Snail eating alternative to Clown Loaches?

[njparton]

My tank has an ever increasing population of small snails (approx. 1 cm) that come out at night and disappear during the day. In the middle of the night there must be at least 20 attached to the glass all over.

I got rid of my last 2 clown loaches a month or so ago due to their increasing size.

What other species could I buy (max length of about 2-3" and suitable for a community tank) that would eat the snails and keep them under control?

 

[Def]

You could try weighting down a lettuce leaf overnight, and the snails should be on it in the morning. Others have suggested this, I've never needed to do it personally. My snails eat my algae, so they're welcome to stay.

 

[White Whale]

Dwarf puffers, maybe?

 

[SirMinion]

There are many species of small loaches commonly available in the hobby such as chain loach, yoyo loach & botia striata to name just three. All of them will control your snails just fine and will not get huge like clowns do.
Remember all loaches must be kept in groups of at least three.

Only get dwarf puffers if you don't mind them eating your other fish's fins as well as the snails (not a good idea)

 

[guppymonkey]

I have heard that the Blue Gourami (Trichogaster trichopterus) will get rid of snails. I had an invasion of small snails that tried to take over my tank and after adding a blue gourami (well the gold color morph of the blue gourami) all the snails were gone within a few weeks.

 

[njparton]

You could try weighting down a lettuce leaf overnight, and the snails should be on it in the morning. Others have suggested this, I've never needed to do it personally. My snails eat my algae, so they're welcome to stay.

I've tried blanched lettuce, cucumber and corgette to no avail.

 

[njparton]

I have heard that the Blue Gourami (Trichogaster trichopterus) will get rid of snails. I had an invasion of small snails that tried to take over my tank and after adding a blue gourami (well the gold color morph of the blue gourami) all the snails were gone within a few weeks.

How big do they grow?

Dwarf gouramis get to 2-3", don't gouramis get up to 6"!?

 

[Dwarfs]

Blues/golds usually only reacgh about 4-5 inches

 

[RYO]

i can personally recommend yoyo and Candy-stripe loach (Botia almorhae and Botia striata) after get these i havnt seen a snail since(dont see much of the candies either lol)

 

[njparton]

i can personally recommend yoyo and Candy-stripe loach (Botia almorhae and Botia striata) after get these i havnt seen a snail since(dont see much of the candies either lol)

Thanks, I'll keep an eye out.

Will they tolerate a pH of 6 and a temp of 28C?

 

[shrimpster97]

my cousin, who is also a fish person, said that gold barbs will eat the snails. i have acouple but no snails, that i know of. they look good to.

 

[Gourami Lover88]

Skunk loaches (botia morlettie) are also a great snail killer.

 

[k2snowboards88]

sorry to add a question, but how exactly do you get a snail infestation? How did they get in the tank in the first place?

 

[Tom H]

hi there

normally you get snails from plants you buy. often new plants bought from your lfs will have snails and eggs already on them. whenever i buy plants i tend to wash them first, and try and remove any snails i can see, and any eggs. The eggs are soft and jelly-like, often stuck to the bottom of the plants leaves. the eggs can simply be scraped off.

hope this helps

Tom

 

[Hooligan]

Definately Botia Striata