wot_fan

I am in the process of planning out a new 29G. I appear to have contracted MTS . I plan on making it an Endler's Livebearer tank if I can find them and a guppy tank if I can't. Since it will be a planted tank, I know I am going to get some snails along for the ride. What are my options for fish that will keep the snail population to a minimum? The LFS suggested a clown loach, but I know it would out grow the tank pretty quickly. Ideally I am looking for something that would have a minimal bio load so I can keep as many ELs in there as possible.

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agabr123

yeah definitely not a clown loach, just one needs a 75 gallon tank and they need to be in groups.

to prevent as many snails actually getting into your tank as possible, you can put your plants into a bleach dip for a little while which should kill any snail eggs that may have ended up on there. other than that, you could fit some kuhli loaches in your tank, but i'll have to double check and see if they are one of the species that eat snails. carol (butterfly) should be able to give you some more info

wot_fan

Thanks for the info. I have tried to clean plants in the past and never have been able to get all the snails. It seems it only takes one to get by you.

I have had clown loaches before, back when I had a 75gallon tank. They very entertaining fish to watch especially when you have a small school of them. They make some pretty loud noises as well. Some day I hope to have a tank big enough to have them again.

I have never had kuhli loaches before so I'll go check out their profile now. Hopefully they will fit my needs and won't be a danger to my future fry.

(I seem to use this smiley a lot on this board )

Jonah

Sorry but Khulis are not snail busters but until Carol pops by check out www.loaches.com for some ideas.

I have Dwarf Chain Loaches in mine, they are tiny but they will only eat very young very small snails

wot_fan

Thanks. I will check out loaches.com and Dwarf Chain Loaches. If they eat the small snails, that might be good enough since I will remove any I can before the plants are added to the tank. .