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Hello all, do snails eat or damage the pleco eggs? Or how do you guys keep the pleco caves?

This thread: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=42862&start=120 suggests that some snail species actually help cory eggs hatch. (Note: some. Assassin snails are probably egg-eaters, for instance.)

I don't have any direct evidence about pleco eggs, but there's a start.

Actually, Assasin snails are the only snail I know are safe with pleco eggs...

Jools

Jools wrote: ↑21 May 2019, 23:26 Actually, Assasin snails are the only snail I know are safe with pleco eggs...

Jools

I disagree, I have lost at least most of a couple batches of eggs do to assassin snails finding them when they got kicked before I found them. I also seen them eat cory eggs..... I have been removing assassin snails from my tanks because of this.

Take care,
Chuck

I also believe my assassins will eat pleco eggs. I will keep them in my growout tanks but have removed them all from the breeder tanks. For what it is worth, I was advised to do this by Rachel of msjinkzd.com.

As an aside, amano shrimp will eat small fry and other small nano fish. I had a pair of breeding bn in a 10 or 15 gal tank with plants and amanos. I would see a ton of new fry and then a few days later there were almost none. I know the parents did not eat them.

Thank you guys for the answers

Bred 8 Hypancistrus spp., 2 Panaqolus spp., 3 Ancistrus spp. Psuedohemiodon, Loricaria and actually a couple of woodcats in tanks with them. It was Harvard Stoere that put me on to the combo of these and cherry shrimp in small pleco breeding set-ups. They are really good at eating food wedged in places you find in high-current tanks.

Can't say they wouldn't eat eggs lose in the tank, I've no experience of that. But safe with caves and with lipbrooders IMHO.

Jools

I use common trumpet snails in my tanks. Also when hatching eggs in fry rings I add a few trumpet snails to keep the surface clean. They do not harm live eggs but will eat dead or fungused eggs.