algae eater for mantis tank
- Thread starter tlouie
- Start date
No mantis yet for me, but I have little Asterina sp. starfish. They reproduce rapidly and some dislike them because they can hit plague proportions, and have (rarely) been implicated in molesting corals. They usually don't though and the coral-eating species are usually found as parasites on what they eat--corals! The ones in my tank eat algae films, won't do any kind of filamentous algae. They're tiny, the ones I have don't get any bigger than a dime. You can order them from Inland Aquatics as Micro-stars, I don't know offhand who else has them, but a cheaper solution would be to get them free from another aquarist.
Whether or not a mantis would eat them happily I can't say, but they're one thing to try
If you can find them, get a lot...these things are tiny and not quick-moving.
Whether or not a mantis would eat them happily I can't say, but they're one thing to try
If you can find them, get a lot...these things are tiny and not quick-moving.brekurboy1
New member
I have a kent pro scraper that I'm using for the algae. If you keep putting snails it'll keep eating them. The only thing I can think of is the scraper. Everything else becomes food.
goblinsharkman
New member
urchins eat algae....but they are a good snack!
DensityMan
Active member
Scraper is necessary for any tank really...
no matter how efficient a cleaning crew is, it will never polish the glass to a streak-free, clear finish...
Astrea snails seem to withstand many attacks of my small G. smithi, but will eventually succumb I imagine. All three of mine are still alive, but sport many chips and dings in their shells.
Cerith also have tended to last longer than normal food, er... cleaners.
no matter how efficient a cleaning crew is, it will never polish the glass to a streak-free, clear finish...
Astrea snails seem to withstand many attacks of my small G. smithi, but will eventually succumb I imagine. All three of mine are still alive, but sport many chips and dings in their shells.
Cerith also have tended to last longer than normal food, er... cleaners.
Herbert T. Kornfeld
In Memoriam
this is a long shot, but as I write this i am looking at the lettuce nudi in my nano...it seems that because it doesnt have a shell...it just might work. Or since it seems you have a smasher, perhaps an algae eating fish, like a red-lip blenny, would be a good choice.
Well i found a temporary solution.
my peacock mantis is only about 4" long, well i found some HUGE turbo snails, probably 3-4" wide.
I don't think my mantis will be able to take these out, well at least if he took one out, it would take him a week to eat it....lol
I think this will work in the time being.
Now my problem is that I have some of those not-friendly TBS whelk type snails, these are 1" long, for mantis food.
I heard they like to suck the fluid out of other snails, I hope they don't kill my new huge turbos.
I have attached a pic of the TBS whelk hitchhiker snails, can anyone positive ID them?
my peacock mantis is only about 4" long, well i found some HUGE turbo snails, probably 3-4" wide.
I don't think my mantis will be able to take these out, well at least if he took one out, it would take him a week to eat it....lol
I think this will work in the time being.
Now my problem is that I have some of those not-friendly TBS whelk type snails, these are 1" long, for mantis food.
I heard they like to suck the fluid out of other snails, I hope they don't kill my new huge turbos.
I have attached a pic of the TBS whelk hitchhiker snails, can anyone positive ID them?
DensityMan
Active member
I have that same (visually confirmation only) whelkin with Tim for the last few months. It is the last surviving snail in the whole tank. Time won't even look at it to eat... /shrug
(restocking clean-up crew/food for Tim tonight)
(restocking clean-up crew/food for Tim tonight)
DensityMan
Active member
They eat other snails (generalization, but MOST snails of that shape/color are predators)
Herbert T. Kornfeld
In Memoriam
Those arent 'good' snails so to speak...def not 'turbo' or whatever....density is correct, they are relatives of queen conch...predatory snails, if you will.
DensityMan
Active member
Finally captured the whelk eating in Tim's tank... Took him less than 6 hrs to clean out that nassarius snail completely. Then it started hunting again right away...
Herbert T. Kornfeld
In Memoriam
Nice shot density,
hey, how's tim doing? I havent seen any continuing adventures in some time...
hey, how's tim doing? I havent seen any continuing adventures in some time...
DensityMan
Active member
Updated Tim's journal yesterday and will do so again today. I have the day off - and that means tank cleanings and more time to observe Tim. *grin*
Overall he is doing well and growing large. In fact he may be in another molt phase starting yesterday (the tank was restocked with nassarius snails Tuesday night, leaving plenty of time for him to have pigged-out and grown too plump for his skin again)
Overall he is doing well and growing large. In fact he may be in another molt phase starting yesterday (the tank was restocked with nassarius snails Tuesday night, leaving plenty of time for him to have pigged-out and grown too plump for his skin again)
