Argentis Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 Hi guys, I've got a 20g tank that I'm getting stocked, and I got some snails in my latest batch of plants. I was planning on cory cats for bottom dwellers, but now, I'm wondering if loaches might work. Are there any species that stay small and not spend the majority of their time burried in the substrate? If loaches won't work, are there any other small species that eat snails? Thanks, Argentis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 Yes there are small loaches that will work. Zebra loaches, Dwarf chain loaches ( Yasuhikotakia sidthimunki), Polka-Dot Loach(Botia kubotai), Botia rostrata and yo yo loaches(although they get a bit bigger and are more aggressive then some of the others). Where are you from? If Edmonton, Nature's cornerstore usually has a couple species of smaller loaches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bottomdweller_fan Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 Just a quick note of caution. A lot of people get one or two loaches to deal with a snail problem. However, they do best in groups of 5 or more and often have very particular requirements. In a 20 gallon, you would not be able to keep anything more than the dwarf variety (Y. sidthimunki) they get to 2.5". For example, the polka dot loach gets to 5", the zebra loach gets to 4" and the YoYo loach gets to 6" Here is a very informative site to visit before getting any loach species http://www.loaches.com/ Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parachromis1 Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 noooo way a zebra loach can go in. i had three at 7 inches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finbert Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 I'd like to second the recommendation for zebra loaches. I've had some for a while now, and while they don't bother the other fish, they sure bother the snails. They can only go after the smaller snails (at least at the size mine are right now) but that means that new snails are very unlikely to reach reproductive age. On top of that, they seem to be out and about, hunting and so forth, pretty much all the time, so you actually get to see them, and they're cute in that funny-looking way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 (edited) noooo way a zebra loach can go in.i had three at 7 inches. Haha, no. Zebra loaches get about 3". I have a group of 5 for 5 years in my 58g and they havent' even gotten to 4" yet. http://www.loaches.com/species-index/botia-striata Edited February 26, 2008 by degrassi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corrosionjerry Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 I agree with the others.. the zebra is a good small sized loach that does good job with snails.... Yo Yo loaches work well to... and play all day long... You have to remember to have several of one spiecies as these critters are social and only display their natural behaviours when kept in a group of their piers 5-6 makes for a happier loach... Not saying that you cant keep just one or two of the loaches....they just do better as a group! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parachromis1 Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 (edited) noooo way a zebra loach can go in.i had three at 7 inches. Haha, no. Zebra loaches get about 3". I have a group of 5 for 5 years in my 58g and they havent' even gotten to 4" yet. http://www.loaches.com/species-index/botia-striata i had 6 in my 120 for less than a year and 3 hit about 6" in a year and the other 3 hit about 5". a couple other people i know have had them large as well. might just be the way we differ in rasing our fish the ones i had also looked a little different. they werent yoyo loaches either Edited February 26, 2008 by pimpdocta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 noooo way a zebra loach can go in.i had three at 7 inches. Haha, no. Zebra loaches get about 3". I have a group of 5 for 5 years in my 58g and they havent' even gotten to 4" yet. http://www.loaches.com/species-index/botia-striata i had 6 in my 120 for less than a year and 3 hit about 6" in a year and the other 3 hit about 5". a couple other people i know have had them large as well. might just be the way we differ in rasing our fish the ones i had also looked a little different. they werent yoyo loaches either They must not have been Botia striata. Stores sometimes label tanks as "zebra loach" that aren't botia striata. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argentis Posted February 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 Well, looks like the zebra loaches would be a good fit for my tank. Are these guys seen at the CAS auction at all? If not, which Calgary LFS stock them? Thanks, Argentis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argentis Posted February 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 Anyone in Calgary know where I can find these guys? Also would they possibly be at the CAS auction in a couple weeks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NatureNut Posted February 28, 2008 Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 You asked about different species as well. If you don't want to need a herd of loaches, one little dwarf puffer will clear out every snail in your tank in a hurry. I keep one in my community tank. He's by far our favourite fish. We feed him snails from our other tanks now, but he also gobbles up NLS with no problem at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finbert Posted February 28, 2008 Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 You asked about different species as well. If you don't want to need a herd of loaches, one little dwarf puffer will clear out every snail in your tank in a hurry. I keep one in my community tank. He's by far our favourite fish. We feed him snails from our other tanks now, but he also gobbles up NLS with no problem at all. Does he give you trouble with aggression towards other fish? I've read they can be pretty vicious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NatureNut Posted February 28, 2008 Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 Nope... we might be lucky with this individual, but he's never given us a moment's trouble. He mostly spends his time hanging out on the edge by my computer begging me for food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted February 28, 2008 Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 You asked about different species as well. If you don't want to need a herd of loaches, one little dwarf puffer will clear out every snail in your tank in a hurry. I keep one in my community tank. He's by far our favourite fish. We feed him snails from our other tanks now, but he also gobbles up NLS with no problem at all. Does he give you trouble with aggression towards other fish? I've read they can be pretty vicious. Puffers can be nippy and aggressive. But it really depends on the personality of the fish, yo umight luck out and get a nice quiet puffer or one that will shred the fins of its tankmates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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