MTS Problem?

[Jman17H]

I introduced around a hundred or so MTS to my 75 gallon planted tank as both a cleanup crew and a food source for my clan of 3-Clown loaches, 4-yoyo loaches & 3-Blue botias (I am a loach collector, I know!) a few months ago.

I think my plan backfired! The loaches do not seem to eat be eating them and some of my plants are showing signs of mauling. The MTS also do not show themselves till well after lights-out (around 10-11pm they start coming out) and have retreated back into the substrate (a mix of sand, Schultz's aquatic plant soil & medium sized gravel) by the time I wake up around 7 each morning.

I tried a trap of lettuce in a container Saturday night and did not catch a single one. I do not need to get rid of every single one but have no doubts that there are now several hundred of many different sizes from small to large.

Other than hand picking them out is there any proven method of removal?

 

[rkilling1]

Can you get some pics of the plants? MTS do not eat plants. and maybe a pic of the snails as well?

 

[fish_4_all]

Believe it or not the loaches may be "mauling" your plants as they play or fight for territory. When my 3 skunkbotai get at it they can really rip up a plant if they decide to run through it as hard as they can. As for MTS, they don't damage plants at all unless you have some parts that are dying or showing deficiency. I have only seen them on parts of plants that are damaged and decaying and then have never eaten healthy tissue.

As for the loaches eating them, loaches are not the best for eating MTS because of the hard shell and tiny opening. If you really want them to go after them, don't efeed them as much for a while and see what happens. They should start to dig them up and really go after them if they are hungry enough.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I completely agree. It's the loaches that are mauling the plants. My skunk loaches, yoyo's, and striped loaches do the same, just not as much as the skunks though. They are bad, lol. MTS doesn't eat plants at all, but rather dead plant matter and excess food. I only added a small handful of MTS to my 75G, and a couple months later, I now have MTS parties at night, lol. Got thousands. lol. And I've also found that the MTS survive predators like botia loaches very well. I also have tons in my 55G with pool filter sand and 10 loaches.

 

[dapellegrini]

I had to find my clown loaches a new home. They would destroy or uproot my plants at an alarming rate... It was not that they would eat them, they just liked to break things and move things and are generally very clumsy. My Crypts and Val seemed fine, but most of my stem plants, bulbs and foreground were often damaged.

I also have 1000's of MTS and they do not touch the plants.

IME, some fish are not well kept in heavily planted tanks, where you are keeping more fragile stem and similar plants.

To be sure, perhaps you could post a pic of the plants that have been mauled along with the accused, as RK suggested... I think then we could give you a pretty definitive answer.

 

[Zagz]

Interesting to know. I think you have provided me with what might be wrong with the plants in my 75 gal.

 

[dapellegrini]

Having big clowns was like letting kids play kickball in my carefully landscape yard... They drove me crazy... Though they are one of my favorite FW fish, I realized that what I wanted in terms of plants, was just not compatible, and they lost the coin toss (it was rigged though ).

 

[Jman17H]

With the term "mauling" I was not meaning uprooting and breaking of stems. Instead, I notice occasionally fresh jagged holes in the middle of mainly my Red Rubin Sword and Amazon swords that seem to appear in the mornings. I do not find new holes dailey but often enough that I wonder what is causing. I am not a deficiency expert but it seems that it happens to very healthy leaves but once the holes are created the leaves are in bad shape within a week or 2. I have not really notice any fresh holes for maybe a week and I just trimmed so I do not have any pics of the damaged leaves.

I know my loaches are probably not the perfect planted tank fish but as a definite loach collector with 8 species in 4 tanks, they are defiantly not going any where. If there was devastation I would believe it was them but do not believe the small holes are there doing. They seem to be almost the perfect size for a snail bite. The only other culprits could be a 6" twig catfish who barely moves most days or one of the 1-2" clown plecos but I have my doubts about them either? I doubt giant danios bit holes in plants?

I do not nitice less plant debris laying around in recent weeks and like the fact that they aerate the substrate but how prolific will the MTS become? I like my little ramshorns much better.! If only the clowns & blue botias would not eat them!

 

[Purrbox]

Plecos can cause accidental damage to plants by rasping too hard on the leaves to get the algae that's on them. It's fairly common, so I wouldn't rule them out especially since they are often more active at night.

 

[rkilling1]

I do not nitice less plant debris laying around in recent weeks and like the fact that they aerate the substrate but how prolific will the MTS become? I like my little ramshorns much better.! If only the clowns & blue botias would not eat them!

That all depends on your tank and how well you maintain it. If there is food for them to eat, they will explod in population, If not, they will stay under control. You regulate them by maintaining your tank. I like them for that. I can tell how well I am cleaning my tank.

 

[Jman17H]

I should have 4 million by next week then!

 

[rkilling1]

I should have 4 million by next week then!

I don't think they will reproduce that fast. maybe 2 million. You get the point. The will grow and die depending on the amount of food available.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I should have 4 million by next week then!

I don't think they will reproduce that fast. maybe 2 million. You get the point. The will grow and die depending on the amount of food available.

And remember food doesn't necessarily mean overfeeding, lol. If there's dead plant matter decaying somewhere, you will still get more than you think. Just don't always think in a planted tank that if you get tons of snails, you are overfeeding. You just may not be cleaning out the dead stuff well enough as well.

Oh, and I think I might have 6 Million. Can I sell them for a buck a snail? LOL......

 

[evercl92]

Other than hand picking, feeding less, and cleaning up dead plant matter, does anyone have a effective method to help in the removal process? Is there a vegetable that they prefer?

 

[rkilling1]

You can always remove everything and start over.

 

[dapellegrini]

To the point of plants getting chewed up a bit by sucker fish, here are some love pecks that my Farlowella and Otos leave on a Crypt (caught in the act!!). This is the only plant that seems to take a beating from these fish, and it is growing so fast, I just trim these leaves off once a week.

My swords get little hickies every now and then too, but they are hard to see:

 

[evercl92]

Oddly enough, I've had similar cuts (2 pic right above my post) in my sword leaves. The only critters that Jman and I have in common for our planted tanks are yoyo's and a farlowella. I dunno, seems kinda funky to me...