Clown loach or YoYo loach

[cougargirl50]

Ok this question has probably been asked many of times but I have to ask. I have a major snail problem (pond snails) which is better of the fish to eat them I have been reading YoYo loaches and Clown loaches are best.

I haven't updated my signature in awhile so this is what I have
Platys
Neons
Danios
Corys
and some ghost shrimp

Thanks a bunch...

 

[Hrafnkel]

For a 55, unless you can move them into a bigger tank later on, I'd go with yoyos instead of clowns.

 

[workfortheman]

I have both, and they both do a great job. for space reasons, I'd stick with Hrafnkel's advice.

*EDIT* If you get yoyo's, get at least 3! They are happier in numbers.

 

[Toirtis]

But be prepared, they do get 6" each, so adjust for the bioload.

 

[Alvarez]

Won't the ghost shrimp be eaten?

 

[Hrafnkel]

I thought yoyos only get to 4-5"?

 

[Toirtis]

I thought yoyos only get to 4-5"?

Actually, they are capable of 6½"-7", but 5½"-6" is more typical.....fast growers, too....I have a pair currently that went from 1½"-3½" in about 75 days.

 

[Hrafnkel]

Everything I know is a lie... Hah. I'd heard they're slow growers. I've had mine a few weeks and haven't seen much growth.

 

[Toirtis]

Just give him lots of fresh water and tons of snails to eat....he'll grow right quick.

 

[severum mama]

My yo yo loaches are growing surprisingly fast as well. I would recommend a few of them instead of clown loaches because the CLs get much bigger and would eventually need a larger tank. My yo yos took care of my snail problem after a few weeks, once they settled in. They are really interesting fish and I think you would like them. 8)

 

[FishFingers]

Get the C Loaches, They grow very slowly. If you buy them lets say 2 inch in size it will take 3/4 years to get to 6inch.

I love them. By far the most entertaining fish I have. Feed them plenty of cucumber and blood worms you can't go wrong.

Wait till they start imitating the other fish in your tank.

 

[RoK]

Won't the ghost shrimp be eaten?

I'm also curious to know if loaches would eat them? I'm guessing especially the bigger ones will?

 

[Toirtis]

Won't the ghost shrimp be eaten?

I'm also curious to know if loaches would eat them? I'm guessing especially the bigger ones will?

Probably....larger clowns go buggy for shrimp and krill.

 

[Zezmo]

IME, YoYo's will eat Ghost shrimp, they will also eat pond snails. With snails or shrimp to eat, they may not bother with "prepared" foods. Once the snails and shrimp are gone, then they come and eat like any other community fish. They also like blood worms but may not always get to them before the other fish gobble them up.

If you are looking for a good Botia, a Kubotai (Angelicus) botia is another great choice. They are similar to YoYo's in most respects and have very striking patterns. My YoYo's and Kubotai's all school together and by all appearances don't realize they are differnt kinds of fish.
This link shows some nice shots of them. I will say, mine are even more colorful in person than the ones on that link.
http://www.loaches.com/species_pages/botia_sp_myanmar.html

 

[jibboo]

I've had my yo-yos for about 5 years and none are longer than 4 inches.

I've had both yo-yos and clowns ... had the yo-yos longer, so i'd have to recommend them ... but species are fairly gregarious ...although I think my clowns hid more (of course they got added later to an established tank) than the yo-yos. I wouldn't worry about the clowns growing too big ... my experience has been that they are slow growers and won't reach the size they do in the wild in a tank.

 

[jibboo]

I added 5 ghost shrimp to my tank a couple months back and still have at least one left ... so, I'm not sure that yo-yos will eat the ghost shrimp. I've seen them swim right by the shrimp on numerous occassions. That's not a definite that won't eat them ... but I still have at least one left. The one left is however the largest shrimp that I had Prolly 1-1.5 inches. But since I added the cichlids, I haven't seen the shrimp for a few weeks (not sure if its hiding or what).

 

[workfortheman]

Won't the ghost shrimp be eaten?

This is definitely a possibility, so keep your eyes on them . . . 8O

 

[Zezmo]

I will add that I have seen the loaches eating plenty of shrimp... but I have never seen them actually kill a shrimp. They may just scavenge the dead ones. One thing I noticed, was the shrimp had no "fear" of the loaches and they would sit side by side picking at bits of food. But if a Ranbows gets anywhere near the shrimp they go hiding.

So the YoYo's will eat shrimp...but they might not actually kill them.

 

[Alvarez]

Won't the ghost shrimp be eaten?

...

 

[crazycat]

i've have 4 clowns for just a year. they have grown from 1" to 4.5" and 5.5". NOT necessarily slow growers.