
Examples of the diet of Nerite snail veligers
- Algae.
- Golden Pearls (5-50 Microns) (link to see the price on Amazon).
- Spirulina Powder (mixed with water) (link to see the price).
- Phytoplankton (Tetraselmis) (link to see the price).
Can you turn into a snail by eating snail food?
You can, and I have. Other than size, they’re not much different than the escargot you’d find in a French restaurant. Years ago, I ran a gardening business in the seaside town of Santa Cruz, California. The cool, foggy coastal environment was an ideal snail habitat. It was not uncommon to plant, say, a rosebush and come back the next morning to find dozens of snails devouring every leaf.
Do nerites eat eggs?
Nerite Snail eggs are hard and will need to be scraped off to be taken out of the tank. Even though Nerite Snail eggs can be somewhat annoying, the advantages of these types of algae eating snails outweigh other types of snails that do reproduce in fresh water.
Will Nerite snails eat black brush algae?
Though they aren’t fish, nerite snails and amano shrimp will also eat black beard or black brush algae. Let’s go into a bit more detail. Siamese Algae Eaters. Siamese algae eaters are probably the best known and most widely recommended fish for eating black beard algae. Siamese algae eater in planted aquarium | Source: Deposit Photos
Do Nerite snails eat algae wafers?
The Onion and Zebra Nerite snails I have in my tanks are great algae eaters. They make short work of eating any leftover food too and definitely enjoy snail/shrimp pellets and algae wafers. To be honest they will eat any food that’s on offer.

What do you feed Nerite?
What Diet Do Nerite Snails Eat? If you don't see any visible algae left in your tank, your snails might not be getting enough to eat. But, you can supplement their diet by offering algae wafers. If you're only trying to feed one or two snails, you can break the wafer into quarters and put a smaller portion in the tank.
What do aquarium Nerite snails eat?
Nerite snails will eat most types of green algae, including hair, green spot, and green slime algae, the types most commonly found in aquariums. Nerites will eat brown algae, something many algae eaters won't touch, though they only eat it if there is no green algae to be found.
What do Nerite snails need?
Nerite snails require enough food, minerals, and clean water to live a healthy life.
How do you take care of a Nerite snail?
Nerites also prefer water pH on the alkaline side around 7.5 and aquarium water on the hard side with a moderately moving current. As with other fish in a tank, Nerite Snail care must also include checking for Ammonia spikes and high levels of Nitrate, as Nerites are susceptible.
Do Nerite snails eat cucumber?
One apple snail with two nerite snails, for example, will do just fine with one piece of cucumber. Add in a few shrimp and a couple more nerite snails and you're better off with two slices. If you're caring for a land snail or two, one slice will do. Aim for fairly thin slices, even if you need to drop in a few.
Do snails eat fish flakes?
Fish flakes are used by many people for their snails and certainly with algea eating species.
What do Nerite snails eat besides algae?
Nerite Snails are herbivores and are widely known as one of, if not the most, voracious algae-eaters out of any snail. If there is not enough algae present in the aquarium, their diet can be supplemented with algae wafers or blanched vegetables (such as kale, zucchini, carrots, etc.).
How do I know if my Nerite snail is healthy?
Nerite snails are generally healthy but they are prone to certain health issues. If your nerite snail overeats, its shell will become discolored. The discoloration is a sign to stop feeding your snail vegetables and reduce its diet to just the algae in the tank.
How do I know if my snail is getting enough food?
If your snail doesn't have enough food it will go hungry, but with too much food the water quality will quickly deteriorate. Most snails enjoy having plants in the tank to graze on. They also eat algae, whether it is found naturally on the tank's walls or provided in the form of store-bought algae wafers.
Do snails eat algae wafers?
Fish, shrimp, crayfish, snails... all of them absolutely love this food! This food is particularly ideal for bottom dwellers, since the wafers quickly sink to the bottom of the tank once dropped in. However, other kinds of fish love the wafers as well and will vigorously chase them down once they catch a whiff!
Can Nerite snails live in a jar?
Nerite Snail This is another aesthetic addition to your jar – Nerite snails are great jar cleaners and very adaptable to a range of conditions. They enjoy feeding on the matter that plants shed, but they don't eat live plants.
Do Nerite snails need an air pump?
Generally speaking, if your tank is less than 10 gallons in size, you will need to use a filter or bubbler with your nerite snails. If your tank is larger than 10 gallons, you may be able to get away without using one, but it is still recommended.
What do Nerite snails eat besides algae?
Nerite Snails are herbivores and are widely known as one of, if not the most, voracious algae-eaters out of any snail. If there is not enough algae present in the aquarium, their diet can be supplemented with algae wafers or blanched vegetables (such as kale, zucchini, carrots, etc.).
Do Nerite snails reproduce in the aquarium?
Unlike other snails, nerite snails don't reproduce asexually. Instead, female nerite snails lay eggs that males then fertilize. Nerite snails can breed in freshwater tanks, but the eggs won't hatch because the larvae need brackish water to survive.
Why is my Nerite snail not eating algae?
If you're not feeding your nerite snails well, they will stop moving at some point. There are also high chances of this happening if the aquarium doesn't have any fish, plants, or algae since the nerite snails can also use the food leftovers of other organisms as food.
How many Nerite snails should I get?
Most Nerites can be kept together with no issues. Well, there is one issue – overstocking. Make sure you keep the ratio of 2 snails per 10 gallons of water. If you add too many of them in a small space, they literally won't have enough algae for dinner.
What does it mean when you see slime on glass?
When you feel slime on glass that's mostly algae. When you see tiny hair like things on the glass that's most probably algae. When you see a pleco going nyum nyum up the side of a tank (in a shop ) it's eating algae.
Can Nerites eat algae?
If in at night, take out in the morning. I have said, it is not normal for Nerites to eat veggies. Algae is their natural food. In the past I had some that ate algae wafers and snail jello! If yours eats spinach, then be happy with that. The ones I have now don't eat anything but algae.
Can algae lights snails eat spinach?
#2. Carley. 2 years ago. Spinach is great, as it has more calcium than light green veggies. If it will eat blanched dark green veggies, then you are laughing, as the saying goes, because a lot of them will not eat anything but algae. If it only eats spinach, then that's ok. reply.
Can you clean glass aquariums with algae?
You can clean glass one day and it has algae on it the next. To see the algae in my lounge tank that I don't want to be there I have to look at the panels diagonally through the aquarium . I tried the watermelon it's a bit like strawberry,it think humans get more enjoyment from it than my fish anyway.
Can you use marble in a tank?
Ideally, we don't use marble in tanks, but it sure seems to turn green with great ease. Any rock that was very smooth, or actually polished, did not grow algae for me, and there were a few that didn't grow much, where others would grow much more. I found that ceramic filter media rings would grow it fairly well.
What do Nerite snails do after mating?
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.
How long do Nerite snails live?
If you meet their needs, they can live for several years (at least 1-3 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.
What temperature do nerite snails need to be in water?
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.
What kind of algae do nerite snails eat?
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.
How big is a Red Racer Nerite snail?
The shells can have areas of dark gold, dark grey, or even black. An average length is about 2.5 to 3 cm (about 1 inch).
What is the maximum size of a nerite snail?
Their maximum size is about 1 inch. Every snail has a unique shell pattern variation and it makes them even more interesting to watch. The Diet of Nerite Snails.
How long is a zebra snail?
Variety of dark bands give the zebra snail its characteristic appearance. An average length is about 2.5 to 3 cm, which makes it one of the most impressive snails. Mistakenly, it is often referred to as Vittina coromandeliana, or as Neritina coromandeliana.
What are Nerite Snails?
Nerite snails come from the Neritidae family, which derives its name from a Greek sea god called Nerites. Many of them are found in coastal areas around Africa and the Indo-Pacific region. The species sold in the aquarium industry range from 0.5-1.5 inches (1.3-3.8 cm) and live about 1-2 years.
How to Set Up an Aquarium for Nerite Snails
Given its small size, a nerite snail can live in a nano tank as small as 2-3 gallons within a wide range of tropical temperatures. Because many of them come from brackish water environments, they prefer freshwater setups with higher pH above 7.0 and lots of minerals.
What do Nerite Snails Eat?
As scavengers, they dine on anything they can find, including algae, leftover fish food, and decaying leaves. (They are completely safe for aquarium plants and only eat unhealthy or dead vegetation.) However, nerite snails can starve to death if there is not enough algae in the tank or other fish are outcompeting them for food.
How to Breed Nerite Snails
Breeding these snails is very challenging since the nearly microscopic larvae are notoriously hard to feed and require brackish or salt water to reliably hatch. A few hobbyists have recorded their experiences and recommend preparing a mature, algae-filled brackish or saltwater tank using marine salt and an air stone with very low flow.
