How many nerite

So the question is, how many Nerite Snails per gallon? They belong to the family of Neritidae. Also known as the tiger or zebra snails, these cute little beings are very efficient aquarium cleaners and thus very popular in the aquarium trade. You do not have to worry too much about their behavior since they are some peaceful, cute little beings, ideal for beginners starting with their first aquarium. They do not have any special demands and are easy to care for. They are easy to breed and can multiply quickly, so be careful.

They produce waste just like any other fish. Overstocking the aquarium with them will add to the bio-load of the aquatic environment. Aquarium capacity in gallons. Ideal Nerite Snails Count. So, yes, 4 nerite snails for a gallon tank is more than enough. They vacuum the aquarium of algae and also thrive if matched with the right tank mates. Moreover, you could try feeding them with algae wafers that are dried and treated algae that will settle on the bottom of the tank.

The nerite snails are slow, but they can glide easily over surfaces, decorations, filter intakes, or plants. Their bodies are equipped with sensory tentacles and radula so that they can scavenge for food.

Nevertheless, it might take them some time until they come across the algae wafers at the bottom of the tank. There are other food options also. You can add a little of them to the tank. However, if you can scratch algae from the aquarium walls, then it means they are fine and have plenty to eat. They usually like soft film algae, soft green and brown algae, and also brown diatoms. The Nerite Snails Lifespan is around one year. This is why it is very important to ask for a sample of the water the snail is used to and test it for pH, Ammonia, Hardness, and Nitrates.

If these parameters are very much different from your tank, then do not add them. We understand, but please remove them from the tank right away. A decomposing nerite snail can cause the Ammonia in the tank to rise to dangerous heights for the whole aquarium environment. You will usually find them motionless, on the bottom of the tank, sometimes upside down.

However, there could be other reasons why your nerite snail is not moving — click here for more details. It is very tricky to tell the difference between male and female nerite snails. It is almost impossible. They behave, move, and look almost the same irrespective of their gender. They all have hard, coiled shells that protect a muscular foot they use to push themselves forward.

Their bodies are also equipped with four sensitive tentacles that help them move easily around surfaces and find their food.

Depending on the different species, the coloring and markings on their shells differ. However, one thing stays the same about all of them, they all look gorgeous and they are awesome algae eaters. Now, I am not going to list all types of Nerite snails, there are simply too many of them way too many!

However, the most popular ones in this hobby:. Have you noticed that in articles authors usually use common and scientific name when they talk about shrimp or fish? What about Nerite snails? In most cases, you will not see their scientific names in the articles and guides.

Do you know why? Because everything is just too confusing and nobody knows for sure who is who. We have Neritina turrita Chemnitz, and Neritina turrita Gmelin, Are they the same Species?

Maybe it also belongs to Vittina waigiensis species. Nonetheless, despite all this mess, adult Nerite snails on average share approximately the same parameters and water requirements. Nerite snails are widespread around the world. In nature, they live mainly on hard substrates such as rocks and driftwood. Rivers, streams, creeks, mangrove swamps, lakes, lagoons, ponds, and mouth area of rivers are all their habitats.

Nerite snails are used to changing water levels, so they can live without any problems in the freshwater and brackish water aquariums. Zebra nerite snail. The basic colors range between an intense golden-yellow and light brown, and from greenish-yellow to yellowish-brown.

The strips are uneven. There can be big light ridges at the base of the shell. Variety of dark bands give the zebra snail its characteristic appearance. An average length is about 2. Mistakenly, it is often referred to as Vittina coromandeliana, or as Neritina coromandeliana. However, studies have shown that they have different stripes variations.

Olive nerite snail. They have a rounded, smooth shell of olive to brownish-green coloration giving them their common name. The largest specimens of this species are less than an inch across. Horned nerite snails. The alternative names are Sunny snail or Bumblebee snail. The main feature is the small spikes protruding from the front of the shell. These spikes often break, but it does not affect the well-being of the snail. Their antennae are very short which is a good bonus; if you want to keep them with fish, they will not attract fish to nip at them.

Read more about these snails in my guide here. Red racer nerite snail has an interesting gleaming ebony color with slight grooves on its shell, running parallel to the aperture all the way back. The shells can have areas of dark gold, dark grey, or even black. Interesting fact : they are the fastest crawlers compared to all other types of Nerite Snails.

Tiger n erite snail has a dark amber color with small black markings the patterns resemble tiger stripes that form encircling stripes.

Their maximum size is about 1 inch. Every snail has a unique shell pattern variation and it makes them even more interesting to watch. All nerite snails are detritivores and herbivores and are widely known as one of, if not the most, efficient algae eaters out of all aquarium snails. They really like soft algae, green spot algae , green dust algae, hair algae , brown algae, and even black beard algae if no other sources of food are available.

Nerite snails will make the slices, roots, plant leaves, and decoration items spotlessly clean. They move slow but leave nothing behind. If there are not enough algae present in the aquarium, the diet can be supplemented with algae wafers or blanched vegetables such as zucchini or carrots read my article how to blanch vegetables.

Otherwise, they will eat all the algae and then starve. Note : Unfortunately, supplementary food is not their favorite choice and it takes time for them to get used to. Yes, they are a little bit fussy in that sense but all in all Nerite snails are a very popular choice for keeping uneaten food and algae in check.

Fortunately, unlike some aquatic snails, Nerite snails do not seem to eat plant leaves even when they are very hungry. These snails move fast and work over the entire tank daily. The best cleanup crew in the hobby for planted tanks. They just keep working as fast as snails can do. Note : Nerite snails eat a lot and poop quite a bit. All snails add too much to the bioload of the aquarium. However, your shrimp will love that! The snail poop has bacteria that is good for the digestive system of the shrimp.

You can also read my article how shails benefit shrimp tank right here. Of course, it depends on the conditions of your tank and how many algae you have. Personally, it seems a bit too much.

There is no rush. Eventually, Nerite snails will deal with this problem and if you have lots of them, it will become problematic to feed them later.

Nerite snails are very peaceful and undemanding creatures. Once they have adjusted to new conditions in the aquarium, they become extremely robust and hardy enough. They will not bother anybody in the aquarium. In addition, they usually do not sit in groups.

Nerite snails absolutely do not care about a company of any other Nerite snail in the tank as well. So, do not think that they will feel lonely. Nerite snails are not pure water snails and from time to time can climb outside of the aquarium. That is why, when keeping any type of these snails, it is a good idea to make sure the water line in your aquarium is not too high. These snails are well-known escape artists.

Unfortunately, they often fall to the ground after that and have a hard time flipping over. Nerites left upside down can die that way. Complex aquascapes can be dangerous for them because they can easily get stuck and lost. Note : It is advisable to cover the tank because these snails can escape from open top tanks.

Unlike some other snails, Nerites are not hermaphrodite. They have distinct sexes individually. The problem is that there are no external features that could distinguish between male and female.

Therefore, nobody knows how to do it with the naked eye. If you decide to breed them, you will need a group of to improve the odds of getting both genders. Of course, you can be lucky with just two of the same species. Note : Actually, there is a hypothesis that the sex of Nerite Snails can be determined if there are numerous individuals of the same age, kept in the same environment, and fed the same foods.

In this case, the females are a little bit bigger than the males. Frankly saying, I do not think that anybody can prove or disprove this hypothesis. It is just too hard to breed them even without these conditions. If you meet their needs, they can live for several years at least years. Some aquarists say that their Nerite snails lived up to 5 years.

I believe that it really depends on the conditions you are keeping them, how well you feed them, and the size they are when you get them. Although they have a different appearance, their care requirements are essentially the same. What is really good about these snails is that they can take a wide range of water parameters.

Nerite snails will accept the water temperature range from 65 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit. In fact, they can take even warmer temperatures not extreme of course. Under low temperatures, their metabolism slows down, they eat and move less. The optimal pH range is between 7 and 8 and they definitely prefer harder water. Keeping suitable pH is absolutely crucial for the snails.

If it gets lower than the prescribed number, it will affect the snails harmfully because acidic conditions dissolve the shells of snails made of calcium carbonate. Therefore, harder water is generally better for the integrity of their shell. They do not do quite as well in the low flow low oxygen setup.

Note : With time, when they get old, the shells of Nerite snails, show considerable deterioration while their inhabitants are still alive and reproductively active, giving them the appearance of dead or empty shells. Although the worn-out appearance of these shells may be an inevitable outcome of their tendency to dissolve in calcium-poor water.

Tip : They are all sensitive to nitrates and need hard water. Pieces of limestone or crushed coral are also good in a tank with Nerite snails. Wondershells will buffer your water and increase calcium quickly.

While crushed coral or cuttlebone will erode more slowly over time to help keep it stable. Do not forget to acclimate any Nerite snail the same way as shrimp before putting them in the tank. Read it here. During mating, the male stays over the right side of the female, inserting his male organ below her mantle edge. After that, the female uses her foot to transfer the egg capsules to the surface to fix them there.

Breeding these snails is a pain in the as … back. Everybody knows that Nerite snails can thrive in both freshwater and salt waters but require saltwater to reproduce. But how? Why even the most experienced aquarists and invertebrate keepers and breeders have not been able to successfully raise Nerite snails and why do we see fail after fail after all these years? In my opinion, there are three main reasons why aquarists have a hard time doing it. Such migrations of freshwater neritids were reported for example in Hawaii, Costa Rica, French Polynesia, and Puerto Rico… until finding adult habitat.

During the upstream migration, juveniles 6 mm of Neritina granosa grow to about 9 mm over several months; growth then continues at a rate of mm year, slowing until they reach a mean maximum adult length of 29 mm. Who has Nerite snails, which are years old? I have never heard about it. That is why I will refer to the study of Neritina zebra snail.

The biologists researched the spawning and development of Neritina zebra under laboratory conditions and I would like to share their results with you.

If you disagree, you can throw stones at them. Based on the larval ecology of benthic invertebrates, there are three main types of development: 1. Planktotrophic : when the development involves planktonic larvae feeding on external food particles; 2. Lecithotrophic : when non-feeding larvae will metamorphose after a period of a few hours or days in the plankton; 3.

Intracapsular metamorphosis which occurs before hatching. According to the study , Neritina zebra has a mixed development Come on! As are other snails of the same genus, which inhabit environments with a strong freshwater influence.

Biologists observed that Neritina zebra has intracapsular and planktonic larval stages. Therefore, the whole process looks like this. After mating, the females deposit egg capsules on any available substratum such as driftwood, leaves, including shells of other snails. At first, the egg capsules have a yellowish color when deposited. Then they become darker as development progresses. The egg capsules have an oval shape and extremely small The capsules also have a thin membrane surrounding the eggs.

Each capsule has, on average, 68 eggs ranging from Note : Almost all guides about Nerite snails even at the top of Google search say that they lay eggs. Well, this is not correct!

What you see and think are nerite eggs are actually capsules with dozens of little eggs in them! After hatching, we have a release of veliger in the water. A veliger is the planktonic larvae of the snails.

They are very tiny at this stage. Of course, they are! Almost 70 planktonic larvae can fit into 1,5 mm! To induce hatching of these larvae, biologists decreased salinity from 15 to The capsules opened 24 or 48 h after this salinity change releasing the veligers.

There were differences in the duration of embryonic and larval stages between the two salinities. Here comes yet another problem with Nerite snails. Although all species of the family Neritidae deposit their eggs in characteristic capsules, there are differences in reproductive strategies between species. Three types of reproductive behavior have been described in the scientific literature:. Freshwater species , for example, such as. They hatch as miniature adults, a crawling snail intracapsular metamorphosis.

Estuarine species e stuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environments , for example, such as. It is fresh water. Any idea how to keep the population in check? This is a 2 year old thread and nerite snails need brackish water for the eggs to hatch, you don't have nerite snails.

Nerite snails lay eggs on the glass spread our like corydoras almost, not in a mass. Please post a new thread an include the following information Tank size Water parameters If you have a filter an heater What else is in the tank How long it has been setup And pictures of the snails.

Thanks youm. M y A quarium C lub. By Shannon, 8 years ago on General Freshwater Questions. Hi, I am fishless cycling my new gallon and will be moving my current fish to their new larger home from a 45 gallon cube. Oh my!!! Click here overview Nerita Snails are an efficient scavenger ideal for smaller ponds and freshwater community aquariums.

What do I feed them if they run out of algae or if I don't have any algae? Thank You, Shannon. Those may interest you: Nerite Snails - Neritina Natalensis.

Do frsh water snails need new shells? So, you want to get a snail, but you don't want it to turn into snails What is the difference between Mystery and Apple snails? Thanks to everyone for the info Shannon. Old thread but Try not to post on old posts again.

Most of these people are probably not around anymore. Nerites will lay in freshwater, but won't hatch. They need brackish water to hatch. R my nerite snails dead??? Best algae wafers for nerite snails?? How long before nerite snails lay eggs? I bought two nerite snails. They we Can I keep pond snails in my aquarium - is it a good or bad idea? Is 4 nerite snails 6 trochus snails and 7 nassurias snails good enough for How to sex Mystery Snails. Apple snails,mystery snails,nerite snails.

Duckweed, Algae and Snails Forever. Nerite snails eating live plants? My snails seem to be fine with new shell gro Breeding Mystery Snails for Color.