so, no one has problems with the snails? in sump or getting in your pumps? I might add some to help.
What is going on?
- Thread starter countrykat
- Start date
I can't be malaysian trumpet snails, he said there were eggs everywhere, malaysian trumpet snails are livebearers.
I have never had a problem with them in my HOB's or canisters but I don't know about pumps.
mike dunagan;2653847; said:
I have never had a problem with them in my HOB's or canisters but I don't know about pumps.
oh true that.. good catch NotoriousSway.. still the lettuce route will work..le patron wrote:
hehehehe evil
Pitbull, loaches do not crush nor drill holes on a shell. This is why snails have shells, to protect them from predation. However, loaches of the botiine genus do have elongated snouts in most species to allow them to penetrate the soft parts of the snails as the snail tries to retract further into its shells. In most cases involving specimens with operculums, they'll have to work hard to harass the victim if the snail has an operculum to protect itself from predation. Snails cannot tolerate harassments for long period and eventually give in thus allowing the loaches to penetrate their soft bodies.Pittbull@MFK;2651581; said:
For future reference, not all loaches eat snails. Serpentine loaches and those of the Balitorinae genus do not. They do not have the proper mouth structure that allows them to eat the snails which is why for the most part, they are useless in eradicating the snails. Anyone who parrots the belief that these loaches mentioned eat snails, simply never had the time to study the body anatomy, experience the combination or just made it up for the sake of earning brownie points. Only loaches of the botiine genus can eat them.
MTS are livebearers. If the OP has seen plenty of egg sacs, then they're definitely pouch snails (Physas sp.). MTS may be among the mix. It's possible.
Getting a fish to eat the snails is poor excuse. A lot of loaches cannot tolerate the hard alkaline water conditions that African cichlids require. There is too much electrolytes in this particular water condition to permit the loaches to thrive for a long time. Consider the compatibility, diet, space issues and other variables before you try the mix. Loaches that suffer from the added electrolytes will often be seen excreting heavy amounts of slime coats and even scratch themselves around. This is not a good sign at all and one of the many reasons why I loathe suggestions to mix both.
Stick with the lettuce and manual baiting. Snails aren't that bad at all except being unsightly in large numbers but that is no reason for you to resort to a fish to eradicate them. After the snails are eradicated, what happens to the fish? Most African cichlids are pushovers and loaches certainly lack tolerance for the most part being harassed.
Just as a warning, do not resort to chemicals if you want to kill the snails. Dead snails have a very nasty smell and can contribute to a large portion of ammonia levels which will also affect your fish and even kill them in the process.
The loach in this pic i use to own and it is called a Berdmores loach. it ate the snails in my tank very quickly. i use to feed it snails from the ones i use to breed seperately. he loved them and has the idea snout for them.
i wont let me upload pic i wil try again later.
here is a link about them tho
http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/loaches/BerdmoresLoach.php
i wont let me upload pic i wil try again later.
here is a link about them tho
http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/loaches/BerdmoresLoach.php
one thing i have heard is that if a fish has eaten some snail eggs before getting to a tank then getting in to a tank then pooing out the eggs and the start of a snail infestation
Hi guys, I'm new here - jumped over from O fish cos I'd heard alot of cool stuff about mfk.
I too had a real invasion of these cone shaped snails, pretty much the same as the original post, got home turned the lights on and bloody snails everywhere, god knows where they came from as I hadn't added new fish or plants (I suspected frozen foods)? Two Botia Loaches and a Cuckoo catfish (Synodontis multipunctatus) have pretty much kept them under control - infact I don't even see them in the tank anymore, but they do end up in your canister filters and were even partially blocking my spray bar at one time.
I too had a real invasion of these cone shaped snails, pretty much the same as the original post, got home turned the lights on and bloody snails everywhere, god knows where they came from as I hadn't added new fish or plants (I suspected frozen foods)? Two Botia Loaches and a Cuckoo catfish (Synodontis multipunctatus) have pretty much kept them under control - infact I don't even see them in the tank anymore, but they do end up in your canister filters and were even partially blocking my spray bar at one time.
This is ridiculous. Every living thing's digestive system has acids that allow the digestive organs to digest the food. Sorry but wherever you heard this, the source just made it up. I have never seen an evidence to prove this claim is true.blatch;2661512; said:
