Question on killfish and gourami's

[butterbean]

Hi I have two questions 1. do dwarf gourami eat snails? 2. Can you put a killfish that eats snails with angles, harlequin & pepper cory's?

[KevinVA]

Killifish are interesting. Most of what you read online will tell you that they're "peaceful community" fish, but don't let that fool you. They're opportunistic feeders. They'll eat anything that they can fit into their mouths. I've read that they will eat snails, but the three that I have haven't touched one... not even when they're floating at the top of the water (which snails do every now and then).

I tried adding Red Cherry Shrimp to my tank and they were gone within 1-2min. My Golden Wonder Killies saw them as a snack. Anytime that I rearrange or trim plants, the Killies will literally peck at my arm until I remove it. Even if you try to keep them away from something you don't want them to get, they'll persist... I tried moving them away by scaring them with my fingers... they just laughed at my fingers, waited until I was playing in the water or just went to the back of the tank and worked their way around.

They're smart and opportunistic little monsters. I love 'em!

Any fish that's larger in height should be fine - it's the slender, short ones you have to look out for. For instance, neons, guppies, white cloud minnows, cherry barbs will all end up as food for them.

So, your cories and angels should be good. Not sure how tall the harlequins get, though. If they're about as tall as a Serpae tetra, they'll be fine.

Dwarf Gouramis can eat snails, yes, but they're not very good at hunting them. They'll probably have to be small pond snails, too.

[butterbean]

Thanks for the information I had read that the killfish were peaceful so your info was very helpful. I think I'll just keep everything the way it is for now. The killfish sound like a interesting fish just not in my tank all my fish are baby's except for one 3 year old cory.

[madagascariensis]

Both Fish eat Very small snails or crushed snails but none of both have the ability to actually crush snail shells, their mouths being adapted to eat other foods.