Any algae eaters for hard water planted tanks???

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Rikesh

Rikesh

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 20, 2008
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Mauritius
www.aquaxen.org
I've got some kind of pond outside with real hard water (biogenic decalcification occuring). I have calcium carbonate gravels with lots of vallisneria spiralis, egeria and salvinia and some hairy type of algae(i'm not sure about its name). I've got platy as fish in it.

What can I put in the tank to eat the algae? and if possible, won't attack the platy and fry.
 
Nerite snails or trapdoor snails. What is the temperature? Trapdoors are coldwater species.
 
Thanks for the reply Lupin. I've never seen Nerite snails or trapdoor snails though :(
The nerite one looks like an apple snail... Oh, i forgot to mention that there's tons of MTS too. :P
 
Rikesh;2921995; said:
Thanks for the reply Lupin. I've never seen Nerite snails or trapdoor snails though :(
The nerite one looks like an apple snail... Oh, i forgot to mention that there's tons of MTS too. :P
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Nerites and apples are different species. Nerites compose several genera such as Theodoxus, Clithon, Neritina, etc.

Apple snails are part of the family Ampullaridae. There are nine groups in the Ampullaridae family with Pomacea, Asolene and Marisa being the most commonly available in the trade.

Here are a few nerite snails. Pics are by msjinkzd. She is selling them at the moment. PM her if you want some. How cold does your pond get? You need to consider the temperature before getting some. Trapdoors may be your better choice if the temperature falls below 18 degrees Celsius.
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=186870
Zebra nerites: $3

Green Tiger nerite: $4

Assorted mini-snails, no choice of color/pattern: $5

Tricolor horned snails: $6

Red spot nerite- $4
Click to expand...
 
This lady seems to be on the other side of the planet. I'm from Mauritius. Is it really worth it?
I'll try venturing a bit in some fish stores to see if they got them.
Lowest temperature might reach about 12 degrees during the day. I keep all my tanks unheated during winter and it's ok. i feed the fish inside once a week. I don't feed the fish outside.

Can I use apple snails instead?

and i have a snail that looks A BIT LIKE the nerite. i don't know its name. i'll try to take a pic and post it by tomorrow.
 
I just looked up the location.lol That is too cold for the nerites since the source is from Indonesia and therefore they're unlikely to survive. Your best choice would have to be trapdoor snails. Apple snails are very poor algae eaters. Will wait for your pics.

Is your snail Pomacea canaliculata? These are voracious plant eaters that are reported to be invasive in Mauritius.
 
here are the pics... i hope i've attached them right :)
i don't know which snail type it is though...

The Pomacea canaliculata is indeed very common here in Mauritians' aquaria. A couple of weeks ago, I've asked a friend for some and he told me that there are lots of it in a river near his house. But I don't have that snail(yet). By the way, i've seen some persons calling apple snails "infusoria snail" and they keep them with fish fry. Any comments on that please?

From what i've seen, you might find swordtails, wild guppies and some shrimp in rivers. Tilapia are found reservoirs.

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Rikesh;2925565; said:
here are the pics... i hope i've attached them right :)
i don't know which snail type it is though...

The Pomacea canaliculata is indeed very common here in Mauritians' aquaria. A couple of weeks ago, I've asked a friend for some and he told me that there are lots of it in a river near his house. But I don't have that snail(yet). By the way, i've seen some persons calling apple snails "infusoria snail" and they keep them with fish fry. Any comments on that please?

From what i've seen, you might find swordtails, wild guppies and some shrimp in rivers. Tilapia are found reservoirs.
Click to expand...
The snail in the pic is either a bladder snail (Physas sp.) or a donkey eared snail. Need to see how its antennaes look.

I've never heard of "infusoria snail". That's a strange name.
 
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