LardLad
Active Member
- Joined
- Oct 29, 2019
- Messages
- 431
- Reaction score
- 339
- What state or country do you live in
- Kentucky
I purchased 3 Black Nerites to enhance my CUC. I was assured that they were "the best diatom eaters" and that they had a "voracious appetite for diatoms" and that they wouldnt eat purple coralline algae.
Now after housing them for 3 months in my reef, I have found exactly the opposite to be true.
First, for as much as a reef snail may have a personality these have great personalities and are cool to watch. As soon as it starts getting near dark they go into full work mode and are easily the hardest-working snails I have ever seen. They have proven to be voracious eaters and outperform my Trochus and Ceriths by far; no comparison. My tank is razor clean and I can seriously say I cannot find any evidence of any green algae whatsoever.
However, the 3 of them peeled nearly all of my coralline algae off the reef in this time. I called the group that sold them to me and they swore up and down that they don't do this and they even said that they don't have the equipment to do it. So I gave away two crabs in the tank that I thought were possible culprits and it didn't get better. Finally I caught them red-handed. It is too bad because they are such excellent cuc members but I let it go too far now I have to find a new home for them.
So don't let anyone tell you that Black Nerites won't eat purple coralline algae. In this case they cleared off 10 lb of Pukani in 3 months.
BTW they never took one bite of the diatoms for which I bought them. They totally turn their noses up at Nori sheets and refused Hikari algae wafers. Even so I am going to be sad to see them go. I really liked them.
Now after housing them for 3 months in my reef, I have found exactly the opposite to be true.
First, for as much as a reef snail may have a personality these have great personalities and are cool to watch. As soon as it starts getting near dark they go into full work mode and are easily the hardest-working snails I have ever seen. They have proven to be voracious eaters and outperform my Trochus and Ceriths by far; no comparison. My tank is razor clean and I can seriously say I cannot find any evidence of any green algae whatsoever.
However, the 3 of them peeled nearly all of my coralline algae off the reef in this time. I called the group that sold them to me and they swore up and down that they don't do this and they even said that they don't have the equipment to do it. So I gave away two crabs in the tank that I thought were possible culprits and it didn't get better. Finally I caught them red-handed. It is too bad because they are such excellent cuc members but I let it go too far now I have to find a new home for them.
So don't let anyone tell you that Black Nerites won't eat purple coralline algae. In this case they cleared off 10 lb of Pukani in 3 months.
BTW they never took one bite of the diatoms for which I bought them. They totally turn their noses up at Nori sheets and refused Hikari algae wafers. Even so I am going to be sad to see them go. I really liked them.
