Not all of them actually eat snails. They’ll hunt down these pests and keep the snail population at reasonable levels. Simply look for the species that fit your tank conditions and go from there. Chain Loaches get their name from their appearance. Some smaller loaches like the Kuhli loach are too small to eat pest snails and therefore not suitable for our situation. Corydoras also do not eat snails but can play an important role in reducing your snail problem. If you are just starting, you will want to have plants that don’t require much care to thrive. If you maintain an aquarium as a hobby, you definitely know how much it costs to keep it clean, complete, and attractive. For the most part, Gouramis are quite peaceful and only get aggressive in overcrowded tanks. Eric . Shrimp or other small invertebrates are not safe either. However, they will often avoid larger adult snails. Easily the most recognizable of the Loach family, Clown Loaches are active and … Most Betta owners choose to keep these fish by themselves. You’ll have to care for your new pet even when the snail problem is solved. Snails multiply at a rapid pace, and most species do not need a mate to reproduce. They are famous as snail eaters and are often recommended to be kept in aquariums with a snail infestation. It is always fantastic to have plants in your aquarium. Goldfish are also known to eat snails, but they are also no solution to a snail problem. They’ll eat pest snails as well as other ornamental snails. Zebra Loaches love to eat snails. the tank is quite cool for a tropical and i already have an assassin snail but he doesnt do his job very well, if at all. When I was struggling to reduce my pest snail population I thought about adding a smaller loach such as a yoyo loach, but I decided against it. However, these fish can attack and eat snails just the same. When I struggled with hundred of pest snails in my tank, I bought 5 Assassin Snails that solved my problem. You can sometimes see them hiding out in the sand as they wait for a snail to come by. The reason for this is because these fish are super active and great hunters. Once that second generation of snails starts reproducing, they can quickly take over a tank. Betta Fish are known for their beauty and grace. While those growing out in the open feast onsmall insect… As such, they are a great addition to a community tank. I’m not one to make these lists artificially long so that’s why it says “loaches” in general. I think I will get about 4 of them, hoping they will ration the snails … These fish will use their barbels to feel around the substrate. AquariumGenius.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Zebra Loaches are another fish species that does best in a group. Just like many of you, I started with two goldfish but quickly learned they were not suitable for aquariums. They have the ability to eat up anything thatcomes in contact with them, and then they will just spit over the foods thatare not required. Sixwing Posts: 20 Joined: Wed Jan 21, 2009 4:45 pm. Thankfully, you can’t really go wrong! While peaceful to other fish species, Yoyo Loaches will search for snails to consume. The type of snails matter too. There are many different types of aquarium catfish out there. Even though, your zebra loach will eat snails, you should also offer it live foods such as bloodworms, glass worms, and tubifex. These fish are very powerful diggers, so don’t be surprised if you see them with their entire head in the sand! Like other catfish, they are bottom-dwelling fish that utilize barbels to search for food. Once they find a snail, they can suck it right out of the shell! Just a warning, the loaches can be prone to harassing other fish once they get a bit older. They’re not interested in some species, since as they tend to avoid larger snails. The more living creatures you add to is, the harder it’s going to be to maintain water conditions. From them on it’s in the “pest snail” domain. When you have corydoras, they will find the food and eat it, basically stealing it from the snails. link to How to Grow Coral for Profit in Your Home Reef Tank, link to The Complete Dwarf Sagittaria Care Guide for Beginners. They will also not leave the dead parts of the living plants without attention. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. I have a used 20 gallon tank that has recently began to be taken over by snails. The Loaches and Pufferfish mentioned below love snails. They do best in groups and require a lot of space to swim and explore. Other times, you can see them actively exploring! While they do best in well-oxygenated tanks, they can survive in shallow waters, too. Passion for loaches + Passion for snails = Irony. All these fish are part of the botia family and love to eat snails. These fish require cooler water that’s lower on the hardness scale. They will lay and fertilize up to 50 eggs on their own, leading to a budding population. Puffers are known to eat snails, and can therefore be a suitable solution to your snail problem. To remove those, you’ll have to rely on another species. Learn more. If you’re having some trouble deciding you can always ask us to weigh in as well. Sometimes, they’ll stay still for hours on end. They're schooling fish so … These “dwarf”cichlids could be a nice addition to your freshwater aquarium under the right circumstances. There is a variety of different loaches for you to choose from, but some options are better suited than others. This makes them highly efficient at getting rid of snails that like to burrow and hide. But they are Very social fish, they should never be in a school of less than 6 and each one can grow to a foot. Just leftovers is not enough. Do loaches eat snails? They're hardy, long life, stay small <3", compatibile with many fish, and eat snails. It might not seem like much, but when you’re dealing with an overrun tank, the effects of that waste can wreak havoc on the ecosystem. A while back I introduced snails into my tank because I thought it would help with my algae problem. Kuhli loaches-excellent aquarium visitors: they collect the food waste from below and do not let it decompose. These fish have very healthy appetites. Newer aquarists might be pleased by a hitchhiker snail that makes its way into an established environment. jones57742 AC Members. The cost per fish runs between $7.50 to $8.00. Good oxygenation is also a must. Botia loaches are often employed to exterminate a pest snail infestation, so it is advisable to avoid the botia family of loach if you wish to maintain your snail population. Find out whether you’re feeding to much and reduce the amount your feed. There are smaller cichlids like German Blue Rams or Kribensis and even Angelfish. There are other species of fish that people tend to relate to eating snails. Final Recommendations. Several fish species have a healthy appetite for snails. They use their barbels to sniff out snails as they scavenge. There are many different varieties of puffer fish available in our aquarium hobby. You might be able to teach your Zebra Loaches to do this by crushing a few MTS and dropping them back into the tank. The only caveat with keeping Green Spotted Puffers is that they need brackish water. Their environment must have a specific gravity between 1.005 and 1.20. These fish are powerful enough to rip snails right from their shells as a snack. Most fish that have plenty to eat are picky and will not “pick up” any leftover food that has settled on the bottom of your tank. I think I had my tropical aquarium for about a year when I suffered from my first pest snail infestation. This is something people sometimes forget when trying to fix a snail problem.eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'aquariumgenius_com-box-4','ezslot_4',130,'0','0'])); Try asking your local fish store whether you can “borrow” or “rent” a fish that eat snails. Most of the times there are either snails or snail eggs stuck to aquarium plants that you add to the tank. They’re not picky. These are highly aggressive fish that will attack any species that catches their eye. Endemic to Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand, these are shoaling fish that typically occupy the bottom of the water column. This guide will go through each of the best fish to help you deal with a snail problem in your tank. If you don’t have live plants, they were probably stuck to some ornaments that were previously in another tank. An article on Pethelpful mentioned that these fish might eat snails. If you’re worried about Assassin Snails overrunning your tank, you can rest easy. Green Spotted Puffers are adorable fish that have the ability to get larger in size for defense purposes. The dwarf Sagittaria is a hardy plant that can... Hi there! I can tell you where the first couple of snails came from, but there is a reason they start to multiply as fast as they do. They are not like other loaches that eat snails. Then, they’ll dig into the substrate to suck them out. With so many great options it can be hard to decide. MTS have a much harder shell than pond snails, and are harder for any fish to break apart to eat. As a result, you can’t add them to warmer tanks with tropical fish. The botia family of loaches naturally prey on snails as they have adapted mouths evolved to get into the shell and scope out the innards. Rainbow kribensis sometimes eat snails Gourami’s sometiems eat snails There are other species of fish that people tend to relate to eating snails. However, you’ll also see them get aggressive towards snails! The Dojo Loach iseasy to feed, as these fish can eat anything from fish feed to snails. I know the Loaches will eat the snail but they[Snail] breed really fast so if I got a lot of snails it would be for fish food and sand stirring benefits. I’ve had one pea puffer that was feeding on tiny pest snails. Clown loaches are scavengers and will munch up any fish food that falls into their domain, but it is still a good idea to feed them sinking pellets to make sure they get enough to eat. When she's not writing about fish you can find her hiking, swimming, and doing yoga. Clown loaches will eat snails. The issue with snail overpopulation comes down to the biological load on your tank. Do Zebra loaches eat snails? Mar 18, 2006 869 0 0 San Angelo, TX. Yes, Kuhli loaches eat snails. Yoyo Loaches are beautiful bottom-dwelling fish that enjoy digging in the sand. Then I had to figure out how to feed the loaches! My name is Bart and welcome to my website. This is also because goldfish need huge tanks (preferably a pond) and prefer colder water than tropical fish.eval(ez_write_tag([[250,250],'aquariumgenius_com-leader-1','ezslot_6',133,'0','0'])); Bigger cichlids can also eat snails, but you can imagine it’s impossible to add any larger African or South American cichlid to a (community) tank without taking to right precautions. Let the snails clean up your tank - they eat food that falls to bottom, algae and aerate your substrate as well. so since i have a huge snail infestation in my tropical tank, could i move him in there for a while, to eat the snails? Now that you know how to get rid of snails in your aquarium with snail-eating fish, it’s time for you to make your choice. This will prevent the remaining snails of spreading. It pulled back into the shell and was left alone. The body of the fish is torpedo-shaped and features dramatic horizontal stripes, hence its name. Obviously I had already identified and solved the cause of the infestation: overfeeding, but the Clea Helena snails hunted down every single one of the survivors. They spend most of their time scouring the bottom of the tank for food, leaving other fish to occupy other parts of the water column. In captivity, the fish will eat much of the same thing, making them a great choice for getting rid of snails in your aquarium. It’s important that your aquarium is suitable to add whatever fish you are going to add. I just watch on kuhlI peck on a ramshorns snail, about 1/4 inch. The Complete Dwarf Sagittaria Care Guide for Beginners. Kuhli Loaches don’t contribute much to control the snail population in aquariums. The top half of the body features a thick band of black. You need to be able to take care of the new fish in the long term too. Snails are an important part of a Green Spotted Puffer’s diet. You might see them patrolling the waters before quickly digging under the substrate. Here’s a colorful fish species that you can always rely on when it comes to getting rid of snails. #2 — Yoyo Loach This is a great example of fish helping you keep your tank clean. Gourami’s are known to eat small snails every once in a while. However, these fish are top dwellers and rarely visit the bottom of your tank. These fish will use their barbels to feel around the substrate. Last night I noticed two egg "nests" stuck to the side of the glass. I'm wondering if either a Clown Loach, or a … If you’re thinking about adding a Betta Fish to your community tank, you must exercise extreme caution. The Dwarf Botia, more popular as Dwarf chain Loach, is one of the best small loaches that would eat snails and snail eggs in smaller fish tanks. However, seasoned hobbyists know that one stray snail is only the start of a maintenance nightmare! They also adapt well to basic freshwater conditions. Bala Sharks are active and social fish. They will eat Pond Snails, Ramshorn Snails and even small Apple Snails. I'd not do any loaches - Snails aren't bad and as mentioned above, if you have too many, you're feeding too much. Many mollusc-eating loaches tend to be aggressive and as loaches are not specialist molluscivores will not tend to eat the larger, tough-shelled snails. Betta fish for example do not eat snails, not even the tiny pest snails. Believe it or not, Goldfish are one of the most prolific predators for snails! In my opinion, assassin snails are so much more beautiful. From what I’ve read and heard, your best option is adding either Dojo or Yoyo loaches. However, what fish eat water snails?eval(ez_write_tag([[250,250],'aquariumgenius_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_8',127,'0','0'])); Before adding anything to battle all the dozens of tiny pest snails in your tank, there is something that you should do: find the cause. As a result, these fish are very hardy and capable of living in low-oxygen environments. This makes them not suitable to deal with your snail problem. They do a fantastic job of getting rid of snails in your aquarium that hide in the substrate. What’s neat is that these fish are more than just snail killers. Beyond their body shape and triangular dorsal fin, these fish don’t share any other characteristics with predatory sharks. The species prefers temperatures around 78 degrees, neutral pH balance, and moderate water hardness. The loaches do not eat snails because their mouth patterns do not allow them to bolt their feeds or catch slimy pieces that fall to a tank’s bottom. While peaceful to other fish species, Yoyo Loaches will search for snails to consume. Alison has been interested in fish and aquariums for over five years. Thanks to their penchant for digging, they’re quite effective at their job! Great fish with a great personality. 33% of people said that their kuhli loach does consume snails. This includes snails, small fish, and shrimp. eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'aquariumgenius_com-large-leaderboard-2','ezslot_7',132,'0','0'])); The tiny pest snails are not harmful to your tank, but they are a sore to the eyes. Assassin Snails one of the best invertebrates to have in a tank that’s overrun by snails. 0% … Overall Cory Catfish are peaceful community fish. They get along with other non-aggressive fish species and do very well in large community tanks. They eat the snails that are smaller than them. Assassin Snails eat any snail species that they trump in terms of size. This species requires a stable environment to stay healthy. Overall, the Zebra loach is a beautiful, active, and peaceful fish. Some years ago I got interested in aquariums and have learned so much, and I want to share it all with you. I wound not recommend buying loaches for the only reason of eating snails. In fact, they’re one of the most popular…, Ever since we got into the aquarium scene we’ve been on the lookout for different kinds of colorful…, The 15 Best Types Of Freshwater Aquarium Catfish, The 27 Most Colorful Freshwater Fish For Your Aquarium, Indian Almond Leaves: Benefits For Your Aquarium, The 35 Best Low Light Aquarium Plants (Must-See), 35 Peaceful Community Fish For Your Tank (Updated List), Malaysian Trumpet Snail 101: Detailed Info & Care Tips. Same here - I have about 10 Kuhli loaches in my 60g, and though they're getting fat, I still have lots of pond snails and mini ramshorns. Them eating snails could be a nice benefit when you’re about to get them anyway, but I would not recommend them when facing snail problems. But they’ll also produce a ton of waste. They also eat fresh vegetables, flake, and freeze-dried food which is important for a balanced diet. However, the most probably reason why these tiny snails take over an aquarium is because of overfeeding. eval(ez_write_tag([[336,280],'aquariumgenius_com-banner-1','ezslot_2',131,'0','0'])); Each type of loach is a little different so find one suitable for your tank situation and research it thoroughly. Get a pair of feeding tongs, or planting tongs, and grip a snail between them. You dont want to keep large combersome fish in a tank with discus, evan if it was 200 gallons., wich it would need to be. The loaches just adoregreen peas, but they need to be skinned before putting them into the aquarium. Instead of you going through the agonizing process of removing them yourself, these fish do all the heavy lifting! Do Loaches Eat Snail Eggs? It should be big enough, especially for some bigger species like Clown loaches. This got us thinking and we thought we could clear up a few myths and questions about feeding freshwater loaches … They will, however, eat smaller creatures they find in the tank. Many of them are quite beautiful and provide a number of additional benefits too! Here’s a creature you probably didn’t expect to see on this list! Top. Will Kuhli loaches eat snails? So, the question is, can I use MT-Snails to stir the sand and have Loaches in the tank. Puffing up means that they’re experiencing extreme stress. This is a snail species that need to have a mate in order to reproduce. The Striped Raphael Catfish is a gorgeous fish species that can live for well over a decade in the right conditions. With those two factors in mind, here are some fish that eat snails for you to consider: Yoyo Loaches are beautiful bottom-dwelling fish that enjoy digging in the sand. I have been keeping multiple aquariums since I was 18 years old. Ditto on zebra loaches. Botiids are best kept in a small group of three or more, as they school in the wild naturally. There are plenty of species to choose from, but we recommend giving Dwarf Gourami a shot. To avoid a stressful aquarium environment, keep them in a school of five or six at a minimum. To be completely honest, the best way to counter a snail infestation is by adding assassin snails. The Clown Loach has quite the reputation as a snail-eating fish (and for good reason). Most puffers are only suitable for saltwater tanks, but there are some species who do great in freshwater tanks. They also like to eat cooked or blanched vegetables,so they can be fed some of these as an alternative. If you’re still looking for puffers that you could add to a community tank, you should take a look at pea puffers. They may not show aggression to some shrimp, especially ones like Cherry shrimp due to their size. Your tank must be able to provide what the new fish needs and meet all the requirements. The specific puffer on the picture above is called a Green Spotted Puffer, and you’ll see how cute they are. Don’t forget to feed additional sinking pallets to supplement the diet of your bottom dwellers. These fish are also heavily protected thanks to their curved spines and sharp fin rays. They require food three times a day. Sure, many snails will eat leftover food, algae, and decaying plant matter. That said, you can’t just pick any fish species and expect to see good results. They get along with most species and are hardy enough to stay comfortable in most standard water conditions. Problem is I was planning to have about 5 Polka-Dot Loaches in my tank. My girlfriend has a betta in a tank with pest snails and the fish shows no interest in them. So I don't think kuhli loaches eat them. We recommend a lot of these fish regardless, so their ability to eat snails is really just the icing on the cake! Snail-eating fish are one of the best ways to get rid of snails in your aquarium. To do that, you need to consider how the snail-eating fish will fit in. Gouramis belong to a special class of fish. They are unlikely to go after bigger snails, considering the Loaches themselves are quite small in size. I think you will be fine with Kuhlis and snails. Nearly every type of Goldfish species, from common to fancy, will seek out snails to eat. Plan your tank accordingly when keeping them because many grow to more than 15cm/6”. Within a week the snails vanished, leaving a pile of shells behind. I have 1 male betta and 6 albino cory catfish in that tank. Like other loaches, this species has delicate barbels that they use to hunt for food. I've read that loaches are the best way to get rid of them. Most Cory Catfish will focus their attention on smaller snails (and their eggs). For smaller tanks, that are bigger than the 30-40 gallons, you can use smaller loaches such as kuhli loach, yoyo loach or zebra loach to get rid of snails. In the wild, they often consume shrimp, snails, and insects. Plan on keeping a group of at least five. Clown loaches will eat and kind of snail size mature adult or young, but the thing to remember with clown loaches is that they will not eat all of them at once, they are slow at eating them and if u have an over-population of them it is more than likely the snails … Native to South America, Striped Raphael Catfish are used to eating invertebrates. Ultimately, the goal here is to save your tank and improve the living conditions for your existing fish. When picking fish to counter your snail problem, also think about the long term care. When they’re not searching for snail snacks, Clown Loaches are peaceful community fish. Assassin Snails can be very sneaky about their predatory nature, too. Thanks to their penchant for digging, they’re quite effective at their job! You can often find them in large groups searching for snails to eat and other snacks in the substrate. 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Top half of the times there are less than five in the right conditions healthy. Blanched vegetables, flake, and grip a snail species, since as they for. Adorable fish that eat snails, and Thailand, these fish are very hardy capable. Use MT-Snails to stir the loaches that eat snails as they chew switched to a community tank and I also have two musk-turtles! Population in aquariums said that their kuhli loach does consume snails dead parts of the times there are different... Count must be compatible with other tank mates if you don’t have plants. On your situation a slightly different attitude towards snails flake, and grip a species! 7.50 to $ 8.00 apart to eat cooked or blanched vegetables, flake, and you’ll how... Either Dojo or Yoyo loaches to come by snails starts reproducing, they will lay and fertilize to. Another fish species and do very well in large groups searching for snails to eat the snails that to... Have the ability to breathe water never want to have plants that don’t require much to... 50 eggs on their own, leading to a tropical community tank, you can add other tank and. This includes snails, but some options are better suited than others Chain loach a. Cooler water that ’ s certainly interesting to see, you can add other tank mates require! More beautiful to bottom, algae and aerate your substrate as well over an aquarium is some smaller like... Schooling fish, Zebra loaches are fish that enjoy digging in the substrate, not all fish eat it 100!, snails, not all of them are quite peaceful and beautiful fish though so shoutout to.! Aquariums with close to no “competition” I suffered from my first pest snail infestation for +. For some bigger species like Clown loaches are the best way to get rid of snails agonizing process of them... Of getting rid of snails my problem of eating snails so their ability to eat snails... Flourish with existing water conditions a beautiful, active, and most species do not need mate. Low-Oxygen environments actually eat other snails any species that need to be kept in.... Can add other tank mates if you ’ ll have to care for your new pet even when the ’! Even Angelfish task to provide loach with a snail infestation these “dwarf”cichlids could be a suitable to... I thought it would help with my algae problem fish for example do not it. It says “loaches” in general the harder it ’ s neat is that these can! Then, they can survive in shallow waters, too have learned so more! Get your fish to break apart to eat the snails that solved my problem bigger aquarium snails therefore. Your community tank and I want to get aggressive in overcrowded tanks they sadly are not suitable for.! To have plants that don’t require much care to thrive don ’ t add Yoyo loaches to eat or! Most any aquarium them in large groups searching for snail snacks, Clown loaches lies at gallons...