# Planted Tanks > Fertilisation and Algae >  Why Horned Nerites are the best Algae cleaners

## zonkkie

Decommed my planted tank and relocated my 5xhorned nerite to my biotope tank...

These fellers do not stop working!!





I timed it... 8 minutes later...



Steady right?

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## xXXXx13

steady :Well done:  but i don't have success with them so far.. the 2 zebra nerites that i'd bought didn't move at all when i put it into the tank...died awhile later...haiz... :Sad:

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## Aquanoob

Can I check what is the price of a horned nerites snail from LFS? I think it will be a good addition to my oto and sae.

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## Kenng

> Can I check what is the price of a horned nerites snail from LFS? I think it will be a good addition to my oto and sae.


It range from 90 cents to 1.50 depending on where you get them.

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## bernie

> Can I check what is the price of a horned nerites snail from LFS? I think it will be a good addition to my oto and sae.


At y618, Buy at least 5 cheaper will get discount.

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## Mr.Oink

Will they breed like rabbits?

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## vinz

They will lay eggs all over. You will see white dotted lines all over your hard surfaces. But they don't hatch. They will only hatch in brackish water.

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## barmby

using snail to counter algae. i have little success. anyway, thanks for sharing!!

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## DYLAN

Thats amazing speed for a snail. Will be getting some snails to counter the GSA in my tank.

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## fish11

> They will lay eggs all over. You will see white dotted lines all over your hard surfaces. But they don't hatch. They will only hatch in brackish water.


Any way to prevent them from laying eggs? Mine laid eggs all over my bobitis plant and it became very ugly.

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## vinz

None that I know of.

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## fish11

> None that I know of.


Ok.. Do nerite horned snails even mate before laying eggs? Or they are capable of laying eggs even without mating? 

But then again, it's impossible to verify the sex of the snails right? Haha...

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## zonkkie

They do mate...

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## fish11

So in this case, possible to figure out the sex of the snails? 

Then, we can have snails of just 1 sex in our tanks and no more ugly eggs!

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## vinz

They need to mate to fertilise the eggs, but not sure if the female will leg eggs that are not fertilised.

So, the best solution is make sure you only have male snails. I guess we can assume that the snail on top is the male, since we have know no scientific methods.

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## fish11

> They need to mate to fertilise the eggs, but not sure if the female will leg eggs that are not fertilised.
> 
> So, the best solution is make sure you only have male snails. I guess we can assume that the snail on top is the male, since we have know no scientific methods.


Instead of spotting the male when they mate, are there any other characteristics to differentiate their sex?

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## alvinchan80

> They do mate...


Bro zonkkie.. Why you so 'hum sap' & snap them when they are having their intimate times? Tsk tsk... Haha..

But I do admit they are a bunch of hard working crew except they don't feed on hair algae or else they are perfect... Haha..

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## Puffer

I remember reading somewhere that horned nerites are the only algae crew capable of removing spot algae?

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## cyruslow

nice! gonna go get some

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## stormhawk

The eggs are pretty hard shelled, so you have to scrape them off if you dislike it a lot. I love Nerite Snails, they are great for fish tanks, with regards to algae control. I had a bunch of Nerites that would lay eggs all over my tank, but it didn't bother me much.

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## mlgt

There is a fresh water one that will lay eggs and these will hatch. I will confirm on the name.

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## zonkkie

Ramshorn will lay egg and hatch.

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## Peanut8787

Can they survive in the parameter of CRS temp? I put in 6 of those horned snail and 3 weren't moving at all.

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## zonkkie

mine was in 25 degrees and now in 29 degrees, should be ok for temperature. Still need to make sure you acclimatize and not just throw them into your tanks though.

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## bernie

A few of mine died after placing them on a patch of algae. I cannot confirm their death were related to the diet but two of them died the same way.

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## Peanut8787

> mine was in 25 degrees and now in 29 degrees, should be ok for temperature. Still need to make sure you acclimatize and not just throw them into your tanks though.


Oh shit, snail also need to acclimatize? I just threw in the whole pack. No wonder

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## limz_777

i was told by a lfs owner to slide them out instead of plucking it , wonder does it do any difference ?

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## zonkkie

I also prefer to slide. Seems like a more gentle method. If pluck might need to hold their shells very hard... i'm afraid to crack it.

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## shyta

Any bros familiar with the behavior of nerites? I had 2 working quite active for a few months in my tank, one died due to a misadventure into the filter intake, and the other has been around for another month or 2, but recently it hasn't been too active. It can stay at the same spot for days, it's not dead though, I'm quite sure. What water parameters should I be checking for exactly? pH?

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## equidorz

hmm actually nerites are very hardy creatures and seldom die unless kill by assassin snail?. So far i have 100% success rate in keeping them. I believe they can take any water parameters as long as its not unbearable to live in. Is your nerite of old age? Its kinda like otto, when otto matures and goes into adulthood they tend to be less hardworking as compare to their juvenile stage.
Maybe its time to get some young blood? LOL! hope this helps!

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## shyta

hahaha hai. think maybe his significant other died that's why now everyday "借酒消愁" don't want to work  :Sad:  
time to go shopping after exams  :Grin:

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## barmby

Maybe it avoid the risk of de-shelling the snail?

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## sungod666

i got 6 horned nerites. i guess if you need them to eat GSA, you need at least a dozen. not much diff in algae control for me.

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## limz_777

i got this long horn nerite , will the horn shorten when it grows bigger ?

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## shyta

wah! that horn nerite really lives up to his name!

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## equidorz

> i got this long horn nerite , will the horn shorten when it grows bigger ?


Nice, havent seen one with such long horns before. LOL. Not too sure if it will shorten, guess not. Thanks for sharing.!

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## zonkkie

> i got this long horn nerite , will the horn shorten when it grows bigger ?


Also never see before in my life! Rare piece. Maybe you can try selling it for $100. :Laughing:

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## limz_777

glad you guys like it , it makes a good defensive shell  :Grin: , i actually attach flame moss on it at first, but it came off due to the sae  :Opps:

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## xXXXx13

> glad you guys like it , it makes a good defensive shell , i actually attach flame moss on it at first, but it came off due to the sae


how did you attached the flame moss? glued?

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## limz_777

just a tiny drop of super glue , make sure to control the drop if not it will drip onto the snail

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## Stormz

Is this the type they call bumble bee snail? Where can I get them? Can mix with assassin snails?

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## xXXXx13

Hi stormz,i think most LFS are selling them, not sure if they are know as bumble bee snail. They can't be mixed with assassin snails.

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## situkwokhan

assassin snails EAT up all your other snails haha^^ i put 5 in my main tank, they wiped up my ramhorns(100++) in 3 days.

now they laying restless on the substrate haha....

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## xXXXx13

Hopes that you have food for them when they are hungry again :Grin:

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## staycalm

Hi all I used to keep a tank of Zebra Nerites, from my exp in general males and females are of different size you will notice that there is super large one and a half size one.




> Instead of spotting the male when they mate, are there any other characteristics to differentiate their sex?

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## staycalm

Hi stormz,

I get nerites from C328. They have horns and zebras there

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## staycalm

Hi Peanut,

I have just put some horn Nerites in my CRS tank a week ago. So far they seem happy with the water (as they have not escape from the tank). My tank temperature ranged from 25 to 29. Their movement seemed slower than Zebra nerites but one of them done a great job of cleaning up the spot algeas on 3 nana leaves. 




> Can they survive in the parameter of CRS temp? I put in 6 of those horned snail and 3 weren't moving at all.

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## Jungle-mania

Get bigger nerites for lower temp tanks, they are more tolerant of cold.

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## bernie

Hi Jungle-mania, not sure how cold is your tank. But in my 25C tank, most that died are bigger ones.

Getting smaller ones have the benefit of them able to climb up stalks & leaves to feed on algae.

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## merra85

what's the requirement to keep the snails? ph, temp, tankmates?

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## SeahSengYong

I have the same experience.
All my snails die in my Crs tank.

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## Ariel

these horn nerites will die very fast, the longest i have is 3months plus

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## neverwalkalone

Slightly off topic, but here are my "lawn mowers" Zebra Nerites.  :Grin:

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## xXXXx13

I believed in no time your 'lawn' will be 'mowed' :Very Happy:

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## limz_777

very good cleaner , i observed that it even went into the hang on filter to look for algae

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## Emokidz

Mine only eat green spot algae. Is this the case with everyone else?

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## Jungle-mania

No, not really. Mine goes for everything, but then again there is nothing much left in the tank for them to destroy.

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## Just

> No, not really. Mine goes for everything, but then again there is nothing much left in the tank for them to destroy.


will my dwarf puffers attack the nerites? the trumpet snails still populate in my tank..

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## fboyt72

Can't find any snail in LFS now, even c328. farm also no have...anyone see it recently?

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## neverwalkalone

Have you tried NA at Balestier? Small shop but very well stocked with the 'essentials'.  :Wink:

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## tiintinn

saw them at colourful just now

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## Jovel

guys what are your parameters for the horned nerites? mine doesn't seem to live past a week and they start toppling over in days. sigh. all other livestock are doing well thou. my tank is about 26-28 degrees and ph 6.8 - 7.1.

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## |squee|

> guys what are your parameters for the horned nerites? mine doesn't seem to live past a week and they start toppling over in days. sigh. all other livestock are doing well thou. my tank is about 26-28 degrees and ph 6.8 - 7.1.


Your conditions seem to be good. Did you acclimatise them like fish? Just asking in case because I thought snails didn't need to be acclimatised before. That's how I killed my first 2 horned nerites.

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## jackblack

My nerites keep climbing out of the tank ! Is there anyway to stop them doing that?

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## |squee|

They do? Mine sometimes goes up to the water's edges but they never totally leave it.

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## Jovel

> Your conditions seem to be good. Did you acclimatise them like fish? Just asking in case because I thought snails didn't need to be acclimatised before. That's how I killed my first 2 horned nerites.


i did for 2 hours, constantly adding my tank water into the bag every 15- 30 mins. they were active for like 2-3 days then they all stopped eating and started toppling. now they're all dead. sigh.

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## zonkkie

> guys what are your parameters for the horned nerites? mine doesn't seem to live past a week and they start toppling over in days. sigh. all other livestock are doing well thou. my tank is about 26-28 degrees and ph 6.8 - 7.1.


I had them (in different tanks) from 25-30 degrees as well as Ph from 5.5 - 7. And you have acclimatized them... so must be some other reasons that I can't think of.  :Smile:  




> My nerites keep climbing out of the tank ! Is there anyway to stop them doing that?


I notice that they do that when the water parameters are not right. Mine did that when water was cloudy. If the water parameters are ok for them, they will not attempt to escape!

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## limz_777

they prefer hard water

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## Kiatster

I've had experience where my nerites stop moving the moment i transfer them into my 1.5footer. And when i transfer them back to 2footer, they start coming out and move again. So i did a 50% water change for my 1.5 then transfer them back and everything is ok for them. So my guess is they might be very sensitive to certain chemical which i did not identify but which can be reduced by water change. Try it next time you have them.

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## leoccl86

any idea would theses horned nerites survive well in a cichlid tank?
the water parameters would be quite extreme.
ph 8.6
kh 20deg
gh 16deg

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## |squee|

Cichlids are notorious for eating snails aren't they?

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## leoccl86

> Cichlids are notorious for eating snails aren't they?


i haven come across having snails in a malawi cichlid tank so I wouldn't know.
they love to chase and gobble down any thing that fits in their mouths but when they get bored or maybe it doesn't taste good they'll leave it alone.

but other than that I'm just wondering if I can use the snails in such alkaline and hard water conditions?

got totally no knowledge on snails, hehe

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## barmby

I thought cichlid eats everything :P

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## leoccl86

> I thought cichlid eats everything :P


Not all cichlids n not everything...

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## shunkun

Yes Bros, Can Someone Enlighten On If Dwarf Puffer Will Attack The Snails?

Thought Of Getting But Afraid The Puffer Will Snap At Them.

Anyone Had Experience With Snails + Puffer ?

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## barmby

Yes, Dwarf Puffer Will Attack The Snails. I buy puffer fish to keep snail population down.

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## shunkun

I Mean, Will The Puffer Attack The Horned Nerites?

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## zonkkie

Yes, puffers will attack horned nerites.

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## barmby

crustaceans is their favorite!

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## leoccl86

found my answer, able to live in water conditions suitable for cichlids but not suitable to live WITH cichlids.

http://www.aquariumdomain.com/viewFr...reshwater_id=6




> Horned Nerite Snails should not be kept with aggressive fish species like N.W. Cichlids or African Cichlids as they will quickly become a meal for them.

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## marimo

> They do mate...





> So in this case, possible to figure out the sex of the snails? 
> 
> Then, we can have snails of just 1 sex in our tanks and no more ugly eggs!


That is what we call brokeback mountain

from what I know snails are hermaphrodites , so they can produce sperm and eggs, but they cant poke themself
So snails do not hump on top of female
they exchange fluids through a tube into each other, yes vice versa 
and then they lay their own eggs

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## crkinney

Did you ever wonder how they keep their cigarette lit under water :Exasperated:

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## hyun007

For those having nerite dying issue, you will need to check the fish food, fertilser and algae control contents. They might contain chemical(e.g. copper) that will kill them.

For me, they are good cleaners as long as you pick the male.
With the females, they will just lay eggs everywhere which is a sore to the eyes.

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## marimo

hyun, snails are hermaphrodites , they self multiply
i had proven this by having 1 pond snail with a ramshorn babies.. the pond snail still lay eggs and gave birth to so many babies pond snails

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## Navanod

> For those having nerite dying issue, you will need to check the fish food, fertilser and algae control contents. They might contain chemical(e.g. copper) that will kill them.
> 
> For me, they are good cleaners as long as you pick the male.
> With the females, they will just lay eggs everywhere which is a sore to the eyes.


How do one identify the males? I had some and I cannot really tell. All I know is that I definitely have females thanks to all the white spots all over the tank




> hyun, snails are hermaphrodites , they self multiply
> i had proven this by having 1 pond snail with a ramshorn babies.. the pond snail still lay eggs and gave birth to so many babies pond snails


Not all snails marimo bro, nerites are gonochoristic if I'm not mistaken. They need to mate in order to reproduce. However, I'm not sure if mating is required for the females to lay eggs. They may still lay sterile unfertilized eggs in the absence of males?

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## marimo

oic my bad .. at least nerites are 'normal' snails that dont poke themself ..lol
Maybe females are bigger in size?

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## hardric

> hyun, snails are hermaphrodites , they self multiply
> i had proven this by having 1 pond snail with a ramshorn babies.. the pond snail still lay eggs and gave birth to so many babies pond snails


Navanod is correct. Ramshorn and pond snails are hermaphrodites. Nerite snails are not.

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## Humble

i finally found the answer to the white dots in my tank, eggs of Horned Nerites. 

Thanks AQ

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## binniez

I probably have the answer why horn nerites die in our tanks over time. Probably this applies to those keeping crs who requires lower ph. THe lower ph actually corrodes and harms the nerite causing them death. If you were to leave the shell of the nerite in the tank with lower ph, over time the shell will disintegrate into nothing. Meaning its like splashing acid on a human but in a milder manner. Slow torture i guess.

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## felix_fx2

I don't see much eggs before.
Does anyone have pictures ? Chances are i am noob to this lol.
Maybe mixing up for other things.

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## ahhian

> They need to mate to fertilise the eggs, but not sure if the female will leg eggs that are not fertilised.
> 
> So, the best solution is make sure you only have male snails. I guess we can assume that the snail on top is the male, since we have know no scientific methods.


i have one horned nerite in my tank, laying eggs all over the place but they turned white and never hatch. So i'm assuming that's a female. So yes, the female will lay eggs that are not fertilised. 

ahhian

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## |squee|

I've this horned nerite that curled up in its shell and refused to move for an entire week.

I thought it was dead.

Then I changed my water today, and it started moving again! But 5 minutes ago when I checked, it was curled up again. Weird?

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## Jovel

I have some success and failures with nerites. They have to be kept at PH above 7 in order to be healthy, once your soil or whichever starts buffing down your ph below 7, the nerite will just stay in its shell till it dies. The bigger ones might sustain a little longer, but they'll die off after awhile. So check your ph before keeping them.

Its also best if your water has some calcium properties for it to grow a health shell. Also different nerites got different eating habits. Only observed 2 types, zebra and horned nerites, eating across my 3 panels full of GDA and brown diatoms in my sulawesi tank. Horned nerites eats in a sweeping pattern, tight zig zag tracks as it moves along, while zebras just plow through in a line all over the place. Haven't tried Tracked nerites thou.

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## xconnect.

If the eggs are layed and their not fertilized will they decompose and shoot up ammonia?

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## Draka

Actually I have a horned nerite that's quite different, because it has outlasted all my other snails for almost a year already. I don't know if it's really very different from the other common yellow and black ones that you see, but its green and red. It's kept in pH 6.5 and the other snails were, sulawesi tylo orange, sulawesi tylo black with white spots, ramshorn normal, zebra nerite and yellow and black horned nerites.

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## Jovel

[


> Actually I have a horned nerite that's quite different, because it has outlasted all my other snails for almost a year already. I don't know if it's really very different from the other common yellow and black ones that you see, but its green and red. It's kept in pH 6.5 and the other snails were, sulawesi tylo orange, sulawesi tylo black with white spots, ramshorn normal, zebra nerite and yellow and black horned nerites.


 
Tylos at pH 6.5???  :Surprised:  I assume they up lorry already. Its best you keep them above pH 7.5. If they're still alive, I'm sure every sulawesi keeper here will be interested in where you get them from. Ramshorn snails can be kept in acidic waters, no problem. Green and red... hmm. Maybe you want to post a picture of it? I only know Orange tracked nerites.. could it be an apple snail? But picture better, dont want to assume anything haha.

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## ahhian

> They need to mate to fertilise the eggs, but not sure if the female will leg eggs that are not fertilised.


I have a single horned nerite in my tank which lays eggs all over the place. The eggs turned white and never hatched. So yes, i presume it is a female that can lay unfertilised eggs.

ahhian

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## Jon-san

> I have some success and failures with nerites. They have to be kept at PH above 7 in order to be healthy, once your soil or whichever starts buffing down your ph below 7, the nerite will just stay in its shell till it dies. The bigger ones might sustain a little longer, but they'll die off after awhile. So check your ph before keeping them.
> 
> Its also best if your water has some calcium properties for it to grow a health shell. Also different nerites got different eating habits. Only observed 2 types, zebra and horned nerites, eating across my 3 panels full of GDA and brown diatoms in my sulawesi tank. Horned nerites eats in a sweeping pattern, tight zig zag tracks as it moves along, while zebras just plow through in a line all over the place. Haven't tried Tracked nerites thou.


I have 4-5 types of snails in my tank. Normal Horned Nerites (with a yellow and black striped) shell, another 2 Horned Nerites (not sure what species, 1 is greenish yellow and the other is orangey-yellow, both have black specks on them), 1 Zebra Nerite and another Red Tracked Nerite. Love the dark reddish-black of the Tracked Nerite. No observations of eggs laid yet though.

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## ahhian

> I don't see much eggs before.
> Does anyone have pictures ? Chances are i am noob to this lol.
> Maybe mixing up for other things.


hi felix,

here is a picture of infertile eggs of zebra nerite. apologise for the poor quality.

ahhian

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## felix_fx2

Hi ahhian.

Many thanks. I think I saw before last time. The ones currently must all be males then.

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## Draka

> Tylos at pH 6.5???  I assume they up lorry already. Its best you keep them above pH 7.5. If they're still alive, I'm sure every sulawesi keeper here will be interested in where you get them from. Ramshorn snails can be kept in acidic waters, no problem. Green and red... hmm. Maybe you want to post a picture of it? I only know Orange tracked nerites.. could it be an apple snail? But picture better, dont want to assume anything haha.


haha the keyword there's outlasted. 3 of them died overnight when my pH crashed to 6 for no apparent reason and I gave the last one away. Nope, ramshorns can't stay alive in my tank's current conditions and its definitely not an apple snail, it has horns. Will post pictures if my camera's still working ^^

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## Jovel

Hmm, my striped ramshorn was doing pretty well at ph 6, in fact too well that it kept shitting all over the place lol. Gave the pair to a bro here. I have a greenish yellow horn snail, but it turned back to original colours after awhile, pretty cool when they grow too, can clearly see the line between the new grown shell and old one. Anyone's horned nerite ever reach the size of those adult zebras?

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