# What should I know about nerite snails before I bring one home?



## LadyNightraven (Jun 30, 2013)

I'm planning a trip to a nearby town with friends this weekend, and we'll be stopping at Petco and Petsmart while we're out. I have been intending to get a snail as a companion for my betta for a while to help with algae and entertain my betta hopefully, and this weekend might be the weekend I'm finally able to get one.

What should I know about nerite snails before I bring one home?

I figure I should quarantine the snail for at least a couple of weeks before putting it in with Rakki, but the only place I have for quarantine is Rakki's old 1-gallon bowl. Would this be okay for a couple of weeks? It has a lid, but it doesn't have a heater. Will room temperature (about 74F) be a problem for a snail? How often would I need to change the water in the bowl and what percentage?

As far as feeding the snail goes, could I mix up some snail jello from one of the recipes online and have that be fine for it? How often would I need to feed it? Once the snail is in the tank with Rakki, would I need to cup the snail to feed it to make sure Rakki doesn't steal food from it? I ask this because I'm not sure my tank will produce enough algae to keep the snail happy without supplementing its diet.

Once the snail is in the tank with Rakki, would I need to do anything special with it when I vacuum the sand substrate, like cup it for the duration of the cleaning, or should I not worry about it?

Is there anything else I should know about snails to keep a nerite healthy?

Thanks in advance for any advice or tips!


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## charliegill110 (May 19, 2014)

i would like to know this too


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## ZZD (Jan 13, 2013)

I've always just put my nerites straight in the tanks and never had any issues. My tank has a couple other algae eater types so I tend to break up an algae tab and toss it in a couple times a week. With one you may want to drop in only part of a tab and see how the nerite does. My 2 fish and nerite and mini snails gobble the algae tabs up within like and hour or so. And the betta isn't really interested in their food either. his floats and theirs sinks and I feed him the same time as the others. Since you have just the one nerite you can do snail jello or even place him on a piece or lettuce or cucumber as well. I do that some times for mine to change up their diets.

Do you have any live plants in the tank? That can also help produce some stuff for the nerite to munch or even placing a couple rocks in a glass of water and leave it in the sun so it grows some algae for the nerite.

Cleaning is easy and you can leave him in the tank. Especially if its climbing on the glass or something. I never take mine out when I clean my tank and it just kinda ambles around. The only time I take mine out is if my other fish or the tank itself needs some sort of treatment as most fish meds harm nerites since they are closely related to some parasites those meds treat, but usually the fish being treated is the one I remove so its not a big deal.

Other bits to know, they will occasionally go dormant for a time. They seem dead but if the trap door is shut and they just smell a bit of dirt, they are fine. If they reek of rotten eggs, take it out! A dead snail leeches all kinds of poisons into the water. Also calcium is a must for nerites. They grow their shells on their own rather than finding new shells. You can either add calcium or stick a piece of cuttle bone under the substrate. Oh! And if you have sand the nerites will occasionally burrow under it.

They are really fun to add to a tank and as long as they have a healthy shell they can take a bit of abuse from a fish. And they also are very helpful cleaning up even messes you can't see. They do poop a lot if they eat a lot and they do lay a lot of eggs when they are feeling right, but they need very specific water conditions for the eggs to hatch. They are pretty easy to care for,but can be super stressful when they tuck in somewhere and go dormant for a month.


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## LadyNightraven (Jun 30, 2013)

I have several silk plants in Rakki's 5-gallon tank, but no live plants. I've been thinking about getting an anubias plant or two if I can find some that don't look sickly though. I thought I'd start with something simple since I've never had live plants before.

Good to know about them going dormant! I probably would have panicked the first time my snail looked dead. I've read they can have a tendency to escape as well, so I guess I'll be keeping a close eye on it.

As far as calcium goes... is there a powder or something I need to look for at the pet store? And when you say cuttlebone, do you mean the same thing you'd put in a bird's cage?

Thank you, ZZD! Your reply helped a lot!


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## LadyNightraven (Jun 30, 2013)

Hmm. I might not be getting a nerite snail after all. I just discovered AqAdvisor, and it's making me question my idea about getting a snail now. It recommends against a snail in a tank my size because it might end up outgrowing the space.

I'm sorry to sound wishy-washy. I have a tendency to overthink things, especially when it comes to my critters. My top priority in this instance to keep Rakki healthy and happy, and if a nerite snail is a bad idea in a 5-gallon tank, I'd prefer to find out before I actually bought one.

I am understanding AqAdvisor correctly, right?

http://www.aqadvisor.com/AqAdvisor....AqSpeciesWindowSize=short&AqSearchMode=simple


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

I think AqAdvisor is going a bit overboard on this one. No way is one Nerite going to outgrow a five gallon. So this is one time I would ignore AA's advice.

As far as the eggs, an algae scraper will get them off the glass and eventually they disintegrate. And Nerites are real escape artists to make sure the lid has no holes. I forgot and left the lid on my 10 flipped up and 30 minutes later found a Nerite on the outside aquarium glass. It survived.


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## BradsBettas14 (May 29, 2014)

I have a snail in my 2.5Gal so trust me I highly doubt it will outgrow a 5 gallon tank.

When I got my nerite this past week I put him right in my tank during tank cleaning time and everything has gone fine so far. My betta fish pretty much ignores him, every once in a while my betta will lay down on the rocks next to the snail and watch him but besides that no issues.

For feeding I occasionally just drop in a slice of cucumber for my snail to eat. My one snail at the whole slice over the period of 2 days and my betta did not touch the cucumber at all so that may work for you.

My snail has not attempted to escape at all he seems perfectly comfortable staying in the tank water. I believe they are only likely to escape if they are hungry and in search for food or if the water levels are unacceptable for it.


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## LadyNightraven (Jun 30, 2013)

Thanks, Russell and BradsBettas! I guess I'll be bringing a snail home today if I find one I like!


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

I have to disagree wiith Brad last statement. 

My Nerites are well-fed and the parameters are fine. Nerites are semi-aquatic so water levels play no part in their desire to explore above the waterline. Being semi-aquatic they are quite comfortable being out of water for short periods of time.


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## ZZD (Jan 13, 2013)

About the calcium, there is a liquid you can buy, but I've only found it in a large bottle and need only a small amount when I use it. The cuttlebone is indeed the bird item. I just get one from the bird section and break of a couple chunks and tuck them under a heavier decoration until they stay sunk.

And AqAdvisor is not an end all. It tells me my tank group is all kinds of wrong since I have 2 Panda Garras and a Vampire Shrimp living with a male Betta. Mine is the most timid Betta on the planet so I've had them all living together for over a year and not a single issue.


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## Sathori (Jul 7, 2013)

I have 3 nerites, and they have all stayed in their tanks (so far). I do find they poop. A lot. Then again, they have a pretty large amount of algae to clean up, so they are constantly on the move, eating the whole time. Just be prepared to gravel vacuum every inch of your tank to make sure you get all of their poop.

Every once in a while, I find them just chilling at the top of the tank, just out of the water line, then when I come back later, they have made their way to the other side of the tank.

I've had many panic moments when my snails went "missing" I could have sworn that I turned that tank upside-down looking for the snail. Then I come back half an hour and he's sitting on top of a plant. :lol: Sneaky little guys.

My one betta HATES snails - I put one in with him in his 10 gallon and he would not stop attacking the shell. He didn't do any damage to the snail, but he would flare and "mouth" the shell, then zoom up for air, then repeat his actions over and over until I finally took the snail out before my betta exhausted himself. He's fine with the neons tetras and rasboras in his tank, but hates the snail... Go figure...


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## givemethatfish (Feb 10, 2014)

They do poop a TON!


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## LadyNightraven (Jun 30, 2013)

After visiting the nearest Petsmart and calling the two closest Petcos, I discovered that none of them carry nerite snails. Go figure.

So, instead, I was thinking of buying one online instead. Does anyone have any suggestions for a reliable website where I could buy a nerite?


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Would they be willing to order for you? 

If not, this is the only place I buy my Micro fish and she has Nerites. Problem is the shipping might be prohibitive. :-( But for such a small order she might ship Priority.

Current Stock list | Invertebrates by Msjinkzd


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## givemethatfish (Feb 10, 2014)

I actually wanted some nerites recently and couldn't find them at any of the chain pet stores. Do you have any independent pet shops near you? I ended up getting 6 nerites from 3 different LFS because they all had so many different colors and patterns to pick from.


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## LadyNightraven (Jun 30, 2013)

My independent LPS recently downsized and doesn't keep much in the way of live animals in-store anymore. They can special order items or animals, but I don't know that they would be able to order a single snail, which is all I really need at this point. I'll be going there soon, probably Saturday, to see if it's possible. If not, I'll be looking into the online options more. Even if Petsmart or Petco would be able to order one for me, there's the problem of picking it up as I don't have the opportunity to get down there that often.

Russell, when you say shipping might be prohibitive, any idea how prohibitive? I figured shipping would cost more than the snail itself, but I'm curious about even a guess of how much it might cost me. I live in southeastern Oklahoma, so that's quite a journey from Pennsylvania, where I see Msjinkzd is based.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Email and ask Rachel if she has any ideas. She's really, really nice and always helpful. 

There's a guy on eBay who sells Nerites but he's on vacation for the next 10 days. He has several different types of Nerites and I've bought from him. I believe he sells in multiples or just one.


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## ZZD (Jan 13, 2013)

Try asking if the chain stores have zebra snails. That is just a pattern of nerite, but I've seen our Petsmart label them that way. I was in the store and said I wanted a nerite and the lady had no idea what I was talking about. I pointed to the zebra striped ones and she was oh! Zebra snail! They also come in spotted and other patterns but zebra is the most common at our Petsmart.

You can also get a Mystery snail as their care is pretty similar to a nerite. I have a blue mystery and a zebra nerite and neither one has been an issue. I added the blue mystery because my zebra has a tendency to go dormant for a week to a month at a time and the glass algae grows like mad because my panda garras don't do windows apparently.


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## LadyNightraven (Jun 30, 2013)

I may call them again and ask that way, ZZD. Thanks for the tip!

Russell, I just now emailed Rachel about a shipping estimate to Oklahoma, so I'm hoping to hear back in the next day or two.

Unfortunately, my LPS isn't able to order a single snail, and I have no need for more than one at this point, so that's a no go. If I don't have any luck when I call the chain stores tomorrow, it looks like I'll be ordering online.

Thanks again for the replies, everyone!


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