New Belgian opae ula owner!

[Zlatan2601]

I tried to find some but nowhere i can buy these horned nerite snails. Are other nerite snails also ok? And dont they leave the tank?
Was hoping to get a clean tank without snails but maybe i should get some anyway. How much snails do you advise for a 30 liter tank? And doesnt get your tank polluted if one dies? I will be on a road trip for three weeks and i dont want to come back with a tank full of dead shrimps because of decongestion of a death snail...

Edit: nerite turrita snails are available in the local pet store... Are these ok?

[sliphorn]

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I think most any nerite will do the job, just make sure to acclimate the snail to your brackish tank. Seeing as you'll be away for 3 weeks, I'd start with one snail. 30L is a good sized tank so it'll keep the nerite plenty busy. That's my take on it. Another snail that is a real algae eating machine and lives in brackish water is Faunus Ater. I have 4 in a non-shrimp tank and they are amazing.

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[Zlatan2601]

Ok thanks, I tried to resist but I will get one right away. U assume a few hours of dripping is sufficient to acclimate the snail?

[Zlatan2601]

For your information, bought 1 neritina turrita snail this morning. I used a rough dripping method for the salinity and introduced the snail to the tnak after two hours. Two hours later the snail is doing fine and is feeding in the algae of the substrate.

Very curious how much one snail can do to keep a 30 liter tank clean, especially as the snail is only 2 cm.. Any advice on how long i should wait to evaluate if i should add a second one?

[sliphorn]

For your information, bought 1 neritina turrita snail this morning. I used a rough dripping method for the salinity and introduced the snail to the tnak after two hours. Two hours later the snail is doing fine and is feeding in the algae of the substrate.

Very curious how much one snail can do to keep a 30 liter tank clean, especially as the snail is only 2 cm.. Any advice on how long i should wait to evaluate if i should add a second one?

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It's good to hear the snail is doing well. My suggestion to get only one snail to start with was based on the fact that you are going away for three weeks, and if for some reason the snail meets its demise, it would be less pollution than two or more snails possibly dying. I'd wait until you get back to decide if you want to add more. You'll be surprised how much one nerite can consume.

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[ryangiggs]

Horned nerites are preferred here in Singapore because owners mostly kept small tanks... they are much smaller than the other nerites... so it will look nicer on small tanks... but despite their small size... they are extremely hardworking...

I would say 1 should be enough... give it a week or so to clear the glass... unlike those vacuum robots... they do not have algorithms to guide them how to clean all the surface efficiently... but they will eventually clean everything... my glass is always sparkling clean... they seems to like clearing algae on glass than on other surface... while leaving other coral surfaces quite untouched...

[Zlatan2601]

Ok, thanks both!

Snail was moving the first two hours, but the last 6 hours it didnt move anymore. Can i assume that its sleeping or is it suffering? Anything i should pay attention to, or just watch if he has moved over the night?

[sliphorn]

Ok, thanks both!

Snail was moving the first two hours, but the last 6 hours it didnt move anymore. Can i assume that its sleeping or is it suffering? Anything i should pay attention to, or just watch if he has moved over the night?

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Snails are like that. I wouldn't worry.

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[Varanus]

Yeah, sometimes snails will spend days not moving and it doesn't necessarily mean anything is wrong.

[Zlatan2601]

Good good. Came home today from work and i can easily follow where the snail has eaten algae from the glass. Both by seeing lines of algae disappearing and by seeing poop on the glass

[Mustafa]

There's no harm in cleaning the glass. The shrimp will eat the sheets/pieces of algae that fall on the substrate.

[Zlatan2601]

Situation at this stage: brown algae are still in the tank and after trying to remove as much as possible with a long pincet, they are back and now proceeding to other stones and taking over the tank. Is this still normal? Is this still going to disappear over time?

There are two nerrite snails in the tank, I will need more of them to keep the glass clean but they stay away of the brown algae...

[Dch48]

That is unusual for Nerites. Every one I have had devours the brown stuff. That's in fresh water though. Maybe they behave differently in brackish or maybe the algae is a different type.

[Zlatan2601]

Hi all,
Update concerning my opae ula. After the brown algae overgrowth (i think it was cyanobacteria) i started a new tank and transfered all rocks after cooking and thoroughly cleaning them. I also transfered the opae ula afterwards. I am afraid I lost two opae in the process (or they died before) as I have only 8 opae ula left.

Now after chatting with another opae ula owner, he adviced me to test the big white rock in my tank with vinegar and bubbles were formed. I assume that this is not good so i left it out of the tank. I never tested the rock before as it was bought in a well known aquarium store and we assuledthat it was also a vulcanic rock. However I am now wondering if I should restart my tank again. The tank was 2 weeks old, so the rock has been in there for 2 weeks.
Is it ok to leave it now or is a new tank needed?

[Super Jess]

The bubbling reaction from your rock experiment means it is a good source of calcium carbonate for your tank. Wash off all the vinegar and stick it back in!