Will my Golden Zebra Loaches eat a Mystery Snail?

[Hannah Parker]

Hi everyone,

I was shopping for a mystery snail to go with my goldfish, and I really wanted one for community tank as well. However, I have a pair of golden zebra loaches in my community tank. Do you think they would eat something as big as a mystery snail? Does anyone have experience successfully keeping the two species together/ Thank you in advance! 💙🐌

[Keeg]

I am willing to bet that the loach will at least try to eat the snail. Every fish is different but with loaches going after snails as regular food, I would not doubt the loach would see the mystery snail as a larger snack. 

[Hannah Parker]

On 4/13/2022 at 2:47 PM, Keeg said:

I am willing to bet that the loach will at least try to eat the snail. Every fish is different but with loaches going after snails as regular food, I would not doubt the loach would see the mystery snail as a larger snack. 

Oh well 😂 I suspected as much. Breaking news from another thread though, we're pretty sure they're actually yoyo loaches!! They did leave a rabbit snail alone for a long time that I had, maybe I'd try that again. 

[Brandon p]

If it can catch it with its trap door open. Even if the snail is huge

Edited April 13, 2022 by Brandon p

[JackH]

On 4/13/2022 at 2:50 PM, hannah662parker said:

Oh well 😂 I suspected as much. Breaking news from another thread though, we're pretty sure they're actually yoyo loaches!! They did leave a rabbit snail alone for a long time that I had, maybe I'd try that again. 

Lol, they definitely look like yoyo loaches, if they left they rabbit snail alone then it could work with the mystery snails, but I guess it 50/50.

[AndEEss]

My 5" yoyos have left baby (pinky fingernail sized) Japanese Trapdoors alone. A couple dozen have survived into young adulthood.

They only go after pond snails that I farm in my quarantine tank as food for them. As I said in your other thread, there is a pond snail graveyard of bleached out shells at one end of my tank. 

Edited April 18, 2022 by AndEEss

[anewbie]

Eventually it will try; also they should be kept in a group of at least 5 and 10 is better. 

[Brandon p]

They will most likely eat the mystery snails at some point. My losck scan live with them for months and one day just shells. The cave where they like to hang out at has not visible substrate just snail shells. Mostly ramshorns snails, when I start to get to many i toss some in just for the loaches

[AndEEss]

Maybe I should start breeding rams horns…

[Brandon p]

If you do be careful not to mix tents or tools from that tank. I have quite a few in my shrimp tank along with 8 neons and and albinio blue eye pleco. 

[Hannah Parker]

On 4/18/2022 at 12:43 PM, anewbie said:

Eventually it will try; also they should be kept in a group of at least 5 and 10 is better. 

I recently learned this, thank you! I was misinformed when I bought them and was told they would stay small and do fine solo 🙃 last year I actually bought this 33gallon long just for them since they got so big. Right now I have quite a mismatch of community fish in it from breaking down other tanks and combining communities, but I'm hoping as I don't replace and let fish continue to naturally die off someday I can introduce 2 more loaches with them 🙂 They play together and zoom around so much, I know they would love more loaches to play with.