Olive Nerite Snails with mbuna

[mr.cichlid]

Does anyone keep Olive Nerite Snails with mbuna?

[blue2fyre]

I tried a horned nerite with my mbuna. Things went well for a few days but as soon as he crawled on on the sand the mbuna flipped him over and killed him.

[mr.cichlid]

hmmm...is anyone succesfull in keep olive nerite snails with mbuna? they would be really cool to have in my tank...i heard they are real nice algae cleaners with much bioload...

[Pittbull]

Yeah with Mbuna it will be small percentage for survival with Nerites but with Tanganyika they have a great chance..

[efors]

I agree, mbuna can be snail killers.

[excuzzzeme]

I know my Mbuna go nuts for snails of any kind!

[Razzo]

Got four zebra nerites (a week or two ago) that are doing well with my tangs. So far so good. No experience with mbuna and nerites.

BTW: the nerites are amazing algae and diatom cleaners.

[mr.cichlid]

Grr! these mbuna have so many restrictions but there are worth it :)

[jgulecas]

I have mbuna (P. saulosi) with olive nerites, MTS and pond snails. They do not bother or even pay attention to the nerites. They do go crazy for pond snails that I smash against the aquarium glass to give them and their tankmates an occasional treat.

If you can find them, I would recommend zebra nerites over olive. They are more decorative and also from Africa.

Olives are drab and functional. Curiously, they do come in olive green and black colors, just like, well, olives.

[h20bug]

I haven't tried it as I was advised against it. I read that only MTS have hard enough shells (mbuna proof?) but I haven't tried them yet.

[blue2fyre]

Now I do keep MTS with my mbuna. They mostly stay in the sand all day and come out at night while the mbuna are sleeping. They do really well in my tank.

[mr.cichlid]

samething, i have mts snails too currently in my tank. i dont really see them in day time. do zebra nerites have hard shell that can work with mbuna?

[blue2fyre]

I think the problem with all nerites is they don't have a trap door. Once they get flipped over they are dead. My horned nerite had spikes on his shell that kept the mbuna at bay until they flipped him over. then he had no defense.

[efors]

Now I do keep MTS with my mbuna. They mostly stay in the sand all day and come out at night while the mbuna are sleeping. They do really well in my tank.

Not in my tank! All MTS I have added in my mbuna tank, have been killed mainly by the yellow labs. I saw them doing that. Also, I read in TFH magazine that yellow labs can be used to control the population of MTS in a tank because they are almost as good as clown loaches killing those snails.

[blue2fyre]

HA I didn't know that.
I guess it helps that I don't have any labs. I see a few dead ones here and there but tey reproduce fast enough to keep a good population. Those poor snails do have a tough life though.

[mr.cichlid]

I have added some olive nerites in my tank. So far they are doing great. my cichlids do bite on their shell sometimes but no big harm done to the snails yet. They have already cleaned up a good portion of green algae on the glass. The snails have plenty of algae food right now so every single one of them is busy.

Also, wanted to give an update on my stocklist:
5 blue dolphin cichlids - juvies
4 yellow labs
6 red zebras
10 dems - juvies
5 afra cobye - juvies
4 saulosi - juvies
1 eureka red peacock
3 horseface loaches
1 algae eater
10 - olive nerites
2 - silver dollars
4 - tiger barbs

[mr.cichlid]

here are some pics of my olive nerites...i see some white spots all over the tank as show in the pics...i guess these are eggs..

[blue2fyre]

Yup those are eggs. They won't hatch in freshwater so you'll have to scrap them off. My olive nerite is the worst for laying eggs on everything.

[jgulecas]

The nerite snail eggs are either eaten by fish or eventually dissappear on their own. I have never had to scrape to get rid of them.

[blue2fyre]

I just have to scrap them off the glass. They never seem to go away completely. My fish don't eat them and even when they "hatch" they still leave a little ring.

[jgulecas]

Maybe my MTS eat them. I see the "rings" but eventually they disappear too.