15g brackish

[reiverix]

With a figure 8 puffer, jungle val and a few java fern.

[PufferMom]

Ok, where's the puffer?

[TwoTankAmin]

Heck with the puffer, is that actually algae I see on the back glass of a reiv tank. I guess he is human after all :-)

[reiverix]

Originally Posted by PufferMom

Ok, where's the puffer?

You can just see it in the bottom right. Barely, but it is there.

Originally Posted by TwoTankAmin

is that actually algae I see on the back glass of a reiv tank

Lots of it. Diatoms are always present in this tank for some reason.

[Emg]

Yeah, I have problems with diatoms in my BW tank too Reiv....when you figure out what it is....do let me know......

OH...very nice setup bTW.......and, come to think of it...what type of rock is that you have in there...could that have anything to do with the diatoms ?

[PufferMom]

Have y'all tried olive nerite snails? They're good in low end brackish tanks, eat lots of diatoms, and their foot is so small its harder for puffers to get at them sometimes.

[Emg]

Here's a bit of info I found at this site here.... Aquarium Invertebrates

"Zebra Nerite, Puperita pupa

The Zebra Nerite is a beautiful little snail that occurs in rocky tidepools under full sun in the Caribbean and Bahamas. It is reported to occur in Florida, but there it does not typically have the distinct zebra stripping. Instead the Florida snails more closely resemble the very similar Virgin Nerite, Neritina Vittina virginea. While the latter is more common on mudfalts and seagrass at the low tide mark, both can live together in tide pools. Where they are found together, the form of Puperita becomes more like N. virginica, dark and variable, and it was described as a separate form, Puperita pupa (Linnaeus, 1767) form tristis (d'Orbigny, 1842). Puperita is active during the day when it is submerged, and feeds mainly on diatoms. At low tide if the tide pools become dry or exceptionally hot, Puperita may stop feeding and congregate out of water in a stationary mass with others of its kind. In aquariums the Zebra nerite actively feeds on diatoms or cyanobacteria. Unfortunately, in aquarium the lovely striped shell soon becomes coated with pink coralline algae. The life span in captivity is typically about one year. "

Might be worth trying to find a few of these fellas....

[reiverix]

They had olive nerites at my old LFS (before it shut down) but I never bought any because I thought they would get eaten.

[PufferMom]

I get mine from Wilma Duncan (just do a Google search for "Wilma" and "snails"). They don't last forever, mine eventually get eaten when they fall over upside-down, but they usually last at least a couple of months.

[RTR]

My Palembang's* never bothered the olive nerites (also from Wilma). They lasted longer in that tank than anywhere else... go figure. I've never tried them with F-8s - they are more intense snail eaters than the lurkers.

* For non-puffer folks, the Palembang's puffer is quite similar to the Arrowhead puffer, differently marked and strangely profiled.

[PufferMom]

I had two olive nerites last over 6 months in my palembang's tank. Then again, he is more likely than any of the other puffers I have/had to sneak attack snails. He doesn't seem to crunch the shells much, no matter what size they are, but sneaks up "behind" them and snatches the meat out of the shell at high speed. That's probably why the nerites lasted so long, he couldn't snatch the meat as easily.