Ephemeral Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 As I ramp up my new saltwater tank (see sig), I'm scaling down my 5G Fluval Chi freshwater tank. All that remains in the tank are two otocinclus, some ghost shrimp, and a pair of Nerite snails. I know that Nerites can live in both freshwater and saltwater but I've heard a lot of odd tales about how it depends on how they were caught/raised, require extremely involved transitions, and one LFS employee told me they are entirely different species. So, I broke the news to my Nerites that I'm leaving the FW world in favour of the glamour of SW and they are welcome to join me. In a large vintage Pyrex bowl (absolutely required to be of 70's era vintage) of saltwater, I placed a small bowl of freshwater containing the two snails. They were free to remain in their freshwater bowl or explore the saltwater. After a few hours, one is happily in the saltwater side. Fluval Chi in the back, one snail in the bowl. Second snail in the freshwater, first snail a-salted The choice is made. Now I just need to break the news to them about the hermit crabs. Link to comment
smeagol108 Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 I know nothing about whether they are different species or not, but I find this very amusing. Link to comment
Tamberav Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Well I learned something new today. Following along, these guys do a great job in my FW tank. At first I thought you got the two nerites mixed up but a quick google confirmed these guys need saltwater for the eggs to hatch. I wonder if they would be safe in a SW tank, as in not overbreed since the eggs apparently hatch in sw. Link to comment
Ephemeral Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 Ya, I really like them. They've done a superb job in my 5 gallon and I don't want to lay them off just because the plant has moved. Apparently, their eggs will only hatch in brackish water - not saltwater or freshwater. So I should be good. Link to comment
smeagol108 Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Reefcleaners sells nerites with all their cuc packs. never seen eggs hatch, but they can and will lay a ton of eggs all over your rock work. they look like little oval shaped pods that are raised off the rock ever so slightly. Link to comment
Ephemeral Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 Can you recommend anything to gobble up the eggs? Link to comment
smeagol108 Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 not aware of any anything that eats them. their not a big deal. they look like this: almost like sesame seed on the rock. eventually they disappear and corraline covers them again. Link to comment
Sunstar Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 I had a nerite in brackish to salt, then back to fresh. Link to comment
jamescstein Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 All my nerites seem to want to go from SW to land. They even have to climb around the rim of my BC29. Link to comment
Ephemeral Posted January 5, 2016 Author Share Posted January 5, 2016 The snails seem to be content after adding them to the tank. Sorry it's a bit cloudy, I had just done a bit of a water change. It's now the next day and the snails still appear to be doing their snail thing/not dead. Link to comment
tetraodon Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 i acclimated many nerites to brackish water, it was the only clean up crew my late figure 8 puffer wouldnt eat. i know they can survive in marine conditions, but the question is for how long, are they thriving or just surviving? either way would be interesting to see the result, my longest lived nerite pushed it to almost 3 years. so no pressure Link to comment
Ephemeral Posted January 5, 2016 Author Share Posted January 5, 2016 I'll update this thread if they kick the bucket. So far, they've roamed across the length of the tank during the night but have been stationary since morning. Link to comment
Sunstar Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 The nerite I had from fresh to salt and back again is pushing on about 5 - 7 years. I added it ot my betta tankt o clean some mess there. Link to comment
Ephemeral Posted January 5, 2016 Author Share Posted January 5, 2016 ...5 - 7 years.... 5 - 7 years! Link to comment
Sunstar Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 I have had the thing for a heck of a long time now 5 years at the least, but it was a rather large fellow when I got him, so he could be older. I also had a CPD get to about 6 years of age. It passed this past autumn. would need to check the photos for time stamps, but it was from a spawn I had in the tank it lived in. Link to comment
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