botia vs loach

[Kats]

Can you guys tell me what is the difference between botia and loaches?  We wanted to buy just one dwarf loach to help us keep our snail population under control but nobody in the east end has any loaches (not in season I guess  )  but the guys at BA said we could buy a botia and it would do the same job...

Any comments/suggestions?

[beowulf]

Best place to get info is loaches.com.  As for getting one, not a good idea as most prefer to be in shoals of at least 5-6 individuals.

[twisty]

I've tried keeping clown loaches in my FW Tank.
Never managed to keep them alive.

I now have two Botia's for Snail Control.
All i find are empty shells.
You can see these guys suck the snails right out of their shell.
Good Snail Solution.
I would suggest only getting 1. They are aggressive towards each other.
If you're interested maybe i could spare one!

[beowulf]

I've tried keeping clown loaches in my FW Tank.
Never managed to keep them alive.

I now have two Botia's for Snail Control.
All i find are empty shells.
You can see these guys suck the snails right out of their shell.
Good Snail Solution.
I would suggest only getting 1. They are aggressive towards each other.
If you're interested maybe i could spare one!

Botia is just a form of loach it I remember correctly, the scientific name.  For example Botia almorhae is known commonly as the Yoyo loach.  So you have the bottine loaches, the pangios, etc.


And while some species like the skunk loach can be aggressive, they should still be kept in groups with the proper cover for them to hide in. The zebra loach (botia striata), is a good snail eater that remains on the smaller side (3-4 inches) but like I said must be kept in groups of 5-6.  So using loaches as snail removing solution is not always the best thing.

[Kats]

So using loaches as snail removing solution is not always the best thing.

We definitely don't want to get more than one or 2 so I guess loaches are out of the question...  would you recommend something else?  Right now I have my arms into the tank almost everyday and picking the pond snails out by the dozens each day and it seems I still can't keep up.  I like snails but I'd like to have some sort of crowd control (or birth control...  )
Any suggestions?

PS:  Someone should tell the guys at BA that botia and loaches are the same, we were told that they were out of loaches but we could get a botia instead   

[twisty]

I forgot to mention the type of Loach.
The ones i was refering to are skunk loaches.
Very aggressive toward each other!

And while some species like the skunk loach can be aggressive,

[beowulf]

A popular way is to put a piece of lettuce in at night and the next morning before the lights come on it will be full of snails.  Also don't chuck those snails as I am sure some loach or puffer people around here wil take them off your hands.

[Kats]

A popular way is to put a piece of lettuce in at night and the next morning before the lights come on it will be full of snails.  Also don't chuck those snails as I am sure some loach or puffer people around here wil take them off your hands.

Wow....  snail harvesting!!  Great idea!

Should I put up an ad in the classified section for free snails?  Is that how it's normally done?

[babblefish1960]

Yes!   Just not the Malaysian trumpet snails, we love those ones.

[zapisto]

Wow....  snail harvesting!!  Great idea!

Should I put up an ad in the classified section for free snails?  Is that how it's normally done?

Yes
and some loaches will snack on you shrimp

[Kats]

Yes!   Just not the Malaysian trumpet snails, we love those ones.

Noooo not my MTS, I adore those, they are not reproducing as fast as the pond snails (or if they are they are good at hiding!!!!)

Thanks!  I'll start snail harvesting tonight!!