[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: snail eating fish
Joe asks:
> So, what are other aquarists experience with other loaches that will eat
> snails?
For a six gallon tank, I have a dwarf puffer, a true freshwater puffer that
kills all small snails and snail eggs in my tank. They are cute little guys
with fun personalities. I don't ever feed him, but I add a few adult
ramshorn snails every so often to keep up the population of young snails. I
have tried to do the same with pond snails, but the puffer eats the adults
before they get a chance to breed. You would certainly be rid of your pond
snail problem within a short time of adding a puffer. A warning on these
guys - be wary of the tankmates you keep them with. Any sort of shrimp will
look like a tasty meal. My puffer doesn't bother the pygmy corys that live
with him. I have heard from a puffer email list that they can be kept in
community tanks. I don't advise keeping more than one dwarf puffer in a
tank unless you can be certain that there is only one male in the group. I
had two males (didn't know how to tell them apart) and couldn't rescue the
weaker one in time to save him. I've been told that the males occasionally
have a dark line down the center of their ventral surface, but it is not
always evident. I have either a male with no line or a particularly
aggressive female.
Here is a website to try:
http://www.pufferfish.co.uk/aquaria/species/pufferfish/types/index.htm
Good luck - Jen