Do Loaches Eat MTS?

[theotheragentm]

Do loaches eat MTS? If so, what is the smallest loach I can get that will do this? I have a 55 gallon tank currently. Would one loach take out a whole tank's population?

 

[LandGhoti]

I know yoyos eat them. I had some hitchhikers on my clippings when I first went planted and once I got my yoyo, they were gone within days. And he was a small-ish yoyo, so like maybe 2".

 

[theotheragentm]

I took at look at loaches.com and it looks like they're group fish. I don't think I'd want to add that many. Plus if they eat my snail supply, I'll have to figure something else to feed them. Anything else cool that will eat MTS?

 

[LandGhoti]

True, they like to be in groups. I have one yoyo and two kubotai, but for awhile I only had the yoyo and that was when I had the snails. They are OK by themselves, but like their own kind to hang with.

Not sure what else eats snails (besides Frenchmen! LOL).

 

[MSU Fan]

I had a clown loach for a while by itself that has zero hesitancy to destroying any snail it comes into contact with. Like LandGhoti says, they like to be in groups, but they will definitely survive on their own. As for feeding, any algae wafer will be fine for them.

 

[Zagz]

Clown loaches eat snails but they will get far too big for a 55 gal. A trio of yoyo's would work in that tank. Most botia loaches will eat snails.

 

[theotheragentm]

Kuhlis are probably too small to eat snails, huh?

 

[greenmaji]

I think if you knew what your loaches normal fare was made of, this would have been less of an issue.

 

[tropicfishman]

my clown loaches love baby ramshorn snaisl apperently lol

 

[lmw80]

I have 2 horseface loaches. It took them a while to eat my MTS - and I had A LOT of them...now they are almost all gone.

 

[DepotFish]

Kuhlis are defiantely too small. My MTS thrive in the same tank as my kuhlis.