I just wanted to share a couple pictures I took of the Olive Nerite Snails in my 40G aquarium. As mentioned in last week’s algae writeup, these snails are fantastic organisms to have in your aquarium as algae eaters.

Here is a close-up shot of a Nerite Snail grazing on the glass. I imagine that this guy is scraping algae filaments from the glass that aren’t even visible to the naked eye.

Taken 100mm/2.8 with 68mm Kenko extension tubes

Here’s a little bit clearer shot of the snail’s mouth and foot. Their antennae constantly move back and forth over the ground in front of them, and sometimes appear to just flow with the current of the water.

Taken 100mm/2.8 with 68mm Kenko extension tubes

By keeping my nutrients balanced, and these snails in the tank, my tank is not algae free, but kept completely under control.

Over the past few days, I have noticed that my two females in the 40G have been bright yellow in coloration, and have remained very close to their caves. These are tell-tale signs that they’ve been spawning. It looks like the first female’s fry are now free swimming!

Right now, there is a sizable group of fry, with at least 20-30, but it could be even more. They move around so much, and they all look the same, that it’s near impossible to count. They spend most of the day grazing on tiny organisms and detritus throughout the tank, and especially on the porous mossy rock that contains all kinds of nooks and crannies for them to sort through.

Some of them even seem to take refuge in the small holes formed in the volcanic rock. I don’t plan on trying to remove the fry from the tank, so essentially it’s up to their parents and the cover of these rocks and plants to grow them up. I will, however, prepare a batch of baby brine shrimp for them this week to help them grow up big and strong.