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Snail Quarentine

Started by Guest_73amc_* , Mar 04 2012 09:03 PM

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16 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_73amc_*

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Posted 04 March 2012 - 09:03 PM

Do you guys all QT your snails? My local PETCO has some zebra nerite snails that I want to add to my 55. Currently I have 2 rainbow darters with 2 red belly dace on the way.

Is there an easy way to QT these guys before they go in the tank?

Thanks!!!

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#2 Guest_EricaWieser_*

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Posted 04 March 2012 - 11:18 PM

Nerites are egg layers, so they're easy to quarantine. Step one is to get two small tanks. In the first, put the nerite snails. As soon as you see eggs, remove the snails to the second tank and do a 100% water change on the first tank. Then after the eggs hatch out and become healthy adults in the first tank, give the potentially contaminated snails in the second tank away on craigslist and add your young nerites to your tank.

Edited by EricaWieser, 04 March 2012 - 11:19 PM.

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#3 Guest_73amc_*

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Posted 05 March 2012 - 05:45 AM

I thought nerites needed brackish water to reproduce?

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#4 Guest_EricaWieser_*

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Posted 05 March 2012 - 07:39 AM

I thought nerites needed brackish water to reproduce?

You can control the salinity of the tank where you want them to reproduce. Either buy a hydrometer or google the salt mix ratio.

Edited by EricaWieser, 05 March 2012 - 07:39 AM.

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#5 Guest_73amc_*

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Posted 05 March 2012 - 09:28 AM

Yikes! That seems like a lot of work and room. I barely have enough space for what I have now. Is there any way to do this on a smaller scale?

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#6 Guest_EricaWieser_*

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Posted 05 March 2012 - 12:31 PM

Yikes! That seems like a lot of work and room. I barely have enough space for what I have now. Is there any way to do this on a smaller scale?

The tanks don't have to be large... You could do it in an empty 1 gallon ice cream bucket.

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#7 Guest_73amc_*

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Posted 05 March 2012 - 01:20 PM

Ok. That would work better. Do I just use aquarium salt? Would I just look up the ratio online of what it would be for them?

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#8 Michael Wolfe

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North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 05 March 2012 - 01:56 PM

Do you guys all QT your snails? My local PETCO has some zebra nerite snails that I want to add to my 55. Currently I have 2 rainbow darters with 2 red belly dace on the way.

Is there an easy way to QT these guys before they go in the tank?

Thanks!!!

While Erica's hypothetical answers are fine the real answer is just... "no"... I am not aware of anyone who quarantines snails... or quarantines plants to rid then of snails... heck, most people that I know do not quarantine rocks, or wash them for that matter... nature is not bad... mostly anyway... yes, I know there are risks... but there is also benefit to having live sand, and stuff crawling on your rocks and plants and stuff...

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin

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#9 Guest_gerald_*

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Posted 05 March 2012 - 02:37 PM

I think what 73amc is concerned about is digenean flukes and perhaps other worms that snails can transmit to fish. Quarantine may not help much, as infected snails can release parasites for months or years. Thiarid and Pleurocerid snail families can definitely carry freshwater fish parasites; I dont know whether nerites can or not. Aquarium-raised snails would be the safest bet, but I dont think too many aquarists have successfully raised nerites from eggs in aquaria. Have you, Erica?

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#10 Guest_73amc_*

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Posted 05 March 2012 - 04:02 PM

Well I picked up a couple zebras. I'm going to find a container to put them in for a month and see if they make it. I don't really have the time to breed snails.

I'll change the water daily and add some wafers every other day.

Will this work?

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#11 Guest_EricaWieser_*

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Posted 05 March 2012 - 08:47 PM

... I dont think too many aquarists have successfully raised nerites from eggs in aquaria. Have you, Erica?

I have never raised nerite snails, no. I guess my advice is better suited to one of the half dozen species of snails I have raised, which breed like crazy. Those I do quarantine, and with the method described above. Nerites, now that I read more, although they lay eggs and the young hatch, the young then wither away and die before reaching maturity.

You asked about quarantining, and whether or not we do it.
I do, but I don't have the same species you do. My species breed rapidly and the technique I described applies to them. For nerites I guess it wouldn't work so well. My apologies for not knowing more about nerite snail breeding. *shrugs*

Edited by EricaWieser, 05 March 2012 - 08:48 PM.

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#12 Guest_EricaWieser_*

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Posted 05 March 2012 - 11:24 PM

I have never raised nerite snails, no. I guess my advice is better suited to one of the half dozen species of snails I have raised, which breed like crazy. Those I do quarantine, and with the method described above. Nerites, now that I read more, although they lay eggs and the young hatch, the young then wither away and die before reaching maturity.

You asked about quarantining, and whether or not we do it.
I do, but I don't have the same species you do. My species breed rapidly and the technique I described applies to them. For nerites I guess it wouldn't work so well. My apologies for not knowing more about nerite snail breeding. *shrugs*

I found a breeding report. If this works, which the person claims it does, then that is the protocol I would follow to get little baby nerites. The young are the ones I would add to my tank. I know not everyone does, but I prefer to use second generation snails. There's less risk of infecting your tank with something. Anyway, here's the breeding report:

Hey Yah. Well I’ve been breeding Nerites for a while. It seems to be a lot of confusion to a lot of people. Lets start off slow to clear the water from messy breeding details.
Nerites are A sexually. Once eggs are laid they can be transfer to a fully saltwater tank non brackish water I well explain this later. How do you get your little snails to lay eggs? More they’ll eat the more they’ll will to lay eggs. 99.9 percent of the time they’ll lay eggs on your glass rocks or hard surface. I usually wait about maximum 72 hours before moving the egg. In case my Nertie might want to lay a few more. I’ve notice my best Nerita are laid on drift wood. I well explain this in a bit and the reason why. It doesn't matter what kind of water you breed them in whether it be fresh salt or brackish. Let me be a little bit more clear about this. What will matter is how you will hatch these eggs. Nerite eggs can take a long time to hatch from a few days to a few weeks. I had a few eggs that hatched a month later. As far as water temperature my hatching is room temp. As cold as a bowl of goldfish water.

Alright time to get down to the good stuff with directions.
1. Pick a item(s) with some good algae mounted to it. Place this item where your Nerite well be. FRESH SALT OR BRACKISH WATER. What temp isn’t important. What quality should be at the best possible. I personally like using drift wood. Driftwood has tons of algae for these baby to feed.
2. Wait a few days. Until you see a good amount of eggs on item/decor. These eggs look like little sesame seeds. WARNING DONT TRY TO REMOVE THESE EGGS BY SCRAPPING THEM. You'll pop the shell. Wait about 72 hours to get a nice size decor with eggs on them.
3. Set up a small tank. I’m using a 1 gallon tank to nurse the babies nitrites. A air bubble line that is set very low 1bubble ever 2 seconds. Also a marine/saltwater (freshwater salt wont work). Why salt and no brackish. The reason is once these Nertie are born at this stage they need all the calcium and mineral to develop a health strong shell. Which well increase the level of survival as juveniles. I had little luck with brackish water. My percentage increased about 80 percent when I’ve hatched Nerite in fully saltwater tank. I usually fill the saltwater level just enough to cover the decor/driftwood.(this is where youll place your decor cover with eggs)
4. Usually about every 3 days I well perform a 50 percent water change. Don’t want your snail to die from bad water. This is easy to do. Don’t be lazy takes less then 5 mins.
5. Once your eggs are hatching. Theyll hatch at a very slow rate. You’ll see that they're very small larvae. You can feed them algae that's on your décor or driftwood. If not you can head to your local aquarium or pet shop. And purchase some algae chips.
Chop these algae chips into small fine grains. And drop them in your tank. Feed them by eye. If you don’t see any food. Give them food.
6. Once you see a nice shine to the shell on your snail, its time to move them. This process can take weeks. I don’t recommend one or 2 days. They'll die on you. Purchase a small measuring device. The measurement I am using is ML. For my one gallon tank. I would treat about gallon of freshwater(for people out there that don’t know what Im talking about treating your water. Neutralizing water from harmful chemicals using(Tetra Aqua Clear (or any other brand).Simply ever morning take out 10ml of tank water. Replace 5Ml in the morning and 5ML at night. For a full month. This step is only for freshwater tanks. For brackish or salt. Just lower the level of salt until you reach your tanks ppm. For a safe entry.
Enjoy your new NERITES. Usually i breed about 100 a month and sell them to my local pet shop.

from http://www.fishforum...-nerite-snails/

So, no, I haven't personally bred nerite snails. But seeing as how they're egg layers, it's a unique opportunity to distance the potentially pathogen containing initial population from their potentially pathogen free young.

Good luck with whatever you do, 73amc. If you're not going to attempt to breed the nerites, you can add them straight to your main tank.

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#13 Guest_73amc_*

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Posted 06 March 2012 - 07:45 AM

Like I said before, I'm planning on observing them for a couple weeks in a small fish bowl. I don't have the room or the means to breed snails at this point. Is there anything else I could do to ensure that these little guys will be safe to add after a few weeks?

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#14 Guest_73amc_*

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Posted 06 March 2012 - 04:49 PM

Not to sound silly, but these little guys are awesome!!!

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#15 Guest_Kanus_*

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Posted 06 March 2012 - 09:17 PM

Erica, where did you hear about that method of breeding nerites, or have you done it personally? I'd be very interested in learning more. I've tried to breed them in a 2 gallon tank using both half and full strength saltwater and never had luck either way.

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#16 Guest_EricaWieser_*

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Posted 06 March 2012 - 10:01 PM

Erica, where did you hear about that method of breeding nerites

From Neritehead on http://www.fishforum...-nerite-snails/
I cited them in the original post, too.

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#17 Guest_EricaWieser_*

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Posted 11 February 2013 - 10:07 PM

^This is a retraction post of a sort. An apology. I'm trying to breed nerites now, and it makes me realize I was so naive then. There are so many different species of nerite, and each one has a different way to breed. Even the 'zebra' nerites can be one of several zebra-looking species, ranging from freshwater to brackish, coastal north america to southern africa. Breeding nerites is definitely not commonplace or easy.

Edited by EricaWieser, 11 February 2013 - 10:08 PM.