# Do corys eat snails?



## kwc1974 (Jan 4, 2006)

I was thinking of geting a small goup of cory for my tank and I was worried about the snails that I have in the tank.


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## bharada (Apr 17, 2004)

Not unless you crush the snails first.


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## joephys (May 9, 2006)

Never seen nor heard of it, unless as mentioned, they are crushed first.


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## erijnal (Apr 5, 2006)

i think the cories will eat snail eggs though... i'm not sure but i was busy crushing snails to try and get rid of them in my ten gallon, and after i added my cories i noticed a definite decrease in snails... i'd even go so far as to say i don't think i have any snails left


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

I have Cory's and snails in most of my tanks with no problems. 
I've even had a ton of Nerite eggs in the tank, and they never touch them either.
On the flip side of the coin, the snails devour Cory eggs in no time flat...


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

I echo JanS's comments.


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## jeff63851 (Feb 23, 2005)

I kept about 5 corrydoras in a tank with like a million snails and they always leave the snails alone. 

I think the reason that your snail population is decreasing is compaction. Since you introduced corydoras into your tank, the corydoras is probably competing over food thus forcing the snail population to drop.


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## jhj (Feb 18, 2006)

You may have confused Cory's eating snails with Loaches. Loaches are the best way to control a snail population.


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## kwc1974 (Jan 4, 2006)

No confusion, just asking. I have never had corys before.
I have had loaches in the past and will never get one again.
After the snails were gone, so were any unfortunate fish that hung around the bottom too long. After the checkerboad cichlids, I stripped the tank to get the loach out of the tank.

I was a little hopeful the corys would take care of the ramhorn and MTS snails, and leave the Nerites alone. Every other fish I could think of would also bother the nerites. Any suggestions?


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

Having some snails in the tank is beneficial. If you have a snail overload, something is amiss in the tank.
Overfeeding is usually the biggest culprit, so cutting back on your feeding is a good first point to start with. 
The Cory's can actually help in that respect too because they will help pick up the extra bits of food that fall to the bottom, preventing the snail boom.

If you want to thin your population down manually, put some sort of tasty food like zuchhini or something of that nature in the tank and you'll find a big glob of snails on the food by the next morning, which can easily be lifted out.


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## rusticitas (Mar 10, 2004)

Starve some Kuhli's and they'll decimate the local snail population! I have a small tank with several Kuhli's and there is a literal "boneyard" of snail shells on the substrate. (I'd thought they Kuhli's had died and left the tank alone for a few months meaning to pull the plants... apparently they just got VERY good at hiding!)


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## kwc1974 (Jan 4, 2006)

Kuhlis are still loaches, are they not?


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

Yes, kuhli's are loaches, although they have different habits than many of the others. I really like them because they are not as boisterous as other loaches, but are still nice to have in the tank.
They will eat some of the snails, but not wipe them out.
I certainly can't agree with starving them on purpose. They will still eat some snails just as a part of their natural diet even if they are fed and cared for.

Yup rusticitas, they have a real talent for hiding and being hard to catch.


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## rusticitas (Mar 10, 2004)

JanS said:


> I certainly can't agree with starving them on purpose.


Wasn't trying to starve them on purpose!

I get VERY creative with my cursing ability while trying to catch them...


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

rusticitas said:


> Wasn't trying to starve them on purpose!
> 
> I get VERY creative with my cursing ability while trying to catch them...


Sorry, I know you didn't starve yours on purpose.  
I just didn't want this line


> Starve some Kuhli's and they'll decimate the local snail population!


 to sound like that was being suggested.

LOL! I've picked up a few choice words from them too.


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