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View Full Version : How do you acclimate Saltwater Nerite Snails to fresh water?



Izzy2
02-09-2009, 11:53 PM
Hello,
I've found a local and reasonable source for Saltwater Nerite Snails.
What is the best way to acclimate them to fresh water?
They have tried dripping them with fresh water for several hours but haven't had any luck keeping them alive. Thanks.

NeonFlux
02-09-2009, 11:57 PM
Drop acclimation method. This will work by using airline tubing to slowly introduce new water to fish/inverts. All you have to do is tie 4 or 5 knots on the tubing to slow down the water siphon from the freshwater tank until the point you get a few drops at a time.

vampie
02-10-2009, 12:03 AM
Is it a species that can be also kept in freshwater? If not, you're just needlessly killing them.

NeonFlux
02-10-2009, 12:06 AM
Nerite snails, even though they normally live in salty conditions can live in freshwater. They just can't breed in freshwater..

Lupin
02-10-2009, 12:15 AM
Drip acclimation will not work! Converting a SW creature to FW is very difficult and will take days to weeks, not a day IMO. Why not just get FW nerites from another source?

vampie
02-10-2009, 12:16 AM
There are many species of Nerites, only a few can live in both fresh and saltwater.

NeonFlux
02-10-2009, 12:40 AM
Wow, I didn't even know it was that difficult. Totally out of you invert people's league. Looks like it isnt going to be easy after all. I assumed it would be pretty simple;meh, that's bad.

Well, like Lupin said, go and find some freshwater nerite snails.

247Plants
02-10-2009, 9:57 AM
Drip acclimation will not work! Converting a SW creature to FW is very difficult and will take days to weeks, not a day IMO. Why not just get FW nerites from another source?

I talked to a sw snail breeder about ordering some nerites and he said it only takes about an hour to acclimate them. Makes sense to me since they can crawl between intertidal zones pretty frequently. He could have been just been blowing smoke in an attempt to sell me some nerites. But I dont think it takes as long to acclimate a snail vs. a fish.

Cuvier
02-10-2009, 10:31 AM
What is the species you're seeking? This could have some bearing on how feasible acclimation can be (some nerite species which occur in salt water also migrate into freshwater of their own volition in the wild).

Izzy2
02-10-2009, 12:25 PM
The salt water nerites do not have a specific name listed on the invoice. They were described over the phone as black and white checkered.

It was my hope to find a possible way to convert them. I wouldn't purchase them without better info on their type and a proven method.

I like supporting local stores. They can afford to order 50 and spread the shipping costs around. Fresh water nerites are less common than the salt water in this area.

Thanks for everyone's advice.

vampie
02-10-2009, 1:13 PM
Chance it's Nerita tessellata?
It's a commonly sold marine species that does look checkered.

247Plants
02-10-2009, 2:29 PM
I talked to a sw snail breeder about ordering some nerites and he said it only takes about an hour to acclimate them. Makes sense to me since they can crawl between intertidal zones pretty frequently. He could have been just been blowing smoke in an attempt to sell me some nerites. But I dont think it takes as long to acclimate a snail vs. a fish.

This was for olive nerites btw. Sorry for any confusion.

On another note I read somewhere or other a while back that there are naturally occurring olive nerites that breed in fresh water that some how ended up getting landlocked.

Mgamer20o0
02-11-2009, 2:08 AM
find me some plants lol