Loaches Online Forum

I have read allot of conflicting statement on thes snails, have read that most fish cannot eat them and have also read that clown loaches love snails. What i want to know is can clown loaches handle these snails?

Larger clown loaches can usually manage these. Most MTS come out after lights out, and clowns being nocturnal are often foraging about at this time. I'm sure you already know this but the purchase of clown loaches should not to be entered into lightly, and snail eradication is not the main reason to buy them. It is important to ensure that you can provide large enough quarters for them as they grow. You might like to have a read of our new species profile if you haven't already seen it:
http://community.loaches.com/species-in ... cracanthus

Emma

I already have several loach species and several aquariums. i have 4 6" clown loaches and 3 3-4" ones in a 125 gal and 4 striata in a 75 gal i was thinking of offering some MTS as a snack i have then in my plant tank and thought my loaches might like them

I appreciate the good advice and I think Marge is absolutely gorgeous.

All my Loaches love both MTS and Tadpole snails, I have 3 or 4 tanks with both in along with ramshorn snails as well and just take a load out every now and then and feed them to the loaches.

i was thinking of offering some MTS as a snack i have then in my plant tank and thought my loaches might like them

I do it once a week or so with mine. so far the snails have been gonners. No population seen in the clown tank so far

tglassburner wrote:I appreciate the good advice and I think Marge is absolutely gorgeous.

Thank you. I hope your loaches enjoy their snails!

Emma

OK, I was just confused almost every site i went to about snails said most sanil eating fish cannot eat MTS

clowns definitely do. They seem to pick the ones that are the right size for their mouths. Smaller clowns go for the smaller ones, larger clowns get the large ones. they will grab it, and speed around the tank to keep others from taking it away, then settle down and push it around, mouth it, and eventually get the snail out of the shell.

I've seen my largest clown actually bulldozing the sand with his head to find them.

I've seen my largest clown actually bulldozing the sand with his head to find them. Cool

I cannot wait to see that

yoyos definitely eat MTS (unless it's the pangios, which I doubt); none get big in that tank.

and either goldfish or dojos do, too. don't know which - and they don't eat the big ones - but something is keeping the population in that tank down to three great big old MTS...

My yoyo's are absolutely useless. They don't eat ANY kind of snail until its fully grown and dead or dying. The striata eat all the sorts of snails you tend to bring in on plants but as far as I can tell they leave the MTS alone. I don't mind, I like the trumpets. They leave cool trails in the sand and also keep it overturned/oxygenated.

I have yoyo, zebra, and clown loaches and also a huge population of MTS. I usually see tons of them after lights out, probably over a hundred. But they are all very tiny, not sure maybe the loaches get em once they start getting bigger? I havent ever seen one much bigger than 1/8"-3/16".

The reason you hear so often that most fish cannot eat MTS is simply because there shell is so hard. Puffers can chip thier teeth trying to crush through an MTS shell. My puffers did eat a bunch of them though apperently without problem(small ones).

I dump MTS into the Clown tank on a regular basis. They really seem to enjoy the task of eating them, and my tank is full of all sized EMPTY shells

In my Sidthimunki tank, I am down to only the larger ones. Apparently the Sids can handle the smallest of them, too :)

If your reputed snail-eaters are not eating snails, here's a little tip.
Feed the fish only one day in three, after a week or two those snails will be toast.