Snail eating fish

[kor4ever]

Whats the best snail eating fish for a 20g tank? I was thinking dwarf puffers, dwarf cichlids(if I can find them), or kuhli loaches, but open to any ideas. Preferably a fish that won't kill my Amano shrimp.


Thanks
Felix

[kor4ever]

I went to my local lfs, and the the guy told me that clown loaches are slow growers, and that the loaches would take 1 year to double their size. However, still hesistant to get 3 clown loaches. Opinions anyone?

Felix

[Work In Progress]

I have no idea how long it takes for them to get big, but my LFS has some that I didn't even know were clown loaches. I knew they looked like clown loaches but that was the first time I had EVER seen them that big. Next time I go, I will ask dude if I can take a pic for yall and ask how old they are. I wouldn't even put 1 of those that he has in my 55, they are HUGE. Ha ha ha, ok can you tell I was impressed by them..... :roll:

Kelly

[jerseyjay]

kor4ever,

I had about 3 in my 55G since they are school loaches. Unfortunately 2 died and only 1 survived. After almost a year he did double or even triple in his size (I bought them very small).

My snail problem was gone in a matter of 48 hours after clown loaches were introduced.

I say go ahead and buy 2 for your 20G and when they are done with their assignment you can always take them back

[geekgirl]

I have zebra loaches in my tank. They stay quite a bit smaller. Ate all the baby snails and I hand-picked all but a couple of the large ones. They still eat the baby snails I guess, because I still only have 2-3 big snails.

Clowns get BIG really FAST if they have clean water and are properly fed and cared for. You would probably be okay for quite a while if they were going into a 55gal or larger, but they would quickly outgrow your 20gal IMO.

Stacey

[kor4ever]

Hmm...I was some skunk botias at my lfs, but the guy there says they are kinda aggressive. Anyone have any experience with those?

Felix

[Work In Progress]

I did a search on them and found this

http://www.loaches.com/species_pages/botia_morleti.html

I never heard of them being aggressive before, but apparently they are. Bummer, I had thought about getting a couple myself. Very interesting looking fish.

Kelly

[kor4ever]

Sigh, oh well. I might just end up getting clown loaches. But open to any other ideas, not getting those loaches for a while

Felix

[kor4ever]

Also, I'll try to see if there are any zebra loaches available around here in St.Louis

Felix

[DanD]

I've kept skunk loaches in two fairly large tanks, 70 and 150 gallons. They are kind of an aggressive fish, but they didn't do any damage to the other inhabitants. I think you should have a roomy tank and at least four of them. They do a lot of chasing each other that way, and there is room for the fish to stay out of each other's way. I love skunk loaches but I think the best of the botia for a community tank might be the Yo Yo loach. They eat snails, don't get too big, and get along with everybody. Again, they will be happier in a small group. Dan

[Work In Progress]

In my vote for loaches, I have to say the Dojo or weather loach. They are so ugly that they are cute and can be quite active.
My one loach perfers to stay buried till feeding time, while my other never buries himself. I think they are two different kinds of dojo, since their patterns and size do differ.
My one loach is quite friendly and like to rub up against my hand while I rearrange the tank and etc. It's kinda icky but kinda neat too.
As far as snails, I don't know if they eat them, but I do know I had snail before I got them and have never seen another one since...

Kelly

[kor4ever]

So ugly they are cute huh? Heh, I'll go shop around and see what I find this weekend.

Felix

[RXTrev]

Clown loaches are by far one of the best fish out there. They have a personality almost like a dog, they do get big, but they are worth it. They eat many times during a day and keep the bottom spotless. I have 3 right now. The main thing is to get them at a decent size, at least 2.5" long, the smaller they are the more prone to disease. But if you get healthy ones they are easy to keep and fun to watch

[doooog]

lochata botia, very good at this. puffers do even better though, but they are fin nippers too.

~Doug

[kor4ever]

Yeah, I'm thinking about getting some YoYo loaches. I actually found them at my lfs, but they were out of stock. I also found a dojo loach too, but we'll see.

Felix