FishProfiles.com Message Forums

I have a snail problem in my 40 gallon tank. At night they are everywhere...I know that dwarf puffers are great at eating small snails and I have three dwarf puffers in another tank that I am thinking about moving into the bigger tank.

What are your thoughts on putting them in a tank with:

1 rainbow shark

2 swordtails

1 hatchet ( I know they should be in schools, but the rest died and he has lasted for two years...)

2 red eye tetras (whom the hatchet swims with...again these are the survivors from the original group from 2 years ago)

1 Rosy barb

1 full grown male Kribensis

10 juvi Kribensis - 1 inch in size(they are being given away in the next few weeks - the mother has died, so there won't be any more babies)

1 common pleco

2 long finned danios

My concern is that I don't want to hurt these little guys, but I also think they would be great in my big tank for the snails. The bigger tank would also be a better habitat for them, rather than their 6 gallon tank.

My guess is that they will probably be fine, but what do you think?

I'm not worried about the puffers...I'm worried about the other fish. DPs can be extremely aggressive to other fish. They should be kept in a species tank because they can be really nippy to other fish. I wouldn't trust them around the danios, swordtails, barb (which should also be in a school ), or the tetras.

So...no, please don't put the puffers in the big tank.

*Kristin*

Thanks Girliegirl. Do you have a recommendation for a good snail eater for my big tank then?

I agree, dp's are agressive towards other species and do best in a species tank. They really only get along with ottos, and then not always.
A nice pair of yo-yo loaches should clean up the snails, and do very well in community tanks, although four or six would do better (they like company of their own kind).

Thanks divertran. I didn't realize that yo yo's ate snails. How many could I put in a 40 gallon tank with those cohabitants?

I'd be more worried about the rainbow shark, they can be ornary little buggers when it comes to having other fish in their territory. It'd be a WWF match in there if you were to add the DP's

I agree with the yoyos, they're cute little guys that'll eat 'em up right quick!! You could put 3 or 4 in there without a problem, but i would have a plan B on hand if the rainbow decides he doesn't like the newbies. If you have a lot of structure/caves/hiding spots you should be alright.

Yep...yoyos eat snails. After awhile though, they kind of lose their taste for them...or atleast mine have. They eat them really well in the beginning, but after they enjoy some shrimp pellets and fallen flakes, they don't take care of the snails very well. I have some bigger ramshorn snails in my 55g with 4 yoyos and they don't bother them. They may still eat the small ones, but I haven't seen any empty shells lately.

3-4 would work. Like Fallout said, I would have a backup plan for the yoyos in case the rainbow shark doesn't like them. If you won't have anywhere else to move them, maybe make sure you can return them if you have to. Or if you can return fish...try to "borrow" a couple clown loaches. They are better snail eaters than yoyos, but you couldn't get attached because they couldn't stay in the 40g too long.

*Kristin*

If you have a backup plan in place for any future Loach introductions, then one snail eating species that will be a LOT easier to manage size wize if you can obtain it is dear little Botia sidthimunki, a personal favourite of mine.

Having said that, finding it will be a good deal harder than other loaches, and if you do find them, they'll be expensive. But they'll be SO worth it if you do! They'll go to work on any unwanted snails with gusto.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Actually my concern is the DPs getting beat up or starving because the other fish are going to be much faster and bigger than they are. They just aren't a good fish for a community tank. There are far too many problems that can arise.

My yoyos still love snails at somewhere around 4years old. They'll eat snails before anything else even frozen bloodworms. I purposely add snails to the tank because it's fun to watch them go on search and destroy all day. I added 2 dozen pest snails to my 29g with 4 yoyos once and within 2hours there were no snails left. They got banished to the 29g in the first place for eating my applesnails and wiped out about 100 pea sized babies in a couple days.

Thank you all for your help. I went and picked up three yoyo's and already I love them! What fantastic fish they are! My Rainbow Sharnk hasn't bothered with them and the kribensis were curious to begin with and now could care less.

As for the DP's I will keep them in their own species tank. They seem to be happy in there and it's best not to stress those poor little guys out.

Thanks again!