Common pond snails being slurped, who's the culprit?

[7Enigma]

I've been slowly adding back common and MTS to my main 20 gallon planted tank. I have also been finding quite a few empty shells in the morning. I can count about 10 or so right now with a cursory look, but have not actively seen any being eaten.

I've seen some of my barbs get curious with them, but they always just curl up and wait a while until the fish leaves then start up again.

I have a BN pleco that I could see slurping these guys in the dark, and have also heard, humorous to me, that cory catfish will eat them. I have a single cory from my original tank stocking that has avoided the barbs (the other 2 were essentially nipped to death).

So let me hear your thoughts. I can't see my Oto's doing it, neither can I see my barbs, unless they are dealing a fatal bite and then a scavenger is getting rid of the rest of the evidence, but I'm just wondering.

It makes sense now why I can never find any common's in the tank (the MTS seem to be much less prone, but I also don't have tons of them). I would just like to know whom it is so I can figure out who is getting fed when the lights are out.

Between the Oto's, the cory, and the BN I try to feed them specific foods after lights out so they are well fed, and I'm happy to see that most likely one or more of them is also getting a snail supplement!

The suspects:

The victim:

 

[Musket]

I'd say most likely of the 2 it is the pleco. Personally I have not seen this happen or had it happen in my tanks...... However, with that said, I have had neons and long finned blue danios go missing in 24 hours of being introduced - not tiny ones either. When I talked to a trusted LFS, he suggested my pleco was hunting at night.....
Needless to say, no small fish get to be housed in this tank. (so I set up another one for them.. hehehehe the joys of MTS)

 

[7Enigma]

I'd say most likely of the 2 it is the pleco. Personally I have not seen this happen or had it happen in my tanks...... However, with that said, I have had neons and long finned blue danios go missing in 24 hours of being introduced - not tiny ones either. When I talked to a trusted LFS, he suggested my pleco was hunting at night.....
Needless to say, no small fish get to be housed in this tank. (so I set up another one for them.. hehehehe the joys of MTS)

That would have been my thought as well until someone on here mentioned their cory eats the snails in a similar fashion to how I'm finding them, that is the shell is intact, but the snail is gone.

 

[Jchillin]

Funny that you bring this up. I've kept the same combo of BN's and cories along with my snails (MTS and ramshorns) for quite some time with no losses. It wasn't until I added the Bala sharks that I started seeing empty shells of both.

I had often noticed the BN's slurping on the ramshorns shells, but they were none the worse for it. I suspected they had advanced their slurping until I caught the Bala's in the act, literally plucking one off the glass and sucking the snail in and spitting out the shell.

I seriously doubt it would be the BN or the cory, I suspect the barbs. Seeing as the barbs and Bala's are kinfolk, they would be inclined to do so.

 

[7Enigma]

Very possible. I guess I just liked the idea of the timid, playful, some-would-say-stupid, cory turning into a hunting machine in the dark.

I think an experiment is in order. Placing a cory or 2 in a small 2.5-5gallon tank for a week or so with a good number of healthy mid/large-sized snails (so none could be considered to have died on their own).

 

[Toirtis]

Either or both of the cats...and be glad of it....pond snails can decimate a planted tank.

 

[7Enigma]

Either or both of the cats...and be glad of it....pond snails can decimate a planted tank.

Not in my experience. My 10 gallon QT/snail breeder tank is chock full of pond and MTS. It also happens to be my grow out and clippings tank for things that don't behave well in my main tank.

I also use the QT tank as an algae clean QT, that is I will put an infected plant in the QT for a couple days, and it becomes clean as a whistle! I've never seen my pond snails even eat/damage a single leaf, and there a tons of them in there.

So I'm sure there are pond snail plant predators, but I've never seen them in my tank, and I've received several plant bunches from other members and purchased plants from 3 separate stores, all which were not dip-treated prior to introduction to the tank.

Just look at GlitcH's tank for an example of the snail's ability to keep a tank crystal clear!