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Yoyo Loaches are compatible with many types of pet fish but
not all. For example, Yoyo Loaches usually bother small fish
such as Neon Tetras and Guppies. So lets discuss some
other possible
methods of getting
rid of snails from
your aquarium.
(1) First you
could buy a harsh
chemical. I think
there is a product
called Snail-Rid
that contains
Copper Sulfate, a
chemical that is
notorious for
being risky to use
around fish.
Aquari-Sol is sold
in many stores
that sell pet
fish. It will kill
snails, but it is
harsh, risky for
other fish, and
may contain copper
sulfate. I can't
quite remember.
But I would not
use it, and I
would not
recommend it, and
it is not natural.
(2) Another idea
might be to use
Aquarium Salt,
NaCl, because salt
will kill garden
snails, and
Aquarium Salt is
very useful in
aquariums and
ponds. Click
here
to read more about
Aquarium Salt. But
small snails that
infest aquariums
can tolerate a
high concentration
of Aquarium Salt.
So Aquarium Salt
is not going to
help you get rid
of your snails.
(3) The next idea
is to get a Puffer
Fish. Puffers are
natural, and they
will quickly eat
and eliminate all
the small snails
from an aquarium.
A Puffer fish has
a powerful mouth
that looks like a
beak, and a Puffer
will use its mouth
to crush snail
shells and eat the
snails.
But Puffers are
rather exotic
fish. They are
wonderful and very
interesting, but
some Puffer species need brackish
water that
contains aquarium
salt, and Puffers
need to eat live
food, like snails.
Unless Puffers are
very well fed,
they tend to nip
on other fish. So
most people find
that Puffers are
not a convenient
solution to a
snail problem like
yours. Click
here
to read about
Puffers and see a
couple of
interesting
pictures of
Puffers.
(4) The best way
to get rid of
snails is to get
some Loaches. I
like Clown Loaches
very much. They
are one of my
favorite fish. But
they do better in
a school with six
or more Clown
Loaches, and so
they usually need
a large aquarium
with at least 40
or 50 gallons of
water.
If you have a
large aquarium, I
think you'll love
a school of six or
more Clown
Loaches, and a
school of Clown
Loaches will
quickly find and
eat all the small
snails. Click
here for more
information about
Clown Loaches.
A Yoyo Loach will
also eat all the
snails quickly. In
fact I think a
Yoyo Loach will
probably eat all
the snails more
quickly than the
Clown Loaches. But
both types of
Loaches will do a
great job of
eating all the
snails right out
of their shells.
Then you'll need
to net the shells
and remove them
from your
aquarium.
A Yoyo Loach will
not get as big as
a Clown Loach, and
Yoyo Loaches seem
to be happy in a
group with 3 or
more Yoyo Loaches.
A group of three
will do fine in a
smaller aquarium
with only 20 to 30
gallons of water.
The only problem
is that Yoyo
Loaches are
sometimes hard to
find in local fish
stores and pet
stores. Their
scientific name,
as listed above on
this page, is
Botia lohachata,
and you often see
them sold as
Lohachata Loaches.
I hope this helps
you get rid of
your snail
problem.
Incidentally it is
usually the really
small snails that
become a problem,
so we don't sell
these small snails
and we are very
careful to be sure
that our plants
don't contain
small snails or
their eggs. Click
here to see
the list of
Aquatic Plants
that we sell.
Larger Aquatic
Snails, like the
ones we sell,
never seem to be a
problem in aquariums, fish bowls, and ponds. But many
species are now illegal to ship across state borders in
the U.S. why? Because some aquarists have released them
in rivers, creaks and streams, where the snails have
multiplied and perhaps caused environmental damage. Click
here for more
information about
these larger
Aquatic Snails.
(5) Finally we come to our favorite way of reducing the
snail population. Get a small glass jar like a salt
shaker. Remove the top. Be sure the jar is clean. Then
put a small piece of lettuce or perhaps some fish food
in the jar, and fill it with aquarium water. Carefully
sink it on the bottom of the aquarium. The next day it
will have lots of small snails inside! remove them and
repeat the process.
After a couple of days you'll notice there are fewer
snails, and in several days very few. So you trapped out
most of them. You will probably never get all of them.
So you'll have to keep trapping them and removing them
from time to time.
This a good example of the idea of reducing an annoying
problem to a tolerable situation. |
