I bought a zebra (or olive? are they the same?) nerite snail today.. sort of an impulse buy. Please tell me they dont eat plants?!
I get some pics of him, he's cute
Another thing, the top spiral bit of his shell has eroded away.. I'm not sure what I'm asking really.. hope he's ok

all snails eat plants i think lets see pics

Nerites are brackish or saltwater and most will eat algae but supposedly not plants. Any snail has the possibility of eating plants, though, in my opinion. But I do know some of the plant sites promote the nerites as being plant safe.

The top part of the shell (called the spire) being eroded will not hurt him. His body is occupying the lower, main part of the shell so there is no harm in the top being gone.

Nerites are neat little critters. I got to know them because the shells of the larger ones (search Nerita peloronta if you want to see some BEAUTIFULLY colored shells!!) are a favorite of small hermit crabs!

brackish? maybe its not a nerite.. i think thats what it was..
He was bought from a freshwater tank.
This is what he looks like http://www.pricenetwork.ca/gallery/albums/...rmal_NERITE.JPG

I will take a pic of 'him' when the batteries are charged back up.

I had some nerites and what I understood was they are able to live in either brackish or freshwater but will only breed in brackish water, so unless you want some babies you should be alright Lucy.

Jsrtist is correct about the brackish/marine water, and those are Nerites in the photo. Not all Nerites that can survive in freshwater will thrive in it or survive for long in it. Some do just fine and even manage to produce the odd offspring, but others even within the same species may not live very long. If you find yours trying to leave the tank regularly and wanting to be out of the water an awful lot then be prepared to get them into something with a high kH and, if that doesn't keep them in the water happily, a steadily raising salinity until they do stay in the water. I had to take mine (olive Nerites--not the same as zebras but related) all the way to marine salinity to keep them happy. Obviously not all Nerites purchased in freshwater will require the drastic changes that mine did though; that was a worst case scenario.

I purchased 15 "olive nerites" from an online vendor last month. They are great little guys. None of mine have tried to escape or eat the plants. They spend all day inching their way across the tank munching on algae bits. They have also laid a lot of eggs(looks like pretzel salt)! I've read that they need brackish/marine conditions to hatch, but I swear that I've seen tiny snails roaming about.

Here are some of my guys.

I just added 4 Olive Nerites to my tank this week. I looked all over for some Zebra Nerites, but couldn't find anything but the Olives. Might be just as well. I'm told that the Olives are the only true freshwater nerites. If what I was told is correct, although the olives need brackish water to reproduce, they are the only nerites that can be found in freshwater in the wild. The other nerites have been adapted to freshwater for hobbiest, but don't occur there naturally. Still the Zebra's are nice looking snails. And I've seen some really beautiful nerites advertized for freshwater on the web, but they are only available in the UK.

I chose the nerites because they are supposed to be good algae eaters, without eating my live plants, and because they won't reproduce and become pests. I've only had them in my tank for a coupld of days, but so far so good. They are definitely making progress on the algae.

Cool, cheers guys
I did some reading and I found all the stuff about them being brackish/marine/fresh.
So I guess I'll do what you suggested Donya and keep an eye on his habits. I've seen him come above the water surface once so far, and that wasnt really for long.
He's such a cool little thing I'll have to get a pic of him and his funny little teeth

Here he is in all his stripy glory


The pics a bit bad really.. I'll get one of his cute little face when he's munching the glass

Wow, hes really colorful! I don't think I've seen one so bright like that. So are these guys readily available there? I have only ever seen them for sale online.

(Wants nerite tank now…)

i want that snail it would match with my zebra dainos

Yea I've seen them quite a few times in one LFS, not sure about others. But they are regular snails in there. There are some that are a darker colour, some with different stripe patterns, like closer together stripes etc.

Such a nice snail! I wish I could find some here in the states!

Hi guys,

I've just added Neritinas into my goldfish aquarium yesterday and they are really happy and pretty and I am really proud of them. I am not a snail lover, originally...still can't touch my Neritinas without wearing rubber gloves....But love them love them, love them.....

Unfortunately, they are a bit slow in cleaning the glass? They were asleep all day today....That is that what they eat right?...the slimey thing on the glass and on the bottom of the aquarium?

I was thinking of cleaning up the aquarium tomorrow...scrubbing and all, is this a good idea? What about if I add salt into the aquarium...they won't start mating, will they?

Any suggestions or comments would be highly appreciated. Thanks

lol, I'm not sure if they would start mating if you added salt, but if they did, you can probably just destroy any eggs they produce, if you didnt want babies!

Mine just grazes on the aglae all day, I really have to take a picture of the cute little teeth trails he's left all up the wall.

Greetings Hope!

Not sure how much salt they need to reproduce. I know it only needs to be brackish. I split my order of snails with 2 coworkers. One put his in a saltwater tank. That was less than a month ago and he has babies already! At least when mine have reached the end of their life span, I won't need to buy any more!

I've never seen mine sleep. They are constantly looking for food. They don't have to look far in my tank. I don't know if the "slime" you mentioned is algae or not, but as long as you have algae else where in your tank, I'm sure it would be fine to clean the glass. You can always feed them algae wafers, if necessary.

Hi DoodleBug,

I was shown a algae food for Snails. They looked like they were dried freeze and rounded shape. Is this the algae you're talking about? What about feeding them veggies (natural seaweeds)?

As long as it's algae, it shouldn't matter. I was feeding a standard algae wafer for algae eating fish. It WAS a dried, flat, round wafer.
As for veggies, I'm not aware that they eat those, but I'm sure your goldfish would enjoy them. My fish just LOVE broccoli!

That's exactly the one the person was showing me that snails would eat Doodlebug. Thanx for your help. I shall go get some asap.

How do you feed your GF broccoli? You cook them first obviously, then do you chop them to pieces? do they make a mess in the water? I should try that...so far, I only give them lettuce for snacks...

I buy fresh organic broccoli. I cut a small "tree" from it and place it in a coffee cup and cover it with water. Then I microwave for 1 1/2 minutes. Your microwave may be different. You want to get it soft but not mushy. Just blanched will make it soft enough for them to tear off bites for eating, without it falling apart too badly in the tank. It can make a little mess, but it isn't too bad. I just use a veggie clip I bought at the pet store...you just clip the vegetable in it and stick the suction cup to the glass. At first it takes them a little while to look it over and figure out it's food, but once they learn what it is, they'll go right for it when you put it in the tank for them.

It works!!!! They love it! Thanks. I actually feed them by hand. They all come to me and tear them bit by bit. Strong buggers!

Really glad you and your fish enjoyed the idea.