Snail Eaters?

[ShinySideUp]

I have a small (so far) outbreak of small snails, the eggs of which must have arrived on the last lot of plants I put in the tank. The tank is 120 litres and contains only 18 black phantom tetra's, nothing else. Is there a fish I can get that is firstly, a snail eater, and thence also not big, does not require lot's of friends (like clown loaches of which I already have several in another tank), and won't dig up my plants which are difficult to keep rooted because of their type. I know I am asking for the world or perhaps a fish I can tell what to do!!

I had a snail problem many years ago and was never able to rid myself of them completely so I want to nip this in the bud.

Any suggestions as to the fish type or should I just use snail killer?

 

[soybean]

Assassin snails. They won't eradicate it overnight but are great for population control.

Reduce feeding to the tank drastically for about a week to prevent newly hatched snails from finding any food. The biggest cause of a snail population growing is excess food being available for them, from overfeeding fish.

Adding a piece of lettuce at night and weighing it down should attract quite a few, and you can just remove it with them attached in the morning.

You can also remove them as you see them.

Don't use snail killer, the snails just die and rot in the tank, polluting it.

The only fish similar to clown loaches that eat snails that I can think of are yoyo or zebra loaches, but I don't think your tank is big enough to support a shoal of 6+ individuals. Plus once they've eaten all the snails you're then stuck with a load of hungry loaches.

Assassins, reduced feeding, removing by hand and baiting with lettuce all work well.

 

[Fishy friend2]

Assassin snails.

+1, these are some great little snail eaters, and are quite enjoyable too

 

[Cazgar]

Assassins will eat the larger snails but ignore the babies, so won't completely eradicate them.
A few snails are good I think & if you don't over feed your fish they won't reproduce that rapidly

 

[fluttermoth]

Definitely don't use snail killer! Lots of snails dying all at once can play havoc with your water quality.

Assassin snails are great; they're very attractive and breed much more slowly than the pest snails, so you're not just swapping one problem for another.

Normally I don't recommend getting a fish just to do a job, but your tank is a nice size and not overstocked, so have you though about zebra loach? I never have snails in the tank my zebras live in, they don't grow too big for 120l and are very nice fish.

 

[ShinySideUp]

Definitely don't use snail killer! Lots of snails dying all at once can play havoc with your water quality.

Assassin snails are great; they're very attractive and breed much more slowly than the pest snails, so you're not just swapping one problem for another.

Normally I don't recommend getting a fish just to do a job, but your tank is a nice size and not overstocked, so have you though about zebra loach? I never have snails in the tank my zebras live in, they don't grow too big for 120l and are very nice fish.

I like the idea of assassin snails but having seen them at work on youtube I find them a bit creepy really. I have just looked up the Zebra Loach (Botia Striatus) and they seem to fit the bill as they don't grow to more than four inches and like slightly acidic water but are they like Clown loaches in that I would need to keep a whole group of them?

 

[fluttermoth]

Well, they are social, yes, but I kept a group of five for many years and they seemed to act exactly the same as the group of nine I have now.

I have to add that you don't really see the assassins doing their 'thing' unless you really look for it, so it probably wouldn't creep you out too badly!

 

[Crossfire]

I have found that any fish will gladly eat snails. All you have to do is crush the shell so they can get at the meat

That's how I got rid of my snails

 

[doresy]

As I have suggested to many snail inquiries, get yourself one or two Zebra Loaches!

Very attractive fish and prolific pest snail hunters

Check this out............

 

[fluttermoth]

Zebra loach are very social fish though, you should definitely look at five as a minimum for them to be happy.

 

[doresy]

Zebra loach are very social fish though, you should definitely look at five as a minimum for them to be happy.

Fair point, still nicer than other remedies!

 

[ShinySideUp]

Zebra loach are very social fish though, you should definitely look at five as a minimum for them to be happy.

Which brings me back to my original post in that to avoid over-stocking I need a snail eater that does not require large numbers of tank mates. I do like the thought of having Zebra loaches but the tank is too small for more than two, perhaps three. Looks like the Assassin snails then, shame.

One other thing: Do loaches, esp. Clown loaches, eat Assassin snails?

 

[fluttermoth]

Of course it's your tank and up to you, as we all have different opinions on stocking levels, but my five lived in a 3'/100l with a dozen tiger barbs (and a clown plec) for six or seven years and they were absolutely fine and are all still alive now

 

[`Peter]

Assassin snails. You can always buy some snail-be-gone as well =)

 

[MBOU]

How about loaches half the size of the Zebra Loach if that?

There are two species becoming more and more availeable now, dont assume by their small size that they wont eat snails, if anything i think they eat far more snails!

-Rosy Loach Tuberoschistura arakanensis
http/www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=rosy+loach&hl=en&biw=1059&bih=607&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=nKY-NsRnK51MaM:&imgrefurl=http/www.loaches.com/species-index/tuberoschistura-arakanensis&docid=_S5ueDVRY_LE9M&imgurl=http/www.loaches.com/species-index/photos/t/tuberoschistura_arakenensis_06.jpg/image_preview&w=400&h=213&ei=sMA1T_TmBofS0QXYi-GZAg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=69&vpy=160&dur=86&hovh=164&hovw=308&tx=171&ty=93&sig=103349512573384008980&page=1&tbnh=90&tbnw=169&start=0&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0

-Laos Multibar Loach Yunnanilus cruciatus
http/www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=laos+multibar+loach&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&gbv=2&biw=1059&bih=607&tbm=isch&tbnid=3Gx7Cb_QsGOp1M:&imgrefurl=http/www.loaches.com/species-index/yunnanilus-cruciatus&docid=Iqmz8G3QCRD0mM&imgurl=http/www.loaches.com/species-index/photos/y/Yunnanilus_cruciatus_01.jpg/image_medium&w=600&h=357&ei=PME1T_LYKKqs0QXW082cAg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=74&vpy=148&dur=217&hovh=173&hovw=291&tx=106&ty=72&sig=103349512573384008980&page=1&tbnh=97&tbnw=163&start=0&ndsp=10&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0

Both are amazing species though tend to look awful in stockists tanks, takes a bit of good feeding and peace and quiet to get them looking how they should! The rosy loaches colour up like cherry barbs, the males red and the females a more brown colour.

Id be surprised to see either species get more than 3-4cm max which is about half the size of the Botia Striate. I would however get about 6 as they are a very shy fish...