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RE: Amano Shrimp and Snail Eaters
Soren 'Disky' Petersen wrote:>
I have a problem.In my 54 liter tank, I have 10 Amano Scrimps. And about 2
million (MANY)
snails.I would like to add some sort of fish, which would eat the snail but
not the
scrimps. Has anyone got experience with this? I was wondering if it was
possible to add 1 or 2 loaches of the smallest kind. Without having to fear
they will eat the scrimps.
Bob Kimball wrote:>
I put some Amano shrimp in with my clown loaches...the loaches won. My four
shrimp were gone after about a day :(
From personal experience, I would guess that your shrimp died because due to
unfavorable water conditions or transfer stress rather than succumbing to
the loaches. I have two clown loaches and three yo-yo loaches (botia
lahachata) in a 45 gallon hex that have peacefully coexisted with about 20
amano shrimp (yamato numaebi) for over six months. While I can't verify
that all twenty shrimp are alive, (they hide very well) at least 10 are
visible most of the time during the daytime in a thick clump of rotala
indica and at least three or four more "sleep" under a shady clump of java
moss (vesiculara dubyana).
The shrimp were introduced over six months ago and aside from an occasional
bump by the loaches in their relentless exploration for food (the shrimp
"kick" out of the way very rapidly) they don't seem to bother them. The
loaches which range in size from 7 to 10 centimeters were introduced
approximately a year and a half ago in my tank and I did notice that they
promptly curbed my snail population.
I had an abundance of both ramshorn and malaysian trumpet snails. 100% of
the ramshorn snails were eaten (I suspect my soft water made their thin
shells seem like a paper "Big Mac" box to the loaches) and the malaysian
trumpet snail population was noticeably curbed. Tough to tell because they
burrow during the day and come out at night but I noticed all but the
biggest and smallest snails were eaten. Many dozens of empty shells littered
the bottom of my tank. I assume the biggest ones had shells a bit too tough
and the smallest ones weren't worth it.
Anyway, I have a very manageable snail population and aside from a few holes
"popped" in my E. bleheri swordplant leaves (I suspect the clown loaches)
and a regular disruption of my glossostigma I've come to love my loaches. I
would highly recommend yo-yo loaches as they have an endlessly fascinating
personality and have become the "stars" of the tank. (Easy to recognize
because you can make out the word "Yo-Yo" in black on their silver sides as
part of their markings) The loach I would NOT recommend is the skunk botia
because even though I've noticed they are excellent "snail hunters" they
have a very territorial attitude and don't "get along well with others".
I've long since removed mine. My yo-yo's and clowns get along fine and seem
to have a "pecking order" amongst them. The two largest yo-yo's rule the
tank, the two clowns follow their lead and the smallest yo-yo tries to catch
up with the rest of the pack. The yo-yo's have a peculiar habit of
pestering my Congo tetras by "racing" nose to nose with them and following
their every turn as they try to slip away. They perform the same antics
with each other and the clowns.
Craig David