Will Clown Loaches eat Guppies?

[MadCow]

My 6 yr old nephew has a snail problem in his tank. When he went to the LFS to buy a couple of clown loaches, they told him the loaches would eat his guppies. Is this true? I thought clown loaches were great community inhabitants. Eating your tankmates doesn't seem very neighborly. I think he has been misguided by the LFS. Regardless, he was quite upset over the prospect. So can you all clear this up for him?

 

[smithrc]

the only time our clowns get 'aggressive' is at feeding time - and its only normally a bit of barging...

our lone guppy is fine in there with them... so were the old guppys... I really cant see the mix being a problem.

 

[Tempestuousfury]

Perhaps the guy meant fry? It doesn't seem as though anything over an inch would be unsafe with the loach unless it were at the bottom of the tank and were very small.

 

[smithrc]

Perhaps the guy meant fry? It doesn't seem as though anything over an inch would be unsafe with the loach unless it were at the bottom of the tank and were very small.

thats a possibility as our clowns do like to rummage in the gravel...

 

[sylvia]

I have heard of clown loachs eating small fish when they reach adult size (12 inches BTW so he'd better have a large tank as they are huge fish and social) but I don't think a young clown loach would. Anyhow, I wouldn't get a clown loach for a small tank. The snails help keep algae under control and improve water quality by scavenging missed food. If they become a problem, put a piece of lettuce or cucumber on the gravel at night and collect and dispose of the snails that are there in the morning. If you do this a few times, you can keep the population under control but still benefit from their presence and you aren't forced to get the minnimum 3 loaches (because they are so social) and a huge tank (because they grow so large) to keep them in...