Mollies + Ramshorn snails
, BR?
7/9/14
Hello,
<Hello April,>
I have read some of your FAQ and you seem very knowledgeable, therefore
I come to you with a question: I have an Aqueon 15 Column tank (roughly
15 gallons, give/take for evaporation) that easily supports 3 Mollies
(one black girl, one white girl, one Dalmatian boy).
<Hmm... wouldn't be too sure; column tanks are notoriously "poor" in
terms of stocking because of their small surface area at the top (which
means less air/water mixing at the top, so less oxygen in/CO2 out). This
is one reason columnar tanks -- despite looking lovely -- have never
caught on in the hobby. They hold much fewer fish for the volume than
you'd think, perhaps half as many. Mollies are marginal in a 15 gallon
tank at the best of times; even 20 gallons can be a bit tight. For sure
many domesticated strains are smaller than the wild ones, but Sailfins
routinely reach, what, 10 cm/4 inches, while the Shortfin Molly should
easily get to a chunky 6-7 cm/3 inches.>
My white girl is somewhat aggressive, especially around food, and my boy
is sort of...protective of both of the girls. I've noticed nurturing
behavior in him such as getting food and spitting it out at them. It's
cute.
<Indeed. But it isn't what's happening. In a nutshell, fish like Mollies
can't chew. They don't have plates either. So when they have food too
large to swallow, they will spit it out in the water, where the food
particles linger for a while before sinking. If they're quick, they can
slurp up some smaller particles, and try to swallow those. Repeat as
necessary!>
But that's not my issue. My issue is that I have a somewhat generous
population of Ramshorn snails. I got two from Wal-mart a long time ago
when I got my goldfish, and while my two progenitors have not survived,
I have several babies (roughly 15 in two different tanks, 7 in small
tank, 8 in big tank). I plan on moving my other seven over to my big
tank. I need to know if I can salinate my water for the mollies to the
'slightly brackish' level with my Ramshorns in there with them?
<Yes, but the Ramshorn snails will die off eventually, probably around
the SG 1.005 mark.>
If so, about how much? Or is it a better idea to just leave it as it is?
The water is hard to benefit the snails, but are the mollies harmed by
this?
<On the contrary, the harder the better!>
If the water needs softened, how do I do this? I have a live Java Fern
and driftwood (on which the fern is growing, and which my snails
*love*), so will these help?
<Java Ferns will tolerate SG 1.005 indefinitely.>
I do not wish to get rid of my snails, but everything I find online is
geared toward getting rid of them rather than caring for them. I hope
you can help!
<Yes: if you want the snails to survive, then a specific gravity around
1.002-1.003 will be ample, and perfect for the Mollies, which ADORE
brackish water.>
Parameters: Nitrate: 0, Nitrite: 0, PH: 7, KH: 120, GH: 180, Ammonia: 0
Thank you,
April
<Most welcome, Neale.>
Malaysian Trumpet Snails in Brackish tank
3/12/14
Hello, thanks for your time. I have a 55g, 0.015sg brackish tank
with 3 Monos, 2 Scats, a freshwater moray eel, Nerite snails, hermit
crab, and hundreds of MTS. I don't mind the MTS as far as being an
eyesore, I just wonder if they are bringing down my water quality?
<So long as they're alive and their numbers aren't insanely huge, no,
their impact is minimal.>
They keep the glass clean and I have no algae to deal with.
<Both good signs of a stable aquarium ecosystem.>
My nitrates are on the safe side but often boarding the unsafe as far as
the test strip says.
<Wise to test, and numbers are a better judge than theory when it comes
to this sort of discussion.>
Could reducing number of snails help?
<Might be worth doing, but debatable whether removing a few snails is a
justification for a total strip-down of a clearly functioning system.>
My fish are all 3-6" now so I understand water quality is harder to
maintain now due to them having grown but if removing snails will help I
would like to get rid of some.
<If you want to minimise snail populations, then for sure, it's easy
enough to do. I will sometimes strip-down tanks to do this, since it's a
lot easier to eliminate 90+% of the snails if you can remove all the
rocks and gravel. Could leave the fish in place, just siphon out the
snails, scrub the rocks under a running tap, etc., then rebuild the
tank.>
Could I raise salinity in the tank to a point that would kill them off?
<Probably won't survive in full seawater. But... thousands of dead
snails would cause real problems while they were decaying.>
Maybe get rid of other snails and hermit and get a GSP to control the
snails?
<Puffers vs. snails is an inefficient approach and not really worth
doing as such.>
I have heard GSP can't eat MTS, is that true?
<Some debate about whether they can damage their beaks doing this. Seems
unlikely, but it's supposedly happened once or twice. I've not seen many
puffers have much of a go at Melanoides spp snails, not least of all
because these snails are (a) nocturnal while puffers are day-active; and
(b) they're burrowing snails and puffers don't do much digging, at least
not in gravel.>
I suppose if they only ate the small ones that would help, if they
didn't affect snail population I suppose it would be a cool fish to have
regardless but i wouldn't want it to hurt itself on MTS snails.
<GSPs are sometimes aggressive, and as a rule, snail-eating fish
(puffers, loaches, large Synodontis, etc.) tend to cause more problems
in communities than the snails ever did.>
Any advice would be appreciated,
Toby
<Most welcome, Neale.>
Malaysian Trumpet Snails in Brackish tank
3/12/14
Hello, thanks for your time. I have a 55g, 0.015sg brackish tank
with 3 Monos, 2 Scats, a freshwater moray eel, Nerite snails, hermit
crab, and hundreds of MTS. I don't mind the MTS as far as being an
eyesore, I just wonder if they are bringing down my water quality?
<So long as they're alive and their numbers aren't insanely huge, no,
their impact is minimal.>
They keep the glass clean and I have no algae to deal with.
<Both good signs of a stable aquarium ecosystem.>
My nitrates are on the safe side but often boarding the unsafe as far as
the test strip says.
<Wise to test, and numbers are a better judge than theory when it comes
to this sort of discussion.>
Could reducing number of snails help?
<Might be worth doing, but debatable whether removing a few snails is a
justification for a total strip-down of a clearly functioning system.>
My fish are all 3-6" now so I understand water quality is harder to
maintain now due to them having grown but if removing snails will help I
would like to get rid of some.
<If you want to minimise snail populations, then for sure, it's easy
enough to do. I will sometimes strip-down tanks to do this, since it's a
lot easier to eliminate 90+% of the snails if you can remove all the
rocks and gravel. Could leave the fish in place, just siphon out the
snails, scrub the rocks under a running tap, etc., then rebuild the
tank.>
Could I raise salinity in the tank to a point that would kill them off?
<Probably won't survive in full seawater. But... thousands of dead
snails would cause real problems while they were decaying.>
Maybe get rid of other snails and hermit and get a GSP to control the
snails?
<Puffers vs. snails is an inefficient approach and not really worth
doing as such.>
I have heard GSP can't eat MTS, is that true?
<Some debate about whether they can damage their beaks doing this. Seems
unlikely, but it's supposedly happened once or twice. I've not seen many
puffers have much of a go at Melanoides spp snails, not least of all
because these snails are (a) nocturnal while puffers are day-active; and
(b) they're burrowing snails and puffers don't do much digging, at least
not in gravel.>
I suppose if they only ate the small ones that would help, if they
didn't affect snail population I suppose it would be a cool fish to have
regardless but i wouldn't want it to hurt itself on MTS snails.
<GSPs are sometimes aggressive, and as a rule, snail-eating fish
(puffers, loaches, large Synodontis, etc.) tend to cause more problems
in communities than the snails ever did.>
Any advice would be appreciated,
Toby
<Most welcome, Neale.>
Apple Snail Question; sys., comp. w/
Figure Eight Puffers 1/11/12
Hi WWM team
<Hello Erin,>
I picked up 2 apple snails today and I was wondering if it is
possible to keep them in my brackish tank with my figure 8 puffers.
<No. Any salinity high enough to keep your Figure-8s happy will
quickly kill Apple snails.>
I understand that they have a trap door which will inhibit the puffers
from eating it and they're quite big, so the puffers probably
won't be able to get their little mouths around it.
<Ah, by no means! The Puffers will eat the snail one bite at a time,
starting with its tentacles. Apple Snails do badly with almost all fish
except perhaps uber-peaceful species like Corydoras. Even Neons nip
these poor snails!>
My salinity is roughly 0.004, no lower than 0.003 and no higher than
0.005.
Can the apple snail survive in that level of brackish?
<Nope.>
Will my puffers manage to eat it ?
<Yes.>
Thanks a ton
Erin
<Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Apple Snail Question 1/11/12
Hi Neale
<Erin,>
Thanks for quick response...I see I made a typo error, my brackish tank
isn't 0.004...it's 1.004. Silly me.
<Indeed. But understood what you meant!>
Anyway, I forgot to ask another question about the apple snail. I
read online that they may even eat other snails.
<Seems improbable, but I'm sure they scavenge and will eat a
dead/dying snail.>
I have them with my red ramshorns which are laying eggs like it's
going out of fashion and I don't want the apple snails to now
devour all my other baby snails I'm breeding as food for my
puffs. Would it be advisable to get rid of them all together and
stick to the ramshorns?
<I honestly can't imagine Apple snails would make much
difference. They are very much herbivores, and mine were very keen on
lettuce leaves.>
Also, I had a situation where I decided to add a couple of mollies to
the brackish tank with my f8's. I came home one day to find
one floating with it's head and fins chomped off and I swear all
the puffs had a guilty look on their faces.
<Indeed. Figure-8s are extremely variable. Some specimens are
entirely placid, others just occasionally nippy. But a few, as
you've seen, can be very aggressive and nasty. That's pretty
much Puffers across the board.>
Today, at the petstore, I was told by a very experienced fish keeper
that if I want to add any other fish with f8's, I should remove the
puffers, rearrange the tank, put the new fish in first and then add the
puffers afterwards, to give them the idea that they are new and
it's not their territory that a new fish has entered.
<That is one approach that works with territorial fish.>
Do you think this will work?
<Might. But absolutely no guarantees, and you need to have a Plan B
for rehoming the Puffer or the new fish if the two don't get
along.>
Or will the f8's just chomp anything?
<Potentially anything that looks edible and doesn't eat the
Puffer first.>
I did however take one of the more aggressive f8's back to the pet
store today, unfortunately. I was told to remove one as I have a
29 gallon tank and I should only have 2 f8's in that size.
<Possibly, or else a group of 5 in a slightly bigger tank, so that
none of them take ownership. Overcrowding brings its own problems
though.>
Thanks in advance.
Erin
<Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Apple Snail Question 1/12/12
Sorry bout this Neale
<Erin,>
How long should I keep the puffers out the big tank to try the approach
I mentioned previously?
A few hours, a day, a week?
<If using the "remove and rearrange" approach, taking the
fish out for an hour or two should be ample.>
I think this will be the last msg from me for a while now.
Keep well, and happy new year.
Erin
<Glad to help and good luck. Cheers, Neale.>
Brackish snails 10/18/11
Hello,
I ask this only because I haven't been able to find any definite
answers. I have algae growing on the sides of my tank. I am under the
impression that snails are excellent for keeping algae down and eat
some of it. Are there any brackish snails that would be good at helping
keeping algae down on my glass? Important to note, I have an eel in the
tank, and I'm afraid he might eat the snails, is this something I
should be concerned about? If there aren't any snails I can get,
what other suggestions can you provide to keep algae down? (would
plants help? etc.) Thanks for your time!
<Yes, there are numerous Nerite snails that would do the trick
nicely. The plain vanilla freshwater ones like Neritina natalensis will
tolerate slightly brackish water conditions, to SG 1.003 at 25 C/77 F.
The true
brackish water species include some sold as freshwater snails,
including the "spiny Nerites" Clithon corona and Clithon
sowerbyana. These should do well up to SG 1.010 at 25 C. Finally, there
are marine snail species that tolerate brackish water, so anything from
SG 1.005 upwards should be okay for them, including Neritina virginea
and Puperita pupa. Moray Eels do consume molluscs, and while Nerites
might be too tough for them, there's no guarantee. Spiny Eels
won't be able to harm them though, and obviously
Spiny Eels are kept at the lowest end of the brackish range, up to SG
1.003. Cheers, Neale.>
add Figure 8 Puffer to tank? 11/10/10
Hi, Crew,
I have a 90 gallon low-end brackish tank, sg fluctuates between 1.003
and 1.005. I inherited a disparate group of fish about a year ago that
I've been trying to accommodate. In this particular tank, I have
one archer (Toxotes jaculatrix), a tire track eel and a fire eel. The
eels are both 8" long. The eels seem to tolerate the salinity--do
you think this will be OK long-term? Conversely, do you think the
archer will be happy in this level of salinity? The archer seems very
happy at the moment (it's probably about 1 year old). I realize
I'm compromising a bit from either side of the salinity scale with
these fish. Next, I have a scourge of Malaysian trumpet snails in this
tank. I am toying with getting a figure 8 puffer for the tank because
1) I love puffers and I understand figure 8's are low-end brackish
and less aggressive than other puffers; 2) I don't see much in the
tank at any given moment except for the archer because the eels hide;
3) I would like to control the snail population.
Is this a bad idea?
Thanks for your help in advance. I appreciate your time.
Laura
<Hello Laura. Tyre-track Eels will certainly do okay at up to SG
1.005 at 25 C, but Fire Eels I'm less certain on, and I'd tend
to nudge the salinity down to about 1.003 at 25 C. The Archer
shouldn't mind, and that'll still be salty enough for a wide
range of species, both true brackish water fish and salt-tolerant
freshwater fish such as Brown Hoplo Catfish, Horseface Loaches and
virtually all of the livebearers. Now, as for Figure-8 puffers, while
this might work, I think you'll be disappointed at the impact
they'll have on Melanoides snails. You'd be much better off
with Assassin Snails, Clea helena, which should acclimate to SG 1.003
without problems given they're members of a marine snail family,
though I've never tried it
myself. They're cheap enough that trying them out won't be
expensive. Allow 3-4 Assassin Snails per 10 gallons if you want them to
exist in sufficient strength to depress Melanoides snail numbers. The
thing with puffers in general is that they won't eat snails if
softer, easier food is on offer -- and that can sometimes mean the fins
of other fish. Plus, the small size of Figure-8 puffers makes them easy
prey for adult Archer Fish, Tyre-track Eels and Fire Eels. Obviously an
adult Fire Eel will need a tank bigger tan ninety gallons, so you may
be planning to rehome him as/when he gets above a certain size. But an
adult Archer fish could swallow a Figure-8 puffer in one gulp! Do not
underestimate how predatory Archer fish -- sure, they enjoy eating
insects, but they are dedicated fish-eaters as well. Finally, do
understand that Melanoides snails are not in themselves harmful, but
they are indicators of aquarium conditions rich in organic matter. It
may well be that your tank is less clean than you think, and you're
overfeeding your fish far more than you suppose, and if you have a lot
of algae, then adding fast-growing plant species might make a
difference. Treat snails as a symptom, not a problem, and it's much
easier to effect a long term
solution. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: add Figure 8 Puffer to tank? 11/10/10
Thanks, Neale!
I sure wasn't thinking about the Archer going after the Puffer, so
thanks for that! (I actually saw the Archer eat one of the snails the
other day, but I figured that was an anomaly.)
I'll check out Assassin Snails. Luckily I don't have algae in
this tank, but I am trying to find the right amount of food/feeding
times for the eels.
I've probably been overfeeding the eels. They seem so temperamental
and unpredictable. I understand they shouldn't eat every day and
will sometimes go for a couple of weeks without eating, but this makes
me nervous! I don't want them to starve. I probably just need to
calm down about it!
By the way, I searched but couldn't find how long it takes for a
fire eel to reach full size--do you know?
Thanks again,
Laura
<Hello Laura. Fire Eels growth rate varies with age, but specimens
under a year old can add about an inch in length per month. Growth
slows down a bit after that, but you can expect yours to be at least a
couple of feet long within 18 months, and nearer three feet by the end
of the second year. If the Fire Eel was stunted for whatever reason
while it was younger, it will grow quite slowly, and may never reach
its full size, fish growth rate being determined by age, not the need
to reach a certain size. This is why some people find their Fire Eels
get really big, really fast while others find their Fire Eels quite
slow growing fish. A bigger problem will be aggression: all the
Mastacembelus species are territorial, and Fire Eels and Tyre-track
Eels are unlikely to coexist in a relatively small tank, Fire Eels in
particular being notoriously grumpy fish. Look out for unusual white
marks on their bodies indicative of fighting. Sometimes juveniles
get
along well, even sharing caves, but do be aware than this situation may
not persist. When feeding predators, the "art" is providing
enough that their bellies are gently rounded, but not obviously
swollen; if the latter is the case, you fed too much in one sitting!
Earthworms are the best food for Spiny Eels, but they sometimes escape
into the sand, and when they die there, you'll get lots of nitrate
and phosphate in the water you don't want, as well as food for
Melanoides snails. Best to feed little but often, rather than gorging
the fish a few times per week. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: add Figure 8 Puffer to tank? 11/11/10
Thanks, Neale, this is very helpful indeed. I think I may start looking
to re-home the fire eel now.
Laura
<Glad to help. Cheers, Neale.>
Snails in low end brackish 11/07/08 what types of
snails would be ok for a brackish tank of around 1.003? I have puffers
and would like to keep a few larger snails to breed in the tank, but
they are Ramshorns and I can't find anything to support or deny
their survival in low end brackish. I have a 5 gal snail breeding tank
already with Ramshorns and pond snails, but some are getting a bit too
big to feed the puffers without possibly scrunching...so, I was
wondering if they might do ok in the puffer tank, possibly lay eggs and
eat algae in the meantime. <Keith, even if your puffers don't
eat the snails outright, they will peck at their soft bodies,
particularly their antennae, and that's likely to eventually kill
the snail. So unless you're planning to offer the snails as food,
there's absolutely no point sticking them in the tank. A dead snail
is a major source of ammonia, and water quality is critical to your
long term success in keeping a pufferfish. So for reference only: among
the snails tolerant of slightly brackish water, the ones traded
including Nerite snails (particularly Clithon and Neritina spp.),
Malayan livebearing snails (Melanoides tuberculata) and the Colombian
Ramshorn snail (Marisa cornuarietis). With the exception of the
burrowing (and therefore out of danger) Melanoides snails, I would not
recommend you add any of these to a puffer aquarium. Cheers,
Neale.>
Brackish and small... BB gobies,
reading 12/16/07 I'd like to try a small
brackish aquarium with the BB gobies and olive Nerites I read about on
your site. what kind of easy food do you recommend? can I avoid buying
live food often? Any ideas on plants? the science teacher mentioned
java fern. is plant acclimatization recommended? can I go with one
quarter salt water? what type of salt do you recommend, or can I use
rock salt? Thanks, Elaine <Hello Elaine. Bumblebee gobies do very
well on a diet based around small chunks of seafood (small enough to
swallow), wet frozen bloodworms, and live foods including brine shrimp
and daphnia. Under such a regimen, they are easy to keep. In my
personal experience they should be given live food once every week or
two. Java fern is an excellent choice for a low-end brackish water tank
around SG 1.003-1.005. Also very good choices are Anubias and Java
Moss. All three plants are epiphytes, so they grow attached to solid
objects. They do not like being put into the substrate, and will die if
you do so. Otherwise, they are pretty idiot-proof, and will thrive even
under quite low light levels. Acclimating plants to slightly brackish
water generally isn't required. As for salt, you MUST use marine
salt mix (Instant Ocean, Reef Crystals, etc.). Since you only need
10-20% the dose used in a marine aquarium, this isn't a major
expense. For Bumblebee gobies, 6 grammes of marine salt mix per litre
of water is perfect. This is about 1/6th the salinity of normal
seawater. Olive Nerites will also do well in these conditions. Good
luck, Neale.>
Re: brackish and small 12/20/07 Thank you very
much, Neale. <You're welcome!> I live in L A City, 90004. I
know where to get most of what I need. If locating these Olive Nerites
is difficult, I might need another web address, phone number or
address. Can you provide me with that? <Ah, probably not, since I
live in the UK. The best I can suggest is to search the web for
retailers offering aquarium snails using the Latin name of this
species. In the hobby it is usually called Neritina reclivata thought
correctly it is Vittina usnea. You might also look for Neritina
virginea (the Virginia Nerite, an almost unbelievably variable and very
beautiful species) and Puperita pupa (the Zebra Nerite). These two
Nerites are true brackish water species and will thrive at SG 1.005
upwards.> It would be nice to know some other people who would like
to trade/share ideas, extra cuttings, baby fish, etc. <There are
fish clubs in most big cities. The back of the TFH magazine has a
listing of clubs in the US, and I'd urge you to peruse that list.
I've also found that many fish forums develop their own
communities, and members will happily exchange or donate livestock and
plants. I've sent out surplus plants this way, and in return
received live foods for baby fish.> Your site gave me info that that
previously was not being shared. <We try!> Until I read your
reply, I was not aware that Anubias should be above the substrate.
<Often the case. These plants are usually sold in little pots
because it is convenient to sell them that way. But they never really
thrive in pots. Clean away to wool or gravel, and then attach the thick
rhizome (the green horizontal "stem") to a bit of bogwood
using black cotton or something similar. You can let the roots dangle
wherever, even in the gravel. Doesn't matter. The main thing is the
rhizome is above the substrate. The plant will gradually (many months)
attach itself to the wood, just like Java ferns do. Since they like
shady conditions, try to place them away from strong direct light, or
you'll have constant problems with algae encrusting their leaves.
Other that that, these are among the easiest and best-value plants in
the hobby.> thanks again, Elaine <Cheers, Neale.>
Snail/Puffer Eco System 11/6/07 Hello, I am
cycling fishless, currently waiting to set up a Figure 8 puffer in a 30
gallon tank. <Very good.> I have done a good amount of research
and one of the things I have noticed is that a lot of sites say F8s
don't need snails to wear their beak down, but the ones that seem
devoted to the brackish fish all say F8s needs snails, including this
one. <It's one of those points where "your mileage may
vary". Figure-8 puffers do NOT seem to be among the Pufferfish
species prone to overgrown teeth. South American freshwater puffers
(Colomesus spp.) and the Asian genera Auriglobus and Chonerhinos seem
to be much more troubled by this issue. This likely reflects different
rates of tooth-growth, presumably connected to different types of food
in the wild. But that said, Tetraodon spp. can get overgrown teeth. So
providing at least some shelly food is a good idea, and snails are very
convenient.> I am a bit of a softy when it comes to live feeding but
under the right conditions (one being I really really like the fish,
second being tank sustainability of the live feeder) I will.
<Indeed. Sticking live food into a tank adds a load to the filter,
and in the case of Pufferfish, there are clear advantages to keeping
water quality as a high as possible.> My questions: What would be
the minimum to feed F8s keeping them happy and healthy. Say, a basic
'Feed snails every six months for a week' response. <It all
depends. If you're giving the Pufferfish just soft food, such as
bloodworms, day in, day out, then you may find the teeth become
overgrown. In this case, using snails once a week would be a good idea.
But if you're feeding them unshelled prawns, frozen krill, live
woodlice and other prey that have shells already, the teeth may wear
down just fine by themselves. So rather than looking at snails as a
"cure", take an holistic approach instead. Try and make sure
most meals are "crunchy" so that the puffer's teeth wear
down all by themselves. The grocery store and the back garden will both
provide plenty of suitable fodder. Unshelled prawns can be taken apart
easily enough. You eat the yummy meat, but give the legs and tail-fins
to the puffers. My puffers love woodlice, and these make a very
satisfying crunching sound, suggesting that they are plenty hard enough
to wear down the teeth if used regularly. And so on. Use your own
common sense and see what you have to hand.> Second question is, is
there a snail that will out reproduce my puffer or out reproduce my
puffer enough that I would only have to buy a new set of snails every
few months or so? <The ideal in many people's opinion are the
small pond snail Physa spp. These are the semi-transparent snails often
seen in aquaria. They are easy to rear in ponds. But I have to admit my
puffers eat them only grudgingly, and normally only if I crush them
first. So again, your own experiences will have to colour your
actions.> This site states that the Malaysian Trumpet Snails are
okay for Brackish water but I have read elsewhere that they can't
live in any salt water. <Melanoides tuberculata will thrive at
anything up to around 50% seawater salinity. They are phenomenally
durable animals.> I do know they breed very fast. <Indeed. But
some aquarists have connected broken teeth on their puffers with the
presence of Melanoides snails. I have to admit to being skeptical of
this, having watched Pufferfish crack open oysters in the wild, but in
the interest of fairness I will at least recount those observations. I
have Melanoides snails in many of my tanks, and puffers will sometimes
eat the tiny juveniles. But they seem to show no interest in the
adults. Quite possibly their shells are too strong for the small
Pufferfish I'm keeping to open. On the other hand, I don't have
"plagues" of these Melanoides snails in my tanks, at least
not in the tanks with Pufferfish. So the puffers presumably do kill
enough of the juveniles to moderate population growth.> I know Olive
Nerites ARE brackish snails but also read they are slow breeders.
<Nerites don't really breed at all in aquaria. Their life cycle
seems to be fairly tricky to accommodate in captivity. Some people have
had success, but it seems more by luck than judgment. Be that as it
may, Nerites are practically bullet-proof, and small puffers don't
seem to be able to eat them.> Is there another snail that would fit
my bill? <The pond snail Physa is likely the balance between size,
ease of care, and willingness to breed. Apple snails could be reared
separately, but they don't last long in brackish water so would
have to be added "one meal at a time".> Basically my
thoughts are, if I have to feed live, I want to do it as minimal as
possible, or set up a system where, with other then a few
interventions, is nature-like and the live food can benefit from being
in the tank also. I am I crazy? <Not crazy at all. I've found
Pufferfish teeth get worn down "automatically" in tanks with
a combination of Melanoides snails and silica sand; one or the other
doesn't seem to work by itself. Possibly foraging in the sand
combines enough grit with the prey animal to do the trick. Others have
experimented with "feeding stones". These are rough rocks
such as Tufa and pumice into which suitable food (such as prawn) is
smeared and then any loose food rinsed off. To get the food, the
puffers need to work away at the rock -- just as they would do in the
wild. Yet others simply get into the routine of doing the dental work
as and when required. It's really not that difficult, though
admittedly requires a steady hand! Cheers, Neale>
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