Picked up some pods at the beach.

[Paolissimo]

So I took my dog to the beach today and while watching an horseshoe crab I noticed it that it was surrounded by pods very similar to the ones i have in my tank. So I grabbed a few and put them in a bottle, and once I got home, I took them out of the bottle and put them in the tank, my six line loved them..lol..some made it alive in the rocks, so hopefully they'll reproduce in the main tank. I dumped a few in the sump. I wish I had a smaller net, i could have cought a lot more. for the people in the know, are the hermit crabs and snails found in nyc beaches safe for our reef tank? those hermits looked like they were nasty so i left them. and the snails..didn't look like algae eaters. They have a black shell.

 

[skene]

snails no. crabs no.

 

[Paolissimo]

Thanks, I figure those things didn't look good. But the pods, I am going back to pick some more up.

 

[JimmyR1rider]

I myself wouldnt put anything from inner city waterways in my tank. Just my feeling though

 

[Paolissimo]

At jimmy
that was my only concern, so i only picked a few just to feed the fish in my aquarium. But honestly the water didn't seem too bad, there were lots of tiny fish swimming and the pods seemed everywhere. I'll see what happens.

 

[petraio]

i got some snails from the jersey sure with dark grey almost black shell doing a great job cleaning the glass at the rim of the tank some got killed by hermit grab that i had to take over they larger shells i got 24 in total i now have just over a dozen

 

[xxxAngeloxxx]

At jimmy
that was my only concern, so i only picked a few just to feed the fish in my aquarium. But honestly the water didn't seem too bad, there were lots of tiny fish swimming and the pods seemed everywhere. I'll see what happens.

Just a curiosity did you test the ocean water before putting the pods in the tank?

 

[masterswimmer]

Be aware that we maintain our tanks in the 77-80 degree range, similar to south Pacific reef waters. Any critters taken from the waters in NY/NJ will be cold water critters. Not appropriate for our temperate water tanks.

Russ

 

[MIKE NY]

The pods are very abundant in our waters....just grab a clump of seaweed and shake it in a bucket of water..thats how I get them and yes they will reproduce in our tanks....after I do any Redbug treatment thats how I reintroduce them in my system....The black snails with the long noses are a Nassarious species, but as mentioned are a cold water species. The warmer waters of our tanks excelerates their metabolisms so they only have a lifespan maybe about 2-3 years. I haven't used them in a few years, but when I did I just gave them a cleaning and a freshwater dip for a few minutes....also I wouldn't use any of the local hermits..most are very aggressive scavengers that will kill snails, small fish etc... I'm sure Paul or any of the other local collectors here on the boards can give you more info...