Some northern Europe saltwater snails (and perhaps a slug)

[Pollux]

pretty stripes on that periwinkle.

is the glass media helping with the micro algae?

[Blötdjur]

I like their stripes and their feet.

I haven't noticed any improvement yet, but there hasn't been much time yet. In my freshwater tank it definitely helps!

[Blötdjur]

There are lots of copepods lately... possibly because of detrius increase? And a lot of them seem to be carrying eggs...

[Helikulo]

You said periwinkles require a paludarium; is that because they are used to being out of the water when the tide goes out? Can they survive in a normal marine tank (they could still go up out of the water on the underside of the lid)??

[Blötdjur]

No I don't think I have said any of them require a paludarium. Nor do I keep mine in one either

In nature they sometimes go up above the waterline voluntarily, and of course there is the tide.

My Littorina littorea are seemingly above the waterline less than 1/8 of the time, when there is this much food at least (often none of my 4 are above the waterline, sometimes one, and very seldom more than one). When they had less food perhaps it was less than 1/4.

They seemed more active when I dropped in the water glass, but I have also put my LED lights on constantly, so I don't know what is the reason i haven't noticed any more diatoms (there is a big collection where the snails can't reach, but perhaps it looked about like that before).

[Blötdjur]

Good shell growth:

[Blötdjur]

[Helikulo]

Looks like a cross between an apple snail and a zebra!

[Blötdjur]

I've bought a Rena Air 400 air pump, it bubbles like crazy (This is for all my aquariums.)

I've also bought a cheap desk lamp with an 11 W compact flourescent tube on IKEA ("GLOBAL" ), replacing the 7 W lamp (I separated and slid down the metal arm along the wire. There is a power transformer in the plug end.)

[Blötdjur]

I now have two high capacity air pumps (one Schego WS3, high pressure 350 l/h).

This tank eventually perhaps got problems with diatom plankton due to silicate (wanted) and pretty good lighting with high duration.

I moved together my two Red Sea containers with this in a 37.5 liter (nearly 10 gallons) tank (currently 55 W flourescent 18-24 h / 24 h), where I also keep my abalone, a live rock with "mushrooms" (Discosoma sp., Corallimorpha) and some new rock/coral pieces/"sand".

This new tank has gotten the same problem, so I will perhaps buy/get an animal who lives of it! A clam/mussel perhaps.

[Helikulo]

Blotdjur, I have a question.

My supermarket sells sea snails live but out of water for human consumption.

I think it would be relatively cheap to set up a marine tank just for snails only and 'save' some of them. Can they eat anything else except algae though? I am worried they may not survive if the tank set-up is quite new. (Not that the snails have much to lose because they will get eaten if they don't die in my tank.)

Thanks

[Donya]

Perhaps too late a response, but if there's no algae, try nori - which is dried seaweed intended for humans and can be found in grocery stores. Most marine snails will accept nori in place of other seaweeds and fine algae, although small snails may have a difficult time eating it until it starts to decay (which can foul the water if filtration is minimal).