i have a 60 gal corner reef tank. started with 5 snails to control the algae. now have snail eggs, little purple spots ALL over the tank. the tank is as healthy as i have ever had. i am just tired of scraping them off the glass every weekend. they took the algae away, but now they have little egg nests everywhere. worse than the red algae was. and they are not easy to scrape off. the wife has to take over after 1/2 hr. tank is fairly deep, she needa a stool to reach. this is the best fish site i have seen yet. thanks for anything
snail issues
- Thread starter nor cal fishie
- Start date
little purple seems to be coralline algae, a "good one" and most people love to keep it, some even have the glass of the back completely covered with it. If you scrape it, it's the best way to spread it and have more, and since you don't want some..unless you vaccum accurately what you scraped.
Those little snails you have, well i have a load..someone gave me some bumble bee covered with it..i tried to scrape 'em from the shell, but still they manage to get in my tank and now it's everywhere...nothing much you can do i think. I know some sand sifters can eat it, like the gold banded sleeper goby, but you must scrape the glass first, then it fells into the bottom, then he can do his job..but i don't think it will reduce much their population.
Those little snails you have, well i have a load..someone gave me some bumble bee covered with it..i tried to scrape 'em from the shell, but still they manage to get in my tank and now it's everywhere...nothing much you can do i think. I know some sand sifters can eat it, like the gold banded sleeper goby, but you must scrape the glass first, then it fells into the bottom, then he can do his job..but i don't think it will reduce much their population.
thanks for the info. i have 'good' algae? well, good. the small pink dots get little white spots that float away after a week. maybe i should just keep cleaning and stop complaining. there are no corners on the tank, it is the curved glass style. i have no fish, either, only a manta shrimp that came with the live rock. the shrimp is different. thanks again.
The reasons i think this algae is good are : It's colorful, it's encrusting, it can solidify the rock structure, it can cover others green algae that aren't wanted. If it's turning white, maybe you should check your calcium levels. This algae lives on that and doesn't seems to like super strong lights
the manta is small. i can not find any pics anywhere. about 3" long. 3/4" in diameter. brown and white stripes. stays hidden in the rocks. he has a special cave that he will not come out of. impossible to photo. way too fast. but the snails are no longer an issue. Triggers love baby snails. and that pic is exactly what i have. the marine scraper was perfect. i left in on the back and on the aerator. with the front cleaned, it looks amazing. thanks again