I had major pond snail issues. So I went to a tropical fish store that I love and trust and asked which kind of loach I should get based on my community tank profile--8 fancy guppies, 4 platies and various bottom feeders etc. She recommended skunk botia, and said as long as I get three or more they would leave the other fish alone. So I got four, put them in my tank, and they have taken huge chunks out of almost all of the guppy tails and I am MAD. I tried to catch them to bag them back up and take them back to the fish store, BUT I CAN'T CATCH THEM!! They are too fast and keep hiding in my plants. Does anyone have any tips about catching fast little devilish guppy-shredding fish?
Skunk botia/loaches and guppies
- Thread starter Fishstix3000
- Start date
When i need to catch my fast fish ( khuli loaches clown loaches etc) i get a glass jar and put some food in it wait a while and then the fish goes inside the jar and you can easily catch them that way you dont want to just try to catch them with a net you will scare them and the other fish
good luck
good luck
Lupin
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- Sep 21, 2006
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Fishstix, in the first place you should have researched a bit further before you followed your LFS' sloppy advice. Skunk loaches are very nasty fish and are not community fish contrary to most people's beliefs.
Lupin--ain't that the truth! I have an ongoing relationship with the people who own the tropical fish store that I went to. They are great. But maybe not-so-much all of the employees. She actually talked me out of clown loaches because these would be better in a community tank. I think she got it WAY backwards. Although I am done with loaches. Maybe kuhli loaches? But I don't think they'll help with the snail population.
Mgamer and Chrizza--I'm going to try the jar, and if that doesn't do the trick I'll do the other. Thank you so much for your advice! I was hoping to not have to take everything out, but I need to do a water change today anyway, so I might as well go for it!
SKUNK LOACHES ARE FOUL, CRUEL, NASTY LITTLE FISHIES. But kindof fun. If they weren't destroying my pretty guppies, I would be having a blast watching their behavior. They stay still in the water, and then when another fish goes by they dart out and nab them. Saucy little critters.
Mgamer and Chrizza--I'm going to try the jar, and if that doesn't do the trick I'll do the other. Thank you so much for your advice! I was hoping to not have to take everything out, but I need to do a water change today anyway, so I might as well go for it!
SKUNK LOACHES ARE FOUL, CRUEL, NASTY LITTLE FISHIES. But kindof fun. If they weren't destroying my pretty guppies, I would be having a blast watching their behavior. They stay still in the water, and then when another fish goes by they dart out and nab them. Saucy little critters.
Clown loaches need a huge tank when fully grown, and a group of at least five, so they are also a bad idea. Kuhlis are nice, peaceful loaches that are fun, but aren't really in the snail eating business.
Here are is how to reduce your snail population:
-Don't feed as much
-Put in a piece of lettuce in a net overnight. The lettuce will be crawling with snails the next day. Remove the lettuce with snails. You can also squish snails to feed to fish.
People are also selling assassin snails on this board, which eat most other snails besides malaysian trumpet, but they are not so much a means of effectively controlling the population as fun to have.
Here are is how to reduce your snail population:
-Don't feed as much
-Put in a piece of lettuce in a net overnight. The lettuce will be crawling with snails the next day. Remove the lettuce with snails. You can also squish snails to feed to fish.
People are also selling assassin snails on this board, which eat most other snails besides malaysian trumpet, but they are not so much a means of effectively controlling the population as fun to have.
Make that "including malaysian trumpet". My little baby assassins have been leaving tiny empty mts shells all over.
Lupin
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Kuhlis are fine but they certainly are abysmal at putting a dent on snail populations. Assassin snails (Anentome helena) will work there.
Lol, my mistake-I heard the assasins can't get into the MTS adult's tank shells. Thanks for correcting me.
Thanks for all of the help! I tried the jar, and I could have caught any guppy or platy in my tank because they all crammed in there for the food, but the botias stayed out. Clever little criminnals. So I drained a lot of water and took out all my decorations and got them out without too much trouble. In the meantime they did a great job thinning out the snail population! And most of my guppies have partial tails. They seem healthy for now, but I'm watching them closely for signs of disease from the trauma.
My kids want to get mystery snails. Will the assasin snails eat those as well? I'm assuming yes since they would have no problem getting in the shells.
Does anyone have a picture of assasin snails? Do they end up reproducing like crazy as well?
My kids want to get mystery snails. Will the assasin snails eat those as well? I'm assuming yes since they would have no problem getting in the shells.
Does anyone have a picture of assasin snails? Do they end up reproducing like crazy as well?