loaches and snails don't mix. loaches will eat snails. and even if the snail is large, the loach will chip away at their shell to get at the meat. they can chip away at rock and shells by "popping" their jaws. if you hear popping and clicking noises coming from your tank, check on your snails.

i have a 150 gal and my clowns decimated my batch of snail breeders.

look here for lots of info on loaches: The Loach Almanac — Loaches Online

good luck and keep us updated!

 

my ghost knifes were the same. i have a brackish tank, so i can have certain salt water fish. i had a starfish and the ghost knifes killed it within a couple of days.

also, i had a clown loach at one time and the sharks killed it... for a fish to last in my tank, he's pretty much gotta be a badass. lol.

 

Right now, my snails are huge, and my loaches are tiny, especially the yoyos. They're itty bitty. If it gets to be a problem, I'll move the snails.

Discus are warm water fish. 80-85 degrees. Spent $90 on heaters today.

Discus are going in there with the fish I already have..2 clown loaches, 2 yoyo loaches, 4 neon tetras, 4 glolite tetras, 6 painted tetras, 4 bloodfin tetras, 2 dwarf gouramis. The dwarfs are the only peaceful gouramis.

 

And all of those fish are good with about 80 degree water, 6.5 ph, and they shouldn't eat my plants or attack each other.

 

sounds like you've done your homework on this. good luck and have fun with it. i sit and watch my fish tank like it's tv sometimes.

 

Me too. My clown loaches are funny to watch, and sometimes one will pair off with a yoyo and it looks like they're playing tag! And my fruit/painted tetras kind of school a little, so there is always a cluster of color somewhere.

I like to glance over and see where the snail has moved to. One is usually hidden, and the other is more mobile..I like to watch him.

 

Anybody know if big snails sold in pet stores are okay for koi ponds?

 

pearl gouramis are peaceful gouramis and beautiful to boot.

 

Ohhh..I forgot about them. Thank you! Wish I had read this before I went to the store today. Oh well.

I added:

2 more clown loaches
1 spiny pleco (getting rid of the 2 snails)
2 german blue rams
2 false bandit cory cats

Here's a pic of what the cats look like (from the net, not my actual fish)



German Blue Rams:



I'll have to take a pic of the actual pleco. I can't find a pic of a "spiny pleco" that looks like him.

 

needs more south african feather fin catfish.