Will Kuhli Loaches Eat Malaysian Trumpet Snails?

Last Updated on February 1, 2022 by cmoarz

Have a Malaysian Trumpet Snail infestation and looking for a way to clear it up? Or maybe you want to introduce them into your loach tank. It’s important to know in both cases if Kuhli loaches eat Malaysian trumpet snails, so this article will try to give you a good explanation.

Will Kuhli Loaches Eat Malaysian Trumpet Snails?

For the most part, Loaches won’t eat any types of snails. They aren’t interested in them and don’t see them as food. However, there are a few different loach species that will eat snails if they get a chance.

Kuhli Loaches (Pangio kuhlii) will sometimes eat Malaysian trumpet snails but it’s not often. They may pick at them from time to time, but they are not a significant part of their diet.

With that said, If you are just looking to get rid of your snail infestation, Kuhli loaches won’t eat them very fast or efficiently enough.

They simply don’t hunt and kill snails as much other snail-eating fish do. They may pick at them, but they will never take down a full snail.

There are better options to deal with infestations such as assassin snails. Assassin snails will make very quick work of any infestations.

Just bear in mind, eventually, they will exhaust their food supply and starve. So you will need to add a continuous food supply for them in the form of additional snails.

The assassins themselves won’t breed in most tank conditions and won’t overpopulate the tank.

If you’re just looking to see if Kuhli loaches can live with Malaysian Trumpet Snails, the answer is yes they can live together, and the loaches won’t touch the snails.

There should be zero compatibility issues, even with accidental snail-eating loaches, they won’t bother them.

What Else Eats Malaysian Trumpet Snails?

Specific loaches such as clown, skunk, and yoyo loaches are known to eat Malaysian trumpet snails.

Pea puffers are also a good choice, they will eat them very fast. They are known to be snail-eating fish for sure.

Pufferfish (of almost every species) will also quickly clean up snails if you have them among your tank inhabitants.

Not all tanks can support the high maintenance needs of a pea puffer, however, So be sure you do enough research on whether or not they will work in your tank before you decide.