Dear hobby:
Yes, if you have algae wafers that sink, you can try them for feeding your herbivorous snails. Go ahead and place one or two of the wafers on the bottom of the tank and anchor them so they won’t be shifted around by the water currents. If the herbivorous snails are attracted to the wafers and begin feeding on them, then you’re in business. In that case, just replace the wafers periodically when the hungry snails have devoured all of them. Don’t add too many of the wafers at one time and observe the snails to see if they are actually eating them. If the snails don’t appear to be attracted to the algae wafers, offering them some of the Nori will be your best bet for feeding herbivorous snails.
If you have a lot of snails in a newly established aquarium without much algae to support them, it’s possible that some of them may not be getting enough to eat, depending on their dietary preferences. The strictly herbivorous snails would suffer the most without a supply of algae to graze upon; omnivorous snails and detritivores will have better luck scavenging in a tank that lacks much algae.
The algae wafers won’t suffice for the nassarius snails that are more carnivorous and prefer meatier leftovers. Provide the nassarius snails with a bit of frozen Mysis two or three times a week and they should be happy. (Or a piece of the uncooked cocktail shrimp that you used to cycle your aquarium should also attract nassarius snails.)
Yes, as long as your water quality remains good and there are no ammonia or nitrite spikes, it’s perfectly fine to let the other snails scavenge any of the turbos that may have died, as long as there is only a small number of dead or dying snails.
Once you get your first seahorses, you will no longer need to provide supplemental feedings for the nassarius snails, since they will help themselves to the frozen Mysis that you provide for your ponies.
Best of luck providing for your fine assortment of snails well your aquarium matures, hobby.
Respectfully,
Pete Giwojna
Ocean Rider, Inc. is an Organic Hawaiian-Based Seahorse Aqua-Farm & Aquarium that Follows Strict Good Farming Practices in Raising Seahorses and Other Aquatic Life.
