What species of loaches eat snails

[Acehalide]

OK, so what species of loaches eat snails?

 

[tinylostwine]

Most biota (clown loach, yoyo loch, zebra loach, kubotai loach, .... lots more). Pangio does not eat snail (kuhli and related - the long snake or earth worm like loaches).

 

[Acehalide]

Is there anything else that eat snails?

 

[Fishfur]

Is there anything else that eat snails?

There are certain snail species that are snail predators. Notably, the Assassin snail eats other snails and as a bonus, they are attractive and not particularly large.

They’re said to reproduce very slowly but I don’t think that’s true, based on the ones I used to have long ago.

They aren’t as prolific as some species but they’re usually out of sight. In fact they behave much like MTS snails do. They spend a great deal of their time burrowing in the substrate so there can be quite a few new little snails and you might not notice them until there are quite a few.

They have two sexes and lay eggs singly in tiny envelope shaped gel packets, which are easily overlooked because they’re so small.

They’re conical in shape with stripes - most often yellow with a purplish brown but the colouring is variable. Very light coloured foot with a long slender ‘snout’ which are very similar to those seen on MTS snails but they are a little larger than most MTS are.

If you only get one Assassin it won’t be able to have babies by itself so that is one possible solution. It may take it some time to clear out a large snail population but it’ll get there eventually.

They won’t starve if there are no snails to eat either - technically they’re omnivores and scavengers but with a decidedly carnivorous side to their preferences.

Asolene spixi snails are also snail predators though they are less efficient at it than Assassins. But they will keep the numbers of nuisance snails to a bare minimum.

They’re very similar to Mystery snails and members of the same family but they’re smaller - maybe half the size of a mature female Mystery.

Shells are beige with highly variable dark brownish stripes. The foot is a light mottled beige.

They have two sexes as well but they lay eggs underwater in rather large sloppy masses of jelly.

The clutches are easy to see (usually) so they can be removed if desired. But spixis are prone to eating their own young too, so it’s unlikely you’ll be overrun with them if you miss a clutch.

They may nibble on some plants - mine never do much damage but in some cases they might. Just so you know.

 

[tinylostwine]

My assassin snail population got quite large as it feasted on snails; lately it seems to have grown smaller but to be truthful i haven't paid much attention to them since i moved.

 

[Acehalide]

Thanks
Do fw puffers eat snails

 

[ghostno]

yes, Pea puffer and South American puffers are lovers of pest snails

 

[Fishfur]

My assassin snail population got quite large as it feasted on snails; lately it seems to have grown smaller but to be truthful i haven't paid much attention to them since i moved.

It’s almost always about the food supply - lots of food = lots of snails. Not much food = not a lot of snails.

 

[Acehalide]

Anything else I should know?
Any warnings?

 

[tinylostwine]

Any warnings?

WIth regards to what? If you want stocking advice one would have to know the size of your aquarium; type of water you have and what other fishes you have. Without such information providing guidance on what aquatic life you purchase for your aquarium is at best a wild guess.

 

[Hellfishguy]

Anomalochromis thomasi eat pond and ramshorn snails. I’m not sure if they can handle MTS, though.