Most loaches will eat snails :yes: Depends on how much room in the tank you have as to which type of loach you might consider. Most loaches prefer to be in groups (the larger the shoal the happier the loach). Smaller loaches such as Kuhli loach and Dwarf chain loach are reputed to eat snails but my kuhlis don't.

Clown loach will eat snails very effectively (mine even eat MTS [Malasian Trumpet Snails] which are not eaten by most snail eaters - dwarf puffers for example don't eat them as their shells are too hard), pakistani loach, painted loach etc will all clear your tank similarly (but all get relatively large and like to be in groups).

Another consideration you might make is a talking catfish - you will likely never see it (although you will hear it after lights out) as it is nocturnal but it will devour snails very successfully.

Alternatively remove them by hand (timeconsuming but effective) and/or cut down on feeding. Snails only florish when there is sufficient food for them.

Depending on the kind of snail you have you might consider adding MTS. MTS can get to plague proportions but usually have the good grace to stay buried in the substrate when the lights are on :). They will eat the eggs of other snails thus keeping them under control.

Zoe
 
BeBea said:
Another consideration you might make is a talking catfish - you will likely never see it (although you will hear it after lights out) as it is nocturnal but it will devour snails very successfully.

I have just one of these, and it is does a good job of snail control. Recommended.

For the first couple of years I did not see a single snail. Now I see a few snails but never many, I guess it is getting a little lazy now.

If I do see the snail population increasing I just cut back on feeding a little and wai for the catfish to go to work :)

They are a beautiful fish, and the fact that you only see the odd glimpse of them from time to time adds to their appeal for me... Platydoras costatus is the scientific name if you want to google it.

One day it might even make a noise, but nothing so far....
 
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