Clown Loach + Trumpet Snails = ?

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vcorey04

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Jun 22, 2008
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Location
Hollywood, CA
if i have 3 small clown loach's in my 20gal, and i want to get Malaysian Trumpet snails for algae control, and substrate mixers,

will the Clown Loaches Eat them??

v
 
My clown eats them, but the dang things reproduce faster than they can be eaten. Needless to say the sand in my african cichlid tank is littered with snail carcasses. lol
 
is that a good thing? cause i have plants.

i understand that cichlids tear up plants..

i wanted the malaysian trumpet snails because they have a reputation of ignoring plants.. Major plus.

i got the clown loaches to eat the snails that do eat plants...

by carcasses, do you mean snail shells??
 
I did not have success introducing MTS into a tank with two striata loaches. I think if the snails were in there first and had established a colony then it might be OK, but any that venture above the substrate for too long will likely be dinner.
 
I have a yoyo and two polkadot loaches in my 29, and the only one that cares about the MTS is one of the polkadots. I, too, have empty snail shells as part of my substrate now. :)

The MTS in my tank hang out on the plants after the lights go out, but they don't really do anything to them, that I can see.

Are you planning on putting your clowns in a bigger tank at some point? Clowns need at least 55 g, as far as I know; otherwise their growth is stunted. Striatas, yoyos, polkadots, and other loaches are better for such a small tank.
 
well, i know about the clown loach growth size. it's a problem. i wanted a relatively relaxed tank, and they seemed to be the least aggressive.

i plan on getting a larger tank going, just don't know where...

i've had them less than a month, their size hasn't changed really, but i'm aware that my tank is waaaay to small for them to live happily, so i am planning on giving them to someone with a larger tank. it sucks, but it's a solution...
 
They should be fine for awhile. Initially, I started the tank I have now (29g) with three clowns, not knowing they get big. Unfortunately I lost all my fish in a winter power outage, so the second time around, I knew better. It happens. ;)

Personality-wise, I love loaches! My three are great characters and I can watch them forever.
 
ditto ditto ditto. i love my little loach school!!!

what about your loach's?
do polka's and yoyo's have a cool enough temperament to leave my two frogs and future ottos alone???
 
Hmmm, I don't know about having frogs with them; maybe someone else can answer that. But I doubt they'd do anything to your otos; they're too concerned with hiding or swimming around so they can land on things. Mine don't bother the other fish at all, although my yoyo is the biggest of the three and has established himself as king of the tank, so every once in awhile he will follow my biggest rainbow around but he isn't a bully or anything. The polkadots only terrorize each other and do the loach fighting swirl where they get all greyed out and twirl around in a circle to try and be the boss of each other, and they've done that ever since I got them.
 
My Yoyo's are fairly aggressive, they will occasionally swim up and chase my angel. And they eat non-stop. I clean out my 10g of snails and dump them into the 44g with the loaches and they don't last 5 minutes. Even the angel eats them, shells and all!!
 
My Angel did the same. Tried to introduce MTS, they never got established, she would just pick them off teh wall one by one. She also was great at hunting fry, fun to watch.
 
does anyone have experience with their loach's and moss walls?

i'm looking to build one, and cover a plastic ornament in moss, and would like to know ahead of time if the clown's are going to destroy my hard work.
 
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