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Mitchell Weintraub, Florida, U.S.A.

Ramshorn Snails and Dwarf Indian Puffers as Tankmates

I have 3 Indian dwarf puffers in my tank. I’ve read that these snails are a perfect diet for them. I’m pretty unfamiliar with these snails. But have read that they are considered somewhat of a nuisance due to their fast rate of breeding. I’d just like your opinion on how many I might wind up with starting out with the 6 in your auction? Also, the weather is very cold in northwest Indiana (where I live) and, I’d also like to know if it is a bad idea to have them shipped in such cold weather? I’m hoping for a very good balance between their breeding rate & the rate at which my puffers thin their population. I’d also like them to breed somewhat faster than the puffers eat them to allow them to help remove dead plant debris as I have a very heavily planted tank.

Red Ramshorn Snails Quantity (6) with Free Shipping
Red Ramshorn Snails

Hello, Thank you for the inquiry. I’ve got a pair of Spotted Puffers in a 120 gallon tank with regular Brown Ramshorns and the Ramshorns were in the tank before the Puffers. Before the Puffers arrived the Ramshorns roamed about the tank in the open, once the Puffers were around they hide most of the time and there are not nearly as many. I’ve watched the puffers ‘slurp’ the snails from their shell whenever I toss a few snails in from the wet/dry filter. I think the dwarfs will allow more of the Ramshorns to survive and are a better choice for fancier snails. Ramshorns are extremely prolific and I doubt that every single one would ever be eaten. Ramshorns will survive being shipped even in the winter weather we’ve had this year. They tolerate 55 degree water quite well and as long as we include a 72-hour heat pack they will ship aok.

Will the Ginga Rubra Guppies and Japanese Blue Endlers hybridize? Have you hybridized them before? What is the result? What temperature do you keep them at? Any special care instruction for them? Do they like certain food? I’m just feeding them crushed tropical flakes and shrimp pellets mixed together.

Ginga Rubra Guppy

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The Ginga Rubras will crossbreed with the Japanese Blue Endlers, that will be an interesting cross. I haven’t made that cross, but both lines have strong autosomal traits (non-gender based) and should be a stable and healthy line. I keep them at 82, which I’d consider optimal but they will tolerate 55 – 92 degrees. They do very well on a quality flake food, I add AP larval diet, freeze dried bloodworms, freeze dried Cyclops, live mosquito larvae, daphnia, scuds, occasional newly hatched brine shrimp and algae. They will feed on algae and even thread algae on plants and so I allow it to grow on 3 sides of their tanks for the biological value. I enjoy endlers and endler hybrid guppies because they tend to not always be on the surface behaving more like wild livebearers rather than like delta tail guppies. Please send a photo of the blue/gingas when they color up, they should be beautiful, stay in touch.

My Naja Grass seems to be losing color. Idk if it’s just me or it doesn’t look as healthy

In the winter time when the daylight is shorter, the lower leaves of the Naja tend to be a bit lighter, slightly olive in color. Your naja was grown in a greenhouse and relies on natural daylight. Increase the time your light is on to 12 hours and the Naja will grow as it does in the summer with brighter green color. The naja in your photo looks good and healthy, believe me I grow plenty of it. If you have a cow pasture nearby add a golf ball size piece of dried manure and I’m sure combined with 12 hours of light your naja will flourish and explode with growth.

Is NAJA Grass plant a floating type or does it have roots that can be planted in a gravel or sand substrate? No ferts of any type?

Is NAJA Grass plant a floating type or does it have roots that can be planted in a gravel or sand substrate? No ferts of any type?

Hello and Thank you for the inquiry. Naja Grass for the most part grows floating. When it is growing very well, it sends roots downward toward your substrate to anchor itself and or to obtain more nutrients. Sometimes it will drop roots down toward wherever mulm tends to accumulate within your aquarium. I’ve also intentionally planted it in gravel and found that it will spread under gravel much like terrestrial grass. So really it is your choice as it seems to thrive either method. I find it does well without additional fertilizing when housed with Fish. Without additional live inhabitants I will occasionally, about once every 3 months add a golf ball portion of dried cow manure per 10 gallon aquarium. If the water starts to turn green either from the manure temporarily remove it or add Daphnia and Scuds.scud_003

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