Loaches Online Forum

Hi there,
Can anyone help me with a problem I have.
I recently bought some aquarium plants and unknown to me they were contaminated will water snails, now my tank is overrun with the damn things.
I have heard that the most natural way of controlling them is by having loach in the aquarium, but which loach are the best for this
Many thanks.

The best method for snail control is to put an algae wafer or a piece of cucumber under a saucer at night just before lights out. In the morning, lift the plate out and a good portion of the snails will be clumped together and easy to scoop out with a net. Done a few times, this will eliminate a fairly large portion of snails.

Loaches don't do well singly, and are often kept in unsuitable tanks due to the fact that they have certain requirements, often not met by the aquarist. They are very social and need to be part of a shoal, high oxygen levels, rounded (not sharp) substrate just to name a few. Loaches should be kept because you are keen on them, not as a pest control.

I was also told to use Loaches when I first started my tanks with plants and aquired the dreaded pest snails. I quickly learned the hard way that loaches are good at chowing down on the snails, but had better success in ridding my tanks of snails with the algae wafer method.

Hope this helps some!

Tammy

A single loach is not really a good way to go for snail control. Actually as most will tell you here loaches are not a fish to just get to control snails.

The algae wafers are a good idea I have had them swarm to cucumber before also.

I don't know what else you have in your tank and others will dis-agree with me. I personally have had good luck with dwarf puffers although sometimes they can get very nippy.

Also good snail bait is a thinly sliced orange. Many fish eat the same part we do, and the snails gather on the rind overnight. Remove it from the tank with a net so the snails that fall off will end up in the net.

Many Loaches will eat snails, but it is better to get Loaches because you like them and are willing to give them the proper surroundings, social setting and so on. The bonus is... no snails.

Snails really aren't a big deal IMO - in fact they're kind of handy. They're an extra level of your clean up crew. And free!

I find they breed in relation to the food source - if you cut back your feedings you'll probably find their numbers slow down.

We have 9 Y. Sidth's (because we love em ) and they are the ultimate champions in snail control
the only snails i find are small ones hiding in the filter

CatsandFish wrote:We have 9 Y. Sidth's (because we love em ) and they are the ultimate champions in snail control
the only snails i find are small ones hiding in the filter

Can you explain what you mean by Y Sidth's?

Thanks.

ramsgatonian wrote:

CatsandFish wrote:We have 9 Y. Sidth's (because we love em ) and they are the ultimate champions in snail control
the only snails i find are small ones hiding in the filter

Can you explain what you mean by Y Sidth's?

Thanks.

It's an abbreviation of their full name. Yasuhikotakia sidthimunki
Check out their description on the main page.

http://www.loaches.com/species-index/ya ... idthimunki

Yeah sorry i meant the Sidthimunki's indeed
beautiful little fish thriving in larger groups