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Snails or Loaches

Loaches or snails

4K views 18 replies 7 participants last post by  Fishbeard 
#1 ·
Hi All,

I'm debating about having/getting snails vs. Zebra loaches in my 55 Gal. tank. What do you guys think? Since there are obvious benefits to both, I'm undecided due to a lack of experience with Planted Tanks.

A little about the tank:

Notice on the left hand side, I am making an attempt of nurturing a bed of Sagittaria Subulata Dwarf, there are approximately 18 or so planted. My substrate is miracle grow, with rocks and wood chunks since remove and the Cap is Caribsea Sunset Gold Sand (medium grain, not as fine as their super fine "white" sand), and lastly Cabibsea FloraMax Midnight gravel in the back of my tank. It's more of a crushed type of rock that's very dark, nearly black. In the front of my tank, I used some 4mm corrugated plastic to make a partition of "Sand Only" for aethetics in the very front of my tank as I don't like the whole "roots" growing all over the place look and I filled it with 2+" of the "sand only'.

What type of snails do you recommend given my substrate?

Thank you everybody!

Attached are some pics.
 

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#2 ·
Personally I prefer snails, Malaysian trumpet snails are the planted tank owners best friend.

The Malaysian Trumpet Snail is a great to have in any aquarium. There are some with different patterns, shapes, size, dark or light colored. It is a beautiful snail to see up close in person. In some forums as well as blogs the Malaysion Trumpet Snail is instead used as the acronym MTS.

There is a lot of bad rep that all snails have received. A lot of hobbyists tend to think that having any type of snail in their aquarium is horrible and all must be removed immediately. There are even chemicals that are solely meant for killing snails in the aquarium. I highly recommend that you never use any chemical meant to kill snails in a tank with shrimp. Snails are not bad for your aquarium. Overfeeding your tank is what causes snail outbreaks. Most snails will actually leave your plants alone and instead eat the algae off of the leaves as well as glass. Do not think that a snail is a pest, they can be extremely useful in any aquarium.

The Malaysian Trumpet Snail is actually a benefit to any aquarium for several reasons. It will not eat your plants at all. This snail also will not "muscle" your shrimp off of food meant for the shrimp. The Malaysian Trumpet Snail feeds on detritus and leftover food that is underneath the substrate. It actually burrows in the substrate and moves around throughout. You will rarely see this snail during the day. Occasionally it will emerge from the substrate. A cool thing is that sometimes you will see the substrate move and you will know that there is a Malaysian Trumpet Snail underneath doing its cleaning duties.

The fact that this snail burrows and eats detritus is an excellent perk to having it. Another great perk is that while it is underneath the substrate moving it is at the same time aerating the substrate. Substrate aeration is a great benefit to planted aquariums as it promotes air exchange and root growth. They will not disturbed any plant roots or move wood/rocks around your aquarium.

The Malaysian Trumpet Snail reproduces live young and does not lay eggs. They can reproduce rapidly however. Rapid reproduction is a sign that you either need to feed your inhabitants less or vacuum the gravel extensively. You do not want to rely on this snail to do all of the gravel cleaning. High temperatures can also result in rapid reproduction if coupled with overfeeding.

This snail is an all around must have for most aquariums. They are very cool to look at, extremely docile, do not eat plants, aerate substrate, eat detritus, and do not harm other inhabitants. I highly recommend this snail to anyone.
Malaysian Trumpet Snail .:. Melanoides tuberculata .:. Freshwater Aquarium Snail Species Information Page
 
#5 ·
I will never vote for snails. Yech! I do think that some are neat looking on the outside, but it's what's inside that counts.<haha. Once, long ago, in the Balmy South, I stepped barefoot onto my porch in the dark and a large slug kinda pop/squished up between my toes. That did it for me. A snail is built like a slug only with a house on its' back and a bit more class.
 
#6 · (Edited)
This is Larry Moe and Curly and every afternoon they would come to the top of the tank and wait to be fed blood worm. They were killed by a careless pest controller.

Best glass and plant cleaners in the world.


Mystery Snails make great pets on their own and don't need much to keep them happy, But be warned with the right care these suckers grow BIG

Image NOT my work
 
#13 ·
I vote Panda Loaches and Nerite snails . Both good for minor algae. Panda loaches look awesome and Nerites are good looking snails that cannot reproduce in freshwater aquariums. Personally I will never put snails in my tank that can reproduce because of the sheer amount of work needed if you decide you don't want snails in the future.

Added: Both eat algae

Dan
 
#17 ·
I love my Nerites! I have about 20 in my 120 gallon, and just placed an order for another 15 of different varieties. Yes they lay white eggs often, but I knew that going in to it. They can't actually reproduce in freshwater so you don't have to worry about the population getting out of control. They are great algae eaters. I love the different patterns/appearance of the different species.

I'm also a lover of loaches. I have 15 Kuhli's in my tank and have 5 Angelicus loaches coming in the same order as the snails. Depending on the fish you have in the tank you might want to consider adding some Amano shrimp as well!
 
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#18 ·
I also got Golden Zebra Loaches 6 (Burmese Loach, Botia histrionica) they're actually a nice looking Loach as far as loaches go. Very colorful chocolate and white coloring. Of all the Loaches I looked at, these were the ones I thought were the most attractive and don't grow larger than 4" . Then I needed a dither fish for my Severum tank due to the aggression levels and I decided to put some in their since their such erratic swimmers and often distract the alpha fish from picking on my other smaller severums. Along with my other dither fish (RoseLine Sharks - Sahyadria denisonii) they have chilled the tank down a notch. I hate dealing with aggression issues but liking Severums, I really have to make an effort to help them get along.
 
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