Nerite Snails & Ghost Shrimp???

[ClassicRocker]

What we have:
5 gallon Marineland Eclipse 5 Hexagon tank that is complete cycled
1 male Veil Tail Beta & 3 Mixed Nerite Snails (don't know what the "mixed" means)
Carbon Cartridge & Bio-Wheel filtration
5 live plants (2 Java Ferns & 3 Anubius Congensis).......no artificial ones anymore.
1 Moss Ball
Aqueon Mini Heater (on sometimes at night, but off during the day now)
Thermometer inside tank
1 swim thru small décor

Now, for my Thread:

Had 3 Ghost Shrimp. Two died (eaten?). Had to medicate our tank a few weeks ago and that might have killed two. Basically, our beta left the shrimp alone. Unfortunately, this past Wednesday, our beta's "fasting" day, I gave a fish flake to the one shrimp we had left. I walked away from the tank, came back a few minutes later and found half of the shrimp laying in the gravel. Our beta either got hungry or mad (he wasn't eating and the shrimp was) and........bye, bye ghost shrimp!

Now, for the Nerite Snails......decided to get one Nerite a week ago, but found it attached more to the underside of the filtration system than eating ANY algae! We have some, but not a lot, of algae on the plexiglass of the tank and some black algae on plant leaves. Since the one Nerite didn't seem to be doing much, if anything, for the algae, decided to get 2 more Nerite Snails yesterday. NOW, this AM, found all three stuck to the underside of the filtration system. Took them off and back into the gravel and watched each go up the sides of the tank and back to where they were. What the heck is going on here???? Got a little algae on the tank sides and on plant leaves and these critters are hanging out under the filtration system!

BTW, our tank water temp is 80.

Giving is some serious thought about getting a couple more ghost shrimp, since they were at least going up and down the plexiglass and running around on the gravel. I just wouldn't feed them on beta "fasting" day.

Can anyone here tell me what the heck is going on with these snails?? If I have to give the snails away, will do. I want something that will take care of the algae........now, not years from now!!

 

[SandyCheeks]

Could it be that the snails have seen pieces of carcasses in the tank and are running for their lives from the not-so-innocent Mr. Beta?

 

[Delapool]

Lol

It's unproven that pets have a 6th sense but if you did like the algae, it would be gone by now...

Edit - are the snails hanging in the return flow, away from light or anything?

 

[Coursair]

3 Nerites will starve in a 5g. They are fast eaters once they settle in. Most algae eaters won't eat Black Bearded algae. Soft green Algae yes. Hard stuff, not usually.

Control algae with a timer on the lights, don't have the lights on for more than 6 hours a day. Or you'll just grow algae.

Put smooth rocks in a shallow pan of water in a sunny window to grow soft algae for the snails to eat.


Read up on better ways to control Algae.

Control lighting

Frequent partial water changes

Don't overfeed

Keep testing the water


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[ClassicRocker]

Now leaving the tank light on for only 5 hours instead of 8 or 9.

Wonder if we will need to replace the plants that have the black on the leaves? My wife doesn't like seeing the black. Last time I done a w/c, I rubbed the black off of a few leaves, but I take the chance of the plant coming up out of the gravel due to even the lightest of rubbing. BTW, we put the roots of the 3 Anubius Congensis plants under the gravel as directed on the container it came in. The other two plants, Java Ferns, I attached (with a small rubber band) to the plastic base I cut off of two artificial plants.

We have a package of Top Fin Algae Thins. Wonder if these snails would go for one of them dropped in once in a while? What do you think?

We are going to get a couple more of ghost shrimp. We are now seeing orange beta poop on the gravel that wasn't there when we had the ghost shrimp. Some folks say that ghost shrimp don't eat beta poop, well..........appears ours did.

 

[Coursair]

My Nerites would not eat processed food. Maybe later they will. Try a small piece.


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