# Do Cory cats and oto's eat snail?



## Dempsey (Oct 27, 2009)

Hello All,

My snail count was getting pretty high for a while in my 29g. I have one Albino Cory and 4 Oto's that have been in there from the start. The cory has been getting bigger and the snail population has droped from 100+ to just a few. The odd thing is, I don't see many empty shells in the tank. That Cory is always busy, though I never seen him eat any snalls. Can one Cory eat that many snails? Shells and all?

Any ideas?

Thank you,


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## zzyzx85 (Feb 13, 2008)

It's possible. I've read reports of corys eating snails, though I've never seen them do it personally, especially out of the shell. Most fish love crushed snails.


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## Dempsey (Oct 27, 2009)

Hmmm..... The only other fish I have in that tank are 8 Neon Tetras and 4 Rummynose. I never see them looking for anything other then flakes at the surface or "matter" floating around the tank. I just assumed it's the Cory. He is growing fast but I have yet to actually see him eat one.....


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## Dempsey (Oct 27, 2009)

Whoops, sorry. I also have one Threadfin rainbow fish(male) in there.


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## Lnb (Apr 15, 2008)

Dempsey said:


> Hello All,
> 
> My snail count was getting pretty high for a while in my 29g. I have one Albino Cory and 4 Oto's that have been in there from the start. The cory has been getting bigger and the snail population has droped from 100+ to just a few. The odd thing is, I don't see many empty shells in the tank. That Cory is always busy, though I never seen him eat any snalls. Can one Cory eat that many snails? Shells and all?
> 
> ...


Neither, Corys and Otos do not eat snails. 

What kind of snails?? If they're MTS .... they're probably burrowed deep in the substrate.


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## Dempsey (Oct 27, 2009)

You know, I'm not sure what kind of snails.... Some just came with the plants that I got from the LFS and some came from a local pond. I will look them up to see what I have/had...


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## Dempsey (Oct 27, 2009)

Pond snails and Ramshorn Snails. Do they also burrow?


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## rasetsu (Oct 11, 2007)

No, they don't. What's probably happening is that your new additions are causing enough disturbance in the tank to keep the snails in hiding.


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## Ariel301 (Sep 7, 2009)

I've noticed my snail populations go through cycles where they will build up until there are a ton of them, and then decline and nearly disappear before building back up. I do find some empty shells, but I don't know if they are being eaten or dying of other causes. It's possible yours are being eaten. I wouldn't complain lol. 

You should get a friend or two for that threadfin. They're much more interesting in groups, especially if you throw a couple of females in the mix.


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## Dempsey (Oct 27, 2009)

Thanks for the replies! Believe it or not, even when the snails were big in population, they didn't bother me. Just out of dumb luck I guess, they were never on the front of the glass and never harmed anything.

I was going to get a female Theadfin but my buddy convinced me not to. He said that allot of males (in his experience) chase the females around so much that they get stressed out, can't eat and die. He chases my Rummy Nose Tetras around all day long, flaring his fins but they don't seem to mind at all. He seems happy also. They look so delicate! He is healthy as a mull though!


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## Ariel301 (Sep 7, 2009)

If you are going to keep threadfins with females, it's just like livebearers or african cichlids--best to keep a trio of one male for two females. Threadfins do best in schools, I think. But if they are alone, they will school with a different species...I used to have an Australian rainbow female who lost her mate when he jumped out of the tank and died, and she took up with a widowed sailfin molly. The two were best friends until they both died on the same day.


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## Dempsey (Oct 27, 2009)

I didn't know that. I will have to get two females. That would be neat to see 3 "schools " of fish. The threadfins(even the females) aren't bad looking fish.


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