i have a 20 gallon freshwater tank that i just absolutely love! I bought some moss a couple months ago along with some other plants and now i have an incredible amount of snails everywhere! I did some research and i found loaches will eat them. there beautiful fish and from the sound of it have a ton of personality. this leads me to ask is it even possible for me to get a loach.
I have:
1 dwarf gourami
1 Koi angel fish
4 neon tetras
1 white cloud danio
2 Harlequin Rasboras
1 dalmation molly
my tank is well established and i have never had any health problems do you think a loach will be compatible in my tank? and is it very common for loaches to carry disease into a new tank. ( i do plan to quarantine for 3 weeks)
- my angel fish is 4 inches and my molly is about 2 1/2 there both a year old
I want a loach is that possible?
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crickets17
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I want a loach is that possible?
Last edited by crickets17 on Fri Jan 30, 2009 11:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
well loaches prefer the company of thier kind and lots of them... normally 4 or more is best.
Loaches do remove snails from a tank, but they should not be your first choice of removal; it is advised here to get assassin snails as a remedy to your problem.
Yes another snail to remove your snail problem does sound funny, but assassin snails eat other snails and do not reproduce(or that fast) in your tank. Many others would post this information, but i just beat them to it
Loaches do remove snails from a tank, but they should not be your first choice of removal; it is advised here to get assassin snails as a remedy to your problem.
Yes another snail to remove your snail problem does sound funny, but assassin snails eat other snails and do not reproduce(or that fast) in your tank. Many others would post this information, but i just beat them to it
Hi crickets!
Your tank is right on the edge of being overstocked as it is.
Loaches are social critters. To get a small group would really over load the system. To get just one is not fair to the Loach.
I would divide this tank into two groups, perhaps cool water fish and warm water fish or some similar division, then you could look at more fish, but my first concern about more fish would be to increase the size of the schools you have already:
1 dwarf gourami- Good by himself
1 Koi angel fish- OK by him/herself, especially in this small a tank. Can eat the smaller fish.
4 neon tetras- Cooler water fish than most of the others, and prey for the Angel. Schooling fish. 4 is really not enough to really see some schooling action.
1 white cloud danio White Cloud Minnows are cool water fish, and are also 'bite size' to the Angel. Schooling fish. I would get quite a few more, or return this loner to the store.
2 Harlequin Rasboras- Also schooling fish, again, get more.
1 dalmation molly- Can get aggressive to other Mollies. Prefer harder, more alkaline water than the others.
You can bait the snails with fresh or lightly cooked vegetables, too. I found thinly sliced oranges to be good. The fish will eat the same part we like, and the snails will collect on the rind overnight. Scoop the rind out with a net the next morning and you will be removing a lot of snails.
Crush a snail, show the other fish that escargots is edible. Some other species may learn to open the packages themselves.
Feed less fish food. Wasted fish food is feeding the snails. Try cutting the food rations in half, and skip one day a week. Once the snail population is reduced you can see if the fish will clean up a little more food, but they really do not need as much food as many people feed, and the population explosion of snails happens.
Your tank is right on the edge of being overstocked as it is.
Loaches are social critters. To get a small group would really over load the system. To get just one is not fair to the Loach.
I would divide this tank into two groups, perhaps cool water fish and warm water fish or some similar division, then you could look at more fish, but my first concern about more fish would be to increase the size of the schools you have already:
1 dwarf gourami- Good by himself
1 Koi angel fish- OK by him/herself, especially in this small a tank. Can eat the smaller fish.
4 neon tetras- Cooler water fish than most of the others, and prey for the Angel. Schooling fish. 4 is really not enough to really see some schooling action.
1 white cloud danio White Cloud Minnows are cool water fish, and are also 'bite size' to the Angel. Schooling fish. I would get quite a few more, or return this loner to the store.
2 Harlequin Rasboras- Also schooling fish, again, get more.
1 dalmation molly- Can get aggressive to other Mollies. Prefer harder, more alkaline water than the others.
You can bait the snails with fresh or lightly cooked vegetables, too. I found thinly sliced oranges to be good. The fish will eat the same part we like, and the snails will collect on the rind overnight. Scoop the rind out with a net the next morning and you will be removing a lot of snails.
Crush a snail, show the other fish that escargots is edible. Some other species may learn to open the packages themselves.
Feed less fish food. Wasted fish food is feeding the snails. Try cutting the food rations in half, and skip one day a week. Once the snail population is reduced you can see if the fish will clean up a little more food, but they really do not need as much food as many people feed, and the population explosion of snails happens.
38 tanks, 2 ponds over 4000 liters of water to keep clean and fresh.
Happy fish keeping!
Happy fish keeping!
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