so, i have one apple (mystery) snail and plan on getting a few more soon. if they, by any chance, have babies, will my corys potentially eat them? i know they are omnivores but i don't know how inclined they are to actually hunt baby snails. will my 4 corys take care of a surprise snail infestation, or would i have to recruit the help of a loach?

on a slightly related note, would loaches (hopefully dojos) and corys be fine together if i put the loaches in with the corys?

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29g planted, Eheim 2215 canister, Top Fin 150w heater.

Albino Cory x 4, Guppy x 8, Oto x 3, Bolivian Ram x 2

Cories won't bother snails. Also it would depend on size of tank if you want loaches. Dojo's aren't the best snail eaters around.

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yeah, the snail was found this afternoon when my mom came home from work and saw him. He probably had buried himself under the gravel.

Also, what loaches are better snail hunters, clowns?

p.s. i have a 29g tank.

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29g planted, Eheim 2215 canister, Top Fin 150w heater.

Albino Cory x 4, Guppy x 8, Oto x 3, Bolivian Ram x 2

I had a snail infestation before with corys... tiny snails, and the corys did nothing. My larger tank had a pair of juvenile clown loaches, though, and ate them up and their eggs within a week.

Although for a 29 gallon tank, I wouldn't recommend the clown loaches. They love to be in large groups (just like corys), and really need the group to determine a hierarchy. Plus they grow to be MASSIVE! It takes them a while to grow to large sizes, but they will eventually outgrow your tank. If you know someone that has a large enough tank and is willing to care for them though, you can get them as juvies to clean up the snail problem, and them give them away to the more suitable caretaker.

I'm sure someone else will chime in with any other potentially great snail killers. I would guess that something smaller but related, like a kuhli loach would be just as effective, but I'm just guessing.

Edit: Depending on the size of the snail that you want to keep vs. keeping an infestation in check, I don't know if loaches would leave the ones you want to keep alone. If the snail is significantly larger than the loach, it shouldn't be a problem to the adult snails that you want. The snails my loaches were eating were definitely bite-sized.

Edit #2: In the brief time they shared the same tank, my loaches and corys got along fine (my personal experience may be unique). The loaches in general seem really peaceful, but then again, they were just babies... maybe 2.5" long at the time. I believe loaches that stay small, I go back to the kuhli loach, are very docile... take that with a grain of salt, since I never mixed a kuhli loach with a cory.

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Fish can be cute. Just watch a bunch of happy corys in the same tank together. They're like little zoidbergs, but without the awkwardness or ineptitude... well maybe a little awkwardness and ineptitude.

You can catch unwanted snails by dropping in a piece of zucchini over night. The snails will nom on it, then you take it out (with the snails on it) in the morning.

I wouldn't recommend getting a fish to specifically take care of snails. Most get too big, then when their job is done.... what do you feed them?

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Maybe a bit off topic... but just to demonstrate the size clown loaches get to, I found this video. There's some tetras in there that you really get to see maybe 3/4 of the way in. Plus you can compare it to the size of a cucumber slice.

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Fish can be cute. Just watch a bunch of happy corys in the same tank together. They're like little zoidbergs, but without the awkwardness or ineptitude... well maybe a little awkwardness and ineptitude.

This also works with lettuce leaves. Run the leaf under hot water and put it in the bottom of the tank at night. It should be full of snails in the morning.