GouramiGirl1221

I have an infestation of MTS in my 55 gal tank, and I'm not too fond of them. I was at my LFS today picking up some stuff for the new fry, and on the tank with the yoyo's they had written "we love to eat snails!". Do they eat the MTS? If so, will they get along with my cory cats who also live on the bottom? I'd be all for getting 3-4 if they'd keep the snails to a minimum. Thanks in advance for the help!

Beeker

For a minute there, I thought you were saying that you had an infestation of Multiple Tank Syndrome!

I know you have Malaysian Trumpet Snails. I have them too. I know Yoyos are great snail eaters. I want one myself but I can't find any around here. I don't see why they wouldn't eat MTSs but I'll let somebody who knows better give you a more knowledgeable answer. Now I am curious.

Butterfly

They will get along with everything in your tank and mine did eat MTS(Malaysian Trumpet Snails). Unless you really want these fish it would be better to lower your population of snails other ways. MTS are actually good for your tank and keep the substrate loosened.
When you notice a snail population explosion it is usually a symptom of a problem, like over feeding or infrequent substrate vacuums. Even though MTS are livebearers they like other snails multiply according to what food is available.
Baiting them with a piece of lettuce or other veggies at lights out and removed before the lights go on the next day is one way of removing the ones you already have.
Cutting down amounts of food fed and more frequent substrate vacuuming will help reduce food available for them. Hope that helps.
Carol

Alasse

I like MTS *L*...but my 5ft is now completely devoid of them due to the Yoyos and Clowns, i now pick excess ones out of my other tanks and throw in the 5ft, they dont last long *L*

GouramiGirl1221

I highly doubt the MTS are due to infrequent vacuuming...I do half my substrate every Saturday like clockwork. I know I'm not overfeeding my top feeders...they all go crazy and food is gone in 60 seconds. The only thing I can think of is the sinking food I give my cory cats, which isn't always gone so readily. For my 5 cories I typically feed 1 sinking hikari wafer or 2 shrimp pellets, but they're normally not gone in the 2 minutes, but I don't really know how I can reduce that amount...surely all 5 of my cories cant eat off of one shrimp pellet or half a sinking wafer? Please correct me if I'm wrong though...I still consider myself a relative newbie in many areas, and this certainly can be one of them.

voiceless_kat

I also had a sudden infestation of MTS in my 55g. I also vacuum/water change my 55 every 10 days since I switched to a canister filter. I started with 2 yoyo's and now have 5 of them. I love these fish, and they are bringing down the snails like mad. I think I probably was guilty of overfeeding, and most of my fish in there are also top feeders. Now it is a delicate balance between feeding only enough to keep the yoyo's hungry for snails and making sure my otos and clown pleco get enough food.

I have a large blue gourami and 2 large moonlight gouramis in there, as well as some sail fin mollies. The yoyo's have added a whole new level of activity in the tank. LOL

They are very cool fish, and for sure will assist with your MTS.

Val

Butterfly

Sounds good
I do overfeed some of my angels and they do eat it in less than two minutes, so knowing what goes in will come out. I vacuum their whole substrate each week when I do their water change. Most fish will gobble up whatever is dropped in.
A little bit of the Cory food is probably dissolving into the substrate but you are not feeding too much. This is one of the things MTS are good for-cleaning up leftovers. One of our members feeds her Corys in a little white shallow saucer/bowl thingy. It is so cute, but mine won't do that
Short of giving them 30minutes and then vacuuming where you feed them I don't know what to tell you, except know what size their tummys are and to evaluate how much you are feeding your top water fishes.
Now if you have room and really want them the yoyos would be an excellent addition to your tank. They are really cool fish, they are also piggys and will share your corys food with them.
Carol