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Aquatic utrics

jimscott

Tropical Fish Enthusiast
I've had a couple of species of aquatic Utrics outside in trays and have been noticing algae building up on the Utrics. Anybody know how to deal with that?
 
Take it out, swish it about in a tub of clean water to remove as much guk as possible, scrub the trays or get new ones, replace in fresh water and keep in lower light than previously and try not to have the water get too warm. It's probably just going to be a holding action though, alas. Best cultivation is in a balanced aquarium with other flora and fauna, but you have heard that before.
 
Thanks, Tamlin!
 
I just started growing U.gibba indoors in shallow plastic trays under fluorescent lighting. The water is ~4" deep and I added quite a bit of LFS and some companion plants to deter algae. Well, algae began growing about 2wks after setup and believe it or not, though it looks ugly, it doesn't seem to be killing the plants. However, I've added a water snail to the tray which will hopefully eat the algae (and not the CP)!

Good luck.
 
I just spent some time doing as Tamlin suggested and it was only mildly tedious - and well worth the effort. Do others also put floating plants in with their aquatics?

Chloroplast, what kind of snail did you use? Was it a typical pond snail or did you buy one from a pets shop, like a ramshorn?
 
I bought a couple of nickle-sized, black-shelled snails from Petco (~$1.00 each). They're still alive and eating and must be pretty tough considering the water isn't filtered or temperature-regulated.

As for companion plants, many use one or more species. Some commonly used varieties are: water lettuce, water hyacinth, sedge, dwarf papyrus. Some use duckweed, but I'd stay away from that as it can quickly overtake the surface of the water.
 
My main concern is placing a snail with them that will eat my Utrics. Can you point specific snails that would be safe?
 
Petco identified them as "Moon snails" (no species name). Unfortunately, I'm largely unfamiliar with snails so I can't provide a list of good vs. bad. But I can say that the smaller varieties (< 1") are thought to be less likely to eat utrics.
 
Moon snails? I don't know which that is. I know of Ramshorn, Apple,
Gold, black, and Albino.
 
  • #10
Apple snails are likely acceptable. I once had two in a tank with aquatic plants and they never ate them.
 
  • #11
Ah, okay, that is do-able. Thanks!
 
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