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[APD] Re: Neritina natalensis and USDA/Fish and Game



Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2005 12:17:24 -0800 (GMT-08:00)
From: Thomas  Barr <tcbiii at earthlink_net>
Subject: [APD] Re: USDA/Fish and Game

We've had them here for some time."

Tom: Does that mean you know a source that I could order from in the U.S.?

They look neat, some claim miracles, but I've seen few herbivores ever do that
>> in a contolled study. They may tip the scale with milder issues, but if you have
>> milder issues, work on that without the herbivore reliance, the algae means
>> there is room for improvement for plant growth and health of the tank.


I have very little algae now that I have followed your advice and add 10 ppm NO3 and 1.5 ppm PO4 four times a week. I add 5 ml Flourish on the other three days. I also keep the CO2 at about 37 ppm.

But, as I said, on the driftwood and petrified wood, what I'm quite sure are little tufts of Black Beard Algae do start growing over time. I can kill off the parts that stick up out of the water, when I'm doing a water change, using H2O2, as I described in another posting. But I find squirting it underwater is mostly ineffective. This is exactly the job Oliver Knott mentioned in recommending these snails. Whenever he has a client with the problem, he takes out the rock, etc. and drops it into a tank with these snails. Overnight, they clean it off. Problem solved.

As for the USDA, the left hand doesn't seem to know what the right hand is doing. I was told by more than one person on the phone that there was no problem with this species. I filled out the permit application, answering every question, and pointing out that these snails cannot reproduce in fresh water, and if I had to get rid of them I would grind them up in the disposal. When they called me for the particular family they belonged to, I faxed them pictures and descriptions from the internet. The fact that they already had a (rubber/metal) stamp with the denial for this particular snail is what got me. Why didn't the other people know that?

Anyway, I'm not going to pursue trying to import them. So, if you know how I can get some, please let me know.

John

John T. Fitch
E-mail: JTFitch "at" FitchFamily.com
Web: www.fitchfamily.com/aquarium.html

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