Loricariidae eating nerite snail eggs?

[Lee A.]

Does anyone know whether or not Loricariidae will eat nerite snail eggs? I keep about a dozen or so nerites and they've begun laying tiny eggs on my driftwood. They are there for a while, then appear to be in a different position. I know the eggs aren't moving, so I'm wondering if my plecs are eating them and then new eggs are laid in different places. I've been watching, but I can't catch them at it.

[corybreed]

Lee,

I am surprised you are getting Nerite eggs. I thought they only breed in salt or brackish water.

Mark

[Lee A.]

Well, I was told by the lfs where I got them that in freshwater the eggs will never hatch. That seems to be true, so far. I like these little guys, they carefully clean the tank and plants. But I'm puzzled about those eggs and whether or not my plecs are munching them.

[apistomaster]

My buddy has a bunch of Nerite snails which lay a lot of egg masses.
I doubt if many Loricariidids eat them with much relish but once they hatch the jelly decomposes quickly and of course the newly hatched snail larvae fail to survive. It is amazing how well the adults do in fresh water but then again, maybe they are much like Amano Shrimp which breed but their larvae do not survive in fresh water? That being said, I swear I have had one or two Amano shrimp survive from many hundreds of larvae which did not. I have had a couple appear sometime long after I only had two or three adults over the years.

[Jools]

I've bred a bunch of different snails and plecos don't eat the eggs.

Jools