Hi all. We have the pond, and the sides get grimy. We have a huge apple snail in our 180 (about the size of a tennis ball or so) and we were thinking about getting some for the pond. But would Guido, the amazing, cutest-ever red-tailed catfish, eat them? I wouldn't think they'd LOOK tasty, but I know his and my ideas on what is tasty are probably different. He's about two feet, but if he'd eat them at four feet, I'd want to know anyway, so what do you think? They aren't especially cheap, and I don't want to watch them disappear. Any of you had your RTC eat snails?
Will my RTC eat these snails?
- Thread starter justonemoretank
- Start date
Your best bet would be horned nerite snails. They have spines that will keep predators away from them and since they are also small and compact at an inch, they could get away from predation by your RTC but there is no guarantee if it will indeed happen.
I'd also worry about his tummy if he were to eat them... I love my Guido, but he's not the most bright. Oh, well. The scummy sides don't bother me that much, but it would have been a nice idea. I don't trust him with a pleco.
justonemoretank;3395576; said:
you shouldnt, i just took my pleco out of my tank as im pretty sure my rtc will eat him now. as for the snails, THEY WILL BE GONE!! lol hope that somes it up a little
I dunno about that to be honest. I put around five big snails in my pond for my RTCs to eat in case I was away and incapable of feeding them. Anyways one time I was away for a week, I put 30 ghost shrimp in there for them to have (they learned that the feeders wont be going anywhere, so they dont have to gorge themselves). Anyways when I came back, I had no shrimp left but the snails were still there.
I didnt have any frozen food too for them to eat when I came back, so I decided to make a trip to the market the next week. Still they DIDNT eat the snails but chose to starve themselves instead, so once I got back with the frozen food, they were so happy.
Seriously, my RTCs seem to love frozen food more than feeders. I started them off on frozen food actually, and when I tried feeder tilapia, they had 2 or something and let the rest live and grow up to the point where they wouldnt fit in the RTCs n TSNs mouth anymore, so I had to remove them when they were starting to steal the food meant for the RTC.
I didnt have any frozen food too for them to eat when I came back, so I decided to make a trip to the market the next week. Still they DIDNT eat the snails but chose to starve themselves instead, so once I got back with the frozen food, they were so happy.
Seriously, my RTCs seem to love frozen food more than feeders. I started them off on frozen food actually, and when I tried feeder tilapia, they had 2 or something and let the rest live and grow up to the point where they wouldnt fit in the RTCs n TSNs mouth anymore, so I had to remove them when they were starting to steal the food meant for the RTC.
Yeah, I've never fed him or the Pacus feeders. I'd still worry about a pleco, though, just because it might get stuck, or something. But the apple snails... thanks for your input. I was hoping someone that had tried this would chime in. Maybe I'll try one, and see if he lasts.