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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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