# Clown Loaches/another way to get rid of my snails?



## LilD (Jun 20, 2005)

I have a 10 gallon community with 5 platys, a cory, a black skirt tetra and a white skirt tetra and my pet store told me to get rid of the snail infestation I have been battling to get a clown loach or two as they will eat them. What happens once the snails are gone though? And is there another way? I don't want to crowd my community, and I really kinda don't like the way clown loaches look... is there another kind I can buy or another way to get rid of theose snails?? I have used lettuce to keep the population down but I just want them _gone_.
:help: 
any and all help is appreciated!
thanks


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## DUSTIN323 (Sep 21, 2005)

Well I have definately heard of clown loaches getting rid of snails. The only thing is 10g is a little small for even one of these I mean they can get up to 1' long. When say what happens when they are gone do you mean what will the loaches eat? Well their bottom feeders so they'll eat what falls to the ground or you can give the sinking tablets or pellets. You could possibly just get one and leave him in there for a short period to eat the snails and once the jobs done get rid of him. But there is a product called Has-A-Snail you can find it at alot of petstores here's a link to it though. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&pc=1&N=0&Nty=1
From my experience this works good it just might take a while to get rid of them since you treat for two days then again in two weeks. But this does work I have used it.


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## MyraVan (Jan 19, 2005)

Based on that bit of advice they gave you, I would never believe anything that pet store told you! Yes, clown loaches get way too big for your tank. They get way too big for most tanks, really... It's funny that you don't like the way that they look, though, since I think that they are incredibly cool looking and would get them in a minute if I had a big enough tank!

Zebra loaches, Botia striata, see
http://www.loaches.com/species_pages/botia_striata.html
are the smallest of the snail-eating loaches, they only get something like 2 or 3". But I wouldn't advise you getting even them, as I already think you have more than enough in that tank.

I am wary of any chemical that kills things. It may end up killing things you don't want it to. Even if it does work on your snails, then you've got a bunch of dead snails in your tank, rotting and fouling the water. Are you sure you'd be able to pick them all out before they mess up your tank?

To be honest, I don't see why the snails offend you so much that you want them GONE. I have little snails in most of my tanks (the tank with the rosy barbs is the exception; they eat the baby snails, thus no adult snails!) and see them as a natural part of the environment.


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## Dez (Oct 25, 2005)

*snails*

you could get the clown loach to eat ur snails then u could take it back to the pet store. pritty much all pet store well take then back and they wont b in for a long period of time so your levels wont change that much also they dont have slow groth rate. or you could just go 4 the simple option of getting chemicals or the even simpler option of leaving them and letting nature take its toll


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## Dez (Oct 25, 2005)

Dez said:


> they dont have slow groth rate


 i was suppose 2 say they have a relativly steady groth rate :smile:


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## garfieldnfish (Jan 18, 2005)

Use an old, cleaned out pill container, make a few holes in it put fish food or lettuce inside. The snails will go in the container and you just remove them every day until they are gone. Or you could just put a few pennies in the tank. Snails cannot handle copper. But then you have many dead snails in the tank and that could foul your water. I would go with the pill container. A few snails are good for your tank and I would never remove them all.


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## DUSTIN323 (Sep 21, 2005)

Well in my tank the water didn't foul now I'm sure that was because they were so little 1/8"-1/4 so if they are pretty small they shouldn't foul your water or at least they didn't mine.


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## Dez (Oct 25, 2005)

funny thing is i have a clown loach but it dosent seem to eat my snails. not all of them nyway


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## fishboy (Feb 26, 2005)

well, if you're willing to buy a 2.5-3 gallon tank, cycle it, and buy a dwarf puffer you can feed it snails. Thats what i would do, I love puffers, but you can't put puffers in communities


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## Alin10123 (May 22, 2005)

MyraVan said:


> Based on that bit of advice they gave you, I would never believe anything that pet store told you! Yes, clown loaches get way too big for your tank. They get way too big for most tanks, really... It's funny that you don't like the way that they look, though, since I think that they are incredibly cool looking and would get them in a minute if I had a big enough tank!
> 
> Zebra loaches, Botia striata, see
> http://www.loaches.com/species_pages/botia_striata.html
> ...



Hmm... Zebra loaches...
According to your link they only get about 3 inches? Do they have a big bioload? Do they make good substrate turners? How do they eat the snails? Do they suck them out of their shells? Or do they eat the snails whole? This means that they will only eat the baby snails right? I am also talking about malaysian trumpet snails. 

thanks


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## osteoporoosi (Jan 27, 2005)

Malaysian trumpet snails are actually useful as they don't eat live plants. They stirr the gravel and eat the leftovers. Grafielnfish's suggestion is IMO the best and easiest way to get rid of snails. First try to feed your fish less, the main reason for a snail outbrake is overfeeding.


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