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What's Your Favorite Advice for New Nerms?


Jennifer V
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Me, I got my first rush of brown algae under control with frequent, regular water changes, a small sponge filter (I was just using a submersible water pump up to a hydroponic basil tank before) and lights on a timer. Wasn't fully under control until I brought in ramshorn snails to get in the tough-to-reach areas and plant leaves that my nerites weren't nimble enough to negotiate. A number of plants died from getting covered in brown and green algae, but I replaced them, kept going with water changes, started using Simple Green to give my plants a head start, and things are looking a lot better.

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21 minutes ago, Jennifer V said:

Oh that's good to know! She was pretty young but just floating at the top of the tank one night. I suppose I'll see how the other one does so I know if it was just her or another issue. 

Hm, snails can float for a lot of reasons, as normal behavior or indicating something wrong or a change that occurred. A bad smell would definitely indicate death, but bladder snails tend to be pretty small, so it would be hard to gauge. 
For normal behavior: eating at the surface, purposely trapping air in the shell to travel across the aquarium (like miniature hot air balloons haha), and potentially for some other reasons. 
For the other: a sudden change in water parameters causing stress, poor water quality, too much fertilization (if you happen to be dosing way too much copper), or potentially death. That’s typically after multiple days of not moving and continuous floating, though that might not always mean that the snail is dead. 

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1 hour ago, Sapere_Ceta said:

Hm, snails can float for a lot of reasons, as normal behavior or indicating something wrong or a change that occurred. A bad smell would definitely indicate death, but bladder snails tend to be pretty small, so it would be hard to gauge. 
For normal behavior: eating at the surface, purposely trapping air in the shell to travel across the aquarium (like miniature hot air balloons haha), and potentially for some other reasons. 
For the other: a sudden change in water parameters causing stress, poor water quality, too much fertilization (if you happen to be dosing way too much copper), or potentially death. That’s typically after multiple days of not moving and continuous floating, though that might not always mean that the snail is dead. 

Oh no! I may have gotten rid of a perfectly fine snail! I didn't know floating could be part of normal behavior. I should've asked here first. I feel terrible! 

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5 minutes ago, Jennifer V said:

Oh no! I may have gotten rid of a perfectly fine snail! I didn't know floating could be part of normal behavior. I should've asked here first. I feel terrible! 

It happens. An animal floating is usually associated with being dead, as it is often used as the representation of it (like the floating dead goldfish in the cartoons). So to see an animal floating for other reasons is a bit unexpected, and that’s perfectly okay. The aquarium hobby involves a lot of experiences, both good and bad, that we learn from. If it’s any comfort, bladder snails are hermaphroditic. So even if you just have one snail, down the road, there will probably be more that show up. 

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  • 4 months later...
On 1/14/2021 at 8:27 AM, Kirsten said:

I wasn't expecting to fall in love with mystery snails, but omg they're so much fun and I want them to flourish. They were the first critters I named in my living room tank. 

I've just acquired two of these as well. What did you name them?

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  • 5 months later...

1. When you are planning you tank add a little more gravel or sand do you can add plants later.

2. I would not put any fish over $8/ea in that new tank. Neons things like people are wowed (just make sure you put the same water perimeter fish in the tank to begin as the fish you want to put it in after the first year do everything you want to the tank to get the tank right in the first year. 

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On 1/8/2021 at 5:56 AM, MickS77 said:

Don't chase numbers; ph, gh, kh, TDS, etc. As long as your water is safe and habitable your aquatic inhabitants will adapt just fine.

 

On 1/8/2021 at 5:47 AM, Daniel said:

Worry less and enjoy more.

 

On 1/8/2021 at 5:56 AM, MickS77 said:

Don't chase numbers; ph, gh, kh, TDS, etc. As long as your water is safe and habitable your aquatic inhabitants will adapt just fine.

 

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On 1/14/2021 at 6:33 AM, Jennifer V said:

I need to learn to just relax and watch. I'm like a helicopter mom already and I don't even have anything in the tank besides plants and a new snail! 

Bingo!

On 11/5/2021 at 5:03 PM, Streetwise said:

Try at least one organic soil tank! Read Diana Walstad!

I would say do this a some point but not in your first two tank you set up

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