# CBS and zebra loaches



## demosthenes (Aug 23, 2008)

*are zebra loaches shrimp-safe?* I'm getting a bunch of Crystal Black Shrimp in a few days, and i'm putting them in a tank with cardinal tetras, boraras brigittae, and a zebra loach, and i just realized that that might not be the best idea. I'd really like to be successful in keeping and breeding the CBS, because i've never had too much luck with shrimp before, so I don't want my loach eating all of my new friends... on the other hand, I dont want the snail population getting way out of control, too. What should i do?


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## N1CK (Oct 3, 2009)

well my loaches go crazy for homemade food with mostly prawn in it..... lol


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## Ravenmoon (Nov 18, 2009)

Yeah, putting shrimp in with loaches is a very bad idea...they tear apart food I put in for them so I can only imagine what would happen with live shrimp.


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## Nue (Dec 27, 2009)

My Neon Tetra's eat shrimp, im sure your cardinals will. CRS babies will have no chance


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## demosthenes (Aug 23, 2008)

alright i'll take out those fish then. thanks guys! but then how should i control snails? i'm guessing i need to invest in some assassin snails?


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## Nue (Dec 27, 2009)

Don't over feed, and remove them on sight. They will die off if they don't have enough food. But i love my snails, i try to get them, but my assassins eat them to fast.


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## Erloas (Dec 14, 2009)

I would say your best bet is to just pick up a 10g aquarium and keep the shrimp in there. If you are actually wanting to breed the shrimp you will probably need a dedicated tank for them since most things will eat dwarf shrimp and virtually everything will eat their babies.

So long as you don't pull anything over from your primary tank you shouldn't have to worry about getting snails in the shrimp tank.
A quick look at aquabid and you could probably buy a 10g setup for what a few assassin snails will cost... well not quite but its not far off. Also not sure where you would be moving your loach to.


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## Nue (Dec 27, 2009)

Assassin snails are only about 3$ a piece, plus shipping if you cant find them local. But if he buys a 10g tank for the CRS, they will probably die off with out the tank being cycled, since they are very sensitive shrimp. Unless its a planted tank, then you are ok.


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## Erloas (Dec 14, 2009)

Well looking at aquabid it seemed like most people wanted $30 to get 3-5 of the assassin snails shipped and that is the what a 10g would cost to start.

It might be possible to keep the shrimp in a seperated area or breeding box until the 10g can get cycled. It really shouldn't take much bacteria growth to support some shrimp, they aren't going to be generating a lot of waste.

The question I have is what is going to happen to the loach, because its not just going to disappear if he gets the assassin snails. And the tetras are going to be an issue too, especially for breeding the shrimp. Rather then get rid of 2/3s of the fish it would seem like a second tank for the shrimp would be more practical.


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## bigshrimpin (Apr 2, 2009)

In my experience, assassin snails only go for the larger snails like MTS and do not touch little pond snails. The only way I got rid of my pond snails is by using an air hose and ciphering them out one at a time. This took several days to make sure I got all of them but it worked. This was only a 10 gallon tank and it was still a lot of work. The great thing about using an air hose is that you have constant suction and can remove a lot of snails without loosing a lot of water. When I tried assassin snails, they must have been very hungry because they ate a few of my live cherry shrimp. I know that there has been controversy over assassin snails eating live, faster moving shrimp but I have seen it with my own eyes. Others have experienced the same behavior as well. I just wanted to share my experience with assassin snails in shrimp tanks.


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## Nue (Dec 27, 2009)

I have never ever seen a Assassin take out a shrimp, I know about the controversy but they have no interest in live shrimp, dead shrimp is another story. I have seen them wipe out pond snails as small as be-be, with the assassin full grown. Took him about 30 seconds to clean it out, so its just possible you are not seeing them eat small snails because it happens so fast. Aquabid is not a good source for assassins, people on boards like these are.


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## demosthenes (Aug 23, 2008)

Erloas said:


> The question I have is what is going to happen to the loach, because its not just going to disappear if he gets the assassin snails. And the tetras are going to be an issue too, especially for breeding the shrimp. Rather then get rid of 2/3s of the fish it would seem like a second tank for the shrimp would be more practical.


In my signature, I have listed a 46g tank and a 10g tank. the shrimp are going into my 10g tank, and the loach would go into my 46g tank, along with my cardinal tetras. i'm sure the boraras will knock out a few of the baby shrimp, but i doubt they'll get all of them. i have some moss that i'm planning on putting in there anyway, so the babies will have plenty of places to hide. Also, my electricity bill is already too high to have the tanks that i have... i definitely couldnt start a new one! lol. plus, i KNOW that if i started a new tank, it would end up needing CO2, and a nice fancy light, and all that jazz.

i couldnt possibly buy a new 10g unless i put hundreds of dollars into it... and if i keep dreaming, it'll end up with corals in it, and i do NOT have the budget for that :flick:...


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## tetraphonic (Feb 7, 2010)

I wanted to know about the zebra loach, too. I researched and found that someone had zebra loaches that did not harm his shrimp in a planted, community tank.

I have a 55g heavily planted, low tech tank, no CO2, that was absolutely gorgeous until just a few days ago... these snails are ravaging my plants!

My inhabitants are 7 H.Rasboras, 12 Glowlight Tetras, 3 Ottos and 12+ red cherry shrimps (my first with shrimps). 
I have 4 other tanks, some with apple snails, that have never hurt my plants, so this is a new and unpleasant experience.

I have to find some tank mates that won't hurt the shrimp in order to get rid of these pond snails as they are decimating my plants at an alarming rate.

Thank you in advance for any advice.


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