Loach Species & Snails

Hi Guys

So, I have a ton of snails. I want to reduce the population, however I REALLY don't want any substrate burrowers. I have a layer of dirt under my gravel and it's a big mess when it gets disturbed.

I have a 20 gal community tank , planted, that is fairly peaceful. Dwarf loaches & kuhli loaches have been mentioned as possibles. I've been told to steer away from clown loaches due to thier size when fully grown.

Thoughts? Experiences? Hints? Tips? Ideas? I'll listen to them all

Clown loaches do get large, but grow very slow. Mine is now pushing 4" and it is almost 2 years old.

copper based meds kill snails afaik.

Do all loaches grow slow? If that's the case, I'm happy to think of re-homing fish at a later date as needed (if I haven't talked my hubby into a larger tank by then).

Thanks for the tip about the copper. I can't use that due to the shrimp that I do want to keep.

I have found [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] that I'm investigating as well. I don't mind the snails, but thier population is getting a bit much, gotta do something to get it in check. I'm a little nervous what it will look like after I come back from my holiday travels!

Yes most loaches. But not sure that all loaches feed on the snails. The only one that I have ever heard of is the Clown loach.

pea puffers eat snails.

assassin snails eat snails.

OR

put the shrimp in another container for a few days while you copperize the snails.

I belive if it eats snails it will also eat your shrimp. Manual removal with veggie traps is how I try to reduce my population...constant battle..

Researching it more, it seems that all loaches easily located around here will burrow in the substrate. Which is undesirable to me due to the dirt. Boo & hiss!

I don't know much about puffers. I'll have to research that some more.

The assasins won't work for me due to the burrowing. Grr! Why do all the snail-eaters want to burrow? It's not like the can crawl away faster than the predators...

The copper option might be making a come-back.

I'm finding that most livestock that eat snails, will eat shrimp. Not what I'm going for at all there.

I hate snails, i have some in my shrimp tank and i do a veggie trap about once/week.

I would just do a veggie trap and manually remove them. Maybe it's just me but I wouldn't want to kill the snails with meds because their bodies would still be left in the tank decomposing. I've found blanched cucumber to lure the snails the best for removal. "Sounguru" raises assassin snails and I know he's always looking for more food.

my veggie trap victims go in my cichlid tank, some of them even make it to the gravel...

I don't actually want to kill the snails and particularly not with an additive. I find the idea of a biological solution much more acceptable. I've trapped them in the past and removed them that way. Unfortunately they have taken that as a challenge to fill the tank with thier offspring.

I've listed them in the give-away section as well. Anyone who wants them (or even some) is welcome to them.