Nerite hard at work

[libertybelle]

I leave the back and side walls alone for my otos and nerites but this one wall was getting so dense I was thinking about cleaning it myself.

Never mind... nerite is on the case

(Picture refuses to upload properly oriented... but you get the idea )

 

[Barliman]

Nerite: "I just love the buffet here."

 

[Autumnsky]

That is great! Maybe need another Nerite!

 

[libertybelle]

That tank is definitely an oto/ nerite buffet and I love it! I actually like the green on the back and sides; i don’t mind the natural aesthetic and it reassures me the otos have plenty to eat. The tank is currently supporting the healthiest group of 8 otos that I’ve ever had and they’re some of my favorite fish ever! They have really flourished since I decided to embrace the green walls.

I haven’t cleaned the back or sides in months and it is so fun to watch. The otos have a favorite wall; the right side where the algae wall is thickest. The nerites seem to focus on one “patch” of algae at a time so the thickest patches of algae get cleaned in waves. Some weeks the left side will get cleaned and a couple weeks later the right etc etc.

I think I have 7 nerites now between the two tanks (29g community and 10g Cherry tank) I put the biggest 3-4 in the 29 and the rest in my 10. (I have one lone assassin snail in the 29 who so far has left the big nerites alone but I don’t want to tempt him with anything smaller than a few times his size.)

 

[libertybelle]

Also point of interest; see that shrimp hanging out with him...

That is a massive “amano” which may or may not be an actual amano. She’s about an inch and a half long and though you can’t see it in the picture she has turned almost black on most of her body with that big white racing stripe on top!

She also walked from the tank a few days ago. (It has a cover but they go out the back where the filters are sometimes.) Found her in the morning crispy as can be. Popped her back in a cup for a few minutes to recover and then back in the tank. Somehow she didn’t even drop her eggs...

That is one hardy shrimp!

 

[libertybelle]

Tank meeting...

I wasn’t invited.

So rude.

 

[Autumnsky]

Wonder what the meeting was about? hahaha

They are big!!!

 

[libertybelle]

These are actually the smallest of my nerites. They look huge because those shrimp surrounding them are probably only a few days old. Teeny tiny fellas.

I have one nerite that I’ve had for ages in snail years ; I don’t even remember how old it is. The only point of reference I have is that I had him before my maternity leave which makes him at least 2.5 -3 years old. I didn’t even know nerites could live that long.

He’s huge and the only inhabitant who survived me not knowing that once a year the water company does a flush and adds a shock of chlorine on top of the chloramines. That was an unfortunately timed water change.....