Hi
One of my all time favorite loaches .Got 5 in 01 and still have 3 left . I'd call that hardy lol
They will eat snails. About the only negatives I've found is that they get large and are very secretive . If there's a place to hide they will. Though I keep them with a school of Tiger barbs now instead of Cardinal tetras and they are much more active. They should be kept in a group as they prefer to school
have heard they are difficult to move and are prone to "ICH " but had no problem with that.
gary

Tropical freak,

How big is your tank? and what is your fish load for the tank? ( how many fish and what types?)

what do these snails look like?

Clown Loaches are a possible answer depending on your tank size...They do get huge and can be very aggressive....
they also need to be kept in groups of atleast 3 or more...
as gary said...

I do not suggest anything under a 55g tank for clown loaches...they need their room, thats for sure...

Personally, I would not try to destroy the snails, unless you are doing a fully planted tank with a highlight system..

snails can be very very beneficial to a tank, they will eat excess food and prevent ammonia build up in your tank...

im figuring they are Trumpet Snail's which are very very common...

the only way to totally get rid of them is to tear the tank down completely dry everything thing out for over a month...

the best thing to keep the population under control is to just pick or scoop them out of the tank...

If you do decided to get clown loaches, you will need to be able to provide a supply of snails for them for dinner...
as in raising the snails in a separate tank, as they are the natural diet of clown loaches...

becides gardening fish tanks are my other hobby heheh

heres a few pics of some of my tanks...I have over 20 tanks up and running at this time...

{{gwi:375942}}

{{gwi:375943}}

Angel Pair and babies

{{gwi:375944}}

{{gwi:375945}}

{{gwi:375946}}

{{gwi:375947}}

Hi Gary, Good to know about the Loaches. I was at Big Al's today and looked at their Clown Loaches. They had some 6 inch ones for $149 a piece??? And some 1-2 inch ones for $39 a piece???

Hi Katheria,

I have a 55 gal long tank, with a Bio-filter. I have never really cared for snails in a tank. I would have an apple snail but these small brown snails multiply like rabbits. lol I have two plecos, 10 neons, 2 black mollies, 2 guppies, 5 platy's, 2 panda cory cats and 8 fry( too young to distinguish what they are) and then the snails..lol. I like having a mix of live and artificial plants. Your tanks are really awesome!! I think I may be pushing the limit with the amount of fish I have?? Depending on how much I feed them the water gets a little cloudy on occasion. I love marine tanks but feel I am not to that level yet. I have always been somewhat interested in Oscars (will they kill or hurt anything in a tank with them? I couldn't have a pleco?), Parrot Mouth Cichlids....ones that have not been injected with dye, and Discus (hear they are alot of work tho)...

Thanks for everyone's input.. after seeing the large Clown Loaches today, I think the tank I have would be pushing it for 3. lol

I only have a 10 gallon tank but have experienced the snail population explosion too. I keep it under control by removing all I can lay my hand once a week or so. Works for me, and I enjoy a few snails in there. It's a school aquarium, and the kids really love to see the snails.

how long has your tank been up and running???
and do you know what your tap water is like??
normal Ph Level and Hardness levels?

knowing this will make it much easier to determine which fish will suit your water....

the cloudy water (comming and going) may also be that your tank is not done cycling also, this usually takes 2-3-4 months sometimes depending on your water ph ect...

LOl no...you have a small fish load for the 55g hehehe....
I would suggest getting atleast 4 more Panda Cory's...like neons they need to be in a group....but dont add anything at all until the water is stable...

a apple snail would eat every living plant in your tank heheeh...
I used to raise them also...their diet is veggies...lettuce ect...any plant material....

Your plecos ( im betting they are common plecos) are going to outgrow the tank in 1 year or so...

Check around and see if you can find some Bristle Nose Plecos...they stay small and you could have a couple of pairs in the 55g....

Oscars= eat anything... i learned the hard way 22 years ago LOL...and they will very quickly outgrow a 55g tank...You can keep a pleco with them if the pleco is large enough...nothing else....

Parrots...im not a fan of them..they are a genetically bred fish for their looks....they are ok...but have genetic problems...

Discus= beautiful...but alot of work, isnt really the word for them.... after 20 years i still dont have Discus....they are very very sensitive to water changes, even the littlest change in PH levels in your tank..Most people that keep them have a reverse osmosis system...a good one will run $300+....

Big al's sounds crazy priced for fish!!!!
$39 for a clown Loach??? they are nuts!Loco! Out of their minds....

Clown Loaches small ones should be available for around $4-8 each not $39!!!

check around in your phone book for small locally owned fish stores...they will have the best prices on any fish

search on the net for a aquarium club around your area...im sure there is one...90% of my fish come from club members, who raise and share fish, sometimes for free, sometimes for a little cash...

3 clown's would be fine for your tank, they are a slow growing loach...Thou they are very sensitive to water changes..and get Ick very easily...I would suggest holding off on getting any, until the cloudy water is taken care of..Actually the snails will help with this...

One way u can get try and get rid of the snails is this...
take a piece of a Cucumber..weight it down with something non toxic, and put it in your tank..turn off the light, wait 1 or 2 hours and then take the Cucumber slice out...it will be covered in snails hehehe

Salt Water Tank= one word " Money Money Money"
I seriously considered setting up that large tank(the 3rd picture 180g tank) as saltwater.and I researched for 4 years.......until i started adding everything up...lets just say it was over $2000 just to set it up properly... Live rock normally $6 a #, you need at min 1 pound per gallon of water...
Live rock alone for the 180g was $1080....OUCH!
Salt water tanks are also very very labor intensive...
there are some Corals, that if they die can poison your entire tank within 5 hours= everything dies....
99% of Corals,Polyps, ect are poisonous...and they will sting you.....
not trying to talk you out of a salt water tank or anything,,just letting you know....do alot of research first,,

The 180g tank (3rd Pic) has african cichlids in it...they are the most colorful freshwater fish in the world.... and one of the hardiest fish (in my opinion) I have some that are well over 9 years old.....

I really suggest people start with a very hardy fish, and I have setup many tanks for first time aquarium owners with africans...

Tropicals are great, and i have alot of them, but to me they are prone to Ick, and Fungal Infections very frequently if the tank is not taken care of very good...I spend a average of 15-20 hours a week on taking care of my tanks...

sorry if i was soo winded LOL...

feel free to ask me any questions you have...

a few pics of africans and what they can look like...

{{gwi:375948}}

{{gwi:375949}}

{{gwi:375950}}

{{gwi:375951}}

{{gwi:375952}}

hi
I second the OUCH for the CL lol.I gave 2.50 each but that was almost 10 years ago
I have no idea which aquarium to recommend ,especially for fresh water. The one I always bought from went out of busines a year ago.and the chain stores suck.
If you have an interest in SW visit "Barrier Reef" in Lauderdale. I kept a 150 SW mostly fish for over 10 years
(Long story involving Frances a nearby tree and no power for 25 days.Lol Didn't have the heart or cash to start over so it's now an outdoor terrarium.lol
Spend some time shopping around as you can see not only quality but prices vary wildly even in this area.
If you find a good shop let me know ,I'm in the market for some Cardinal tetras. I got 25 for 10 bucks gary

wow you guys!!! Thanks for all the great info!!
Cliff

Ouch Gary,,, sorry to hear that....
its also one reason we decided not to do salt...

Texas storm season..:( its not unusual for us to be without power for 2-3 days 6-8 times a year....

atleast with freshwater its a little easier...battery powdered air pumps and powerheads we modified to run on car battery LOL....

Many are confused and say discus need reverse osmosis. Not even wild discus from brazil DO NOT need reverse osmosis

Clown loaches 1-2 iches $39 is crazy.
Katheria is right with the cucumber that does work.

Clown Loach Botia Macracantha 2" 60pcs price each $3.05 $3.52 landed price

I wonder if nobody mentioned about Botia sidthimunkis loachs, they are very good at sucking up the snails from their shells. And they can grow upto the maximum of 3 inches. So you should be Ok with you aquarium.