Do Yoyo Loaches Eat Snails? (Explained!)

Will Yoyo loaches eat snails? There are two situations whenever you are thinking about this question.

First, some of you wonder whether the Yoyo snails are capable enough to control the snails in your aquarium. While other aquarists are concerned if the Yoyo snails will eat away their lovely snails.

In this guide, I will answer your questions about the topic and give you a helpful guide. So continue reading till the end, and let’s jump in!

Do Yoyo Loaches Eat Snails?

Yoyo loaches eat snails and are considered good snail-eating fish. They generally dwell in the bottom of the tank, searching for food, and can consume the snails, including the small pest snails present in the tank.

Snails can come into your fish tank in a variety of ways. Maybe the snail eggs also entered your tank while you bought one of the fish from the pet store. Snails or snail eggs could have also come along with the live plants that you purchased from the pet store.

Usually, snails are entirely harmless, and sometimes they can be beneficial. They normally feed on the decaying vegetation and other detritus in your aquarium. There are fish keepers who purchase snails like the apple snails to keep a check on the build-up of organic waste in the aquarium.

However, with that being said, as their numbers would increase in your tank, you will soon realize their drawbacks. Remember that once the existing algae detritus in the aquarium is consumed, the snails can start feeding on the fish tank plants. 

Moreover, from an aesthetic point of view, they don’t look appealing in the tank. I mean, just imagine. Would you like to wake up the following day and see lots of snails creeping and crawling around your aquarium!

Furthermore, these snails may also enter into equipment like a fish tank filter and cause it to malfunction. So because of all these reasons, it becomes essential to control the amount of snail infestation in your aquarium.

Now, in terms of controlling the snail population in your tank, you could look towards the chemical option. However, they also have a drawback: they can also kill some of the beneficial microorganisms in your tank. 

So one of the best options is to introduce the algae-eating fish in your tank. And luckily, the Yoyo loaches are well-known for this task! So if you already have them in your tank and are unsure whether they can kill the pest snails in your tank, relax! You have made the right decision.

Want to see how a Yoyo Loach eats a snail? Watch this video in which an aquarium pond snail gets eaten by a Yoyo Loach:

Do Yoyo Loaches Always Eat Snails?

Usually, most of the time, Yoyo loaches will eat snails. However, if you find that your Yoyo snails are ignoring the snails, try to wait and give them a little while to settle and figure out the snails.

When it comes to snail-eating fish, you will most often find mention of Yoyo loaches. And it is there for a reason. They do eat the snails in most cases.

But sometimes, you might find them just simply ignoring the snails. And it is okay if you have just bought them and introduced them to the tank. 

They might need a few more days, weeks, or a month or so to settle in the tank environment before starting their action. But, once they can figure it out, it won’t be much longer when you would discover the empty shells in your tank!

And if you are worried, you might try out the general recommendation of feeding the Yoyo loaches less or skipping the meals. (So that they might become more interested in other food sources like snails and eventually start eating the snails)

But there is a caveat, though! Skipping the pellets might encourage your Yoyo loaches to eat more snails. However, it is essential to note that snails are only part of their diet. And they will still require nutrition. 

So if your Yoyo loach is not eating the snails, then probably waiting for some time would be the best option. 

Allow them to discover the snails and eat them on their own!

Do Yoyo Loaches Eat Mystery Snails?

If you love your mystery snails, nothing can be more disheartening for you than to wake up one morning and look at empty shells.

Will Yoyo loaches eat mystery snails? Yoyo loaches are known to eat snails and can even eat mystery snails. Yoyo loaches can search for snails in the tank and suck them right from their shells.

If the mystery snails are relatively bigger in size and the Yoyo loaches are smaller, they might do well for some time.

But overall, this is a risky combination because of the snail-eating nature of Yoyo loaches.

In short, the best recommendation is to avoid the Yoyo loach and Mystery snail combination. After all, Yoyo loaches are good snail eaters. 

So even though you might have got a baby yoyo loach, that doesn’t seem to show interest towards the mystery snail. But remember, ultimately, it might get interested and start poking its mouth around the mystery snail’s shell.

Do Yoyo Loaches Eat Big Snails?

As a general rule, Yoyo loaches will eat big snails as well. They are snail-eating fish, and eventually, they will figure out how to eat the big snail. 

And even if let’s suppose they can’t eat the big snail, maybe because of the big size. They will still try to harass, and pick on the snail, once they get triggered by their snail-eating instincts.

Do Yoyo Loaches Eat Any Type of Snails?

In general, Yoyo loaches will eat almost any type of snail sooner or later. They are a known snail-eating fish, and it is only a matter of time before they would figure out how to suck the snail out of its shell regardless of its size in most cases.

Do note that there may be exceptions, and you might succeed in building the yoyo loaches’ compatibility with the snails. But the general recommendation is to avoid this Yoyo loach and snail combination for the safety of the snails.

Snail Type:	Description:	Yoyo Loach Reaction: (Do they eat?)
Mystery Snail	A type of apple snail that lives 3-4 years and grows to a little over 1½ inches in diameter	Yes
Nerite Snail	A great algae-eating snail that is very popular for unique patterns and colors, along with its practical benefits. Their typical size is about 1 inch in diameter.	Yes
Malaysian Trumpet Snail (MTS)	These snails are unwanted, annoying pests that can quickly reproduce. These are relatively smaller snail species that generally grow to a maximum size of around 1 inch.	Yes
Assassin Snails	These snails have become popular because they eat other snails and thus help in decreasing nuisance snail populations. These snails can grow about 1 inch in length and are carnivores in nature.	Yes

Read: Assassin Snails: What And How Do They Kill? (A Complete Guide!)

Final Thoughts – Can Yoyo Loaches Live With Snails?

The short answer is that Yoyo loaches are not a good tank mate to live with snails. Keeping Yoyo loaches with snails is like keeping the snail with a fish known to eat them.

Overall, keeping the Yoyo loaches with snails is a riskier combination that you should avoid unless you want to let the Yoyo loaches ultimately eat the snails.

That’s it! I hope you have got a clear idea of keeping Yoyo loaches with snails. Please share this article with others if you found it helpful.

And don’t forget to check out my YouTube channel, eFishkeeping, if you are interested in my content. Happy fishkeeping!

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