I am being totally honest. I have a Tiger Nerite that has literally been living for 20 years or more. I looked up their life span and this snail has apparently lived like 4 lifetimes already. It is pretty fast for a snail too. It cruises all over the tank somewhat quickly. I call it Turbo like the movie because it is such a fast snail.
Yes!!!!!! Thank you for talking about this. I didnt know what I was doing wrong for so long. Ive kept reef tanks, sps corals, all kinds of "difficult" stuff...but I just kept killing Nerites. I started adding a little bit of salt...and they started doing GREAT.
I’ve had the same Nerite snail for 7+ years. 🐌It has thrived through many different water conditions. I can’t figure it out. I’ve bought fancy snail food, which it ignores and prefers to consume tank algae. I always try to keep track of where it is because I don’t want it to die and foul the fish tank. The person who commented before me mentioned how fast moving these snails are and it’s true. I turn my back for a few minutes and it’s moved to the opposite side of the tank.
Nerite can be found along coastlines on the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. In the wild, most nerites live along coastlines where rivers empty into the ocean. They're thought to migrate back and forth between salt and brackish water as they feed, grow and reproduce. They need brackish hard water.
I had a zebra nerite and a tiger nerite that died within a month of having them. But in the same tank I had two olive nerites. This was over two years ago, and the olive nerites are still thriving. I’d say they are over 5 years old now. One time I went away to college for a whole semester and left that tank untouched. I came back and it was algae and gunk infested, but both were alive. Additionally, I’ve never seen mine eat vegetables or food. I think mine solely live off of algae and cholla wood
That's so cool! I've actually heard that olive nerite snails are one of the hardiest species, so maybe I'll try getting them next time for one of my freshwater tanks. Thanks for sharing your experience.
I've had my nerite for about 2 years. My water is about neutral pH but higher on the Gh and Kh. I believe one secret to success with a nerite is a piece of wood with lots of branches or nooks and crannies that's been in the aquarium for a while and has a good amount of biofilm. By the time mine had gone over most of the wood, there was a ton of algae and biofilm elsewhere for it to browse. It's gone back and forth between the wood (where it spends most of its time) and the rest of the tank. I have just one nerite and one mystery snail (who spends most of its time everywhere but the wood and eats a lot of regular fish food in addition to keeping the glass pretty clean) for a 20L tank. Perfect! If I ever do a brackish tank, I'll definitely get another nerite- love them! ❤
Another thing that i think nerite snail keepers should look out for is if you plan to dose "No Planaria" medicine to your tank. It is fatal to many snails, including nerites. Even if you do a 100% water change, the medicine will reside in your substrate or on various surfaces in your tank until it breaks down (which for me seems to be taking many many months). If the nerite snail consumes any of it on the surfaces of the tank, they will be poisoned, stop moving, and eventually die. So do think twice if you keep nerite snails and plan on using "No Planaria" in your tank. Also, find out if the worms in your tank are even planaria in the first place.
I've kept Nerite snails alive in a completely filterless 1 gallon bin without any light and I fed them dead or dying leaves from other aquariums. Sometimes the water would become so full of ammonia that you could smell it. Never lost a nerite snail in that bin...
I’m glad you made this video Irene! I’ve had very very similar experiences with neritr snails. Couldn’t keep them alive no matter what I did. I think this will help though. Thanks for always making great content! Take care
Good information. Thanks so much. I keep my Nerites in a community tank with a PH of 4.7 which is created here where I live with half R.O and half Tap. My tap is extremely mineral rich with normally high PH. Too, I keep Nerites with my Goldfish, which is a straight tap tank with 8.2 Ph. The GH and KH are difficult to chase with my tap water. I have a Cherry Shrimp tank that is also, half and half, but I have learned over the past 6 years of having this HUGE colony that they have adapted to whatever the soluble solids are in the water column. So now I leave it alone, as a proponent of not messing with water too much and only keeping what you can within the parameters of a natural waters available to you. Over 10 years, of keeping different types of Nerites, I have found that the Red Racers are the most sensitive with the least life longevity at 2 years. Next for me are Zebras with my longest living Zebra having been 4 years old. Tiger Nerites do really well in my tanks, both mid-range PH and to high PH, etc. The longest living Nerite I have ever had, and one is still living (knock on wood) is the olive Nerite. The one I have is so tough, I marvel at such fortitude each day! I would like to try other unique Nerites when I have time to research what will thrive within my water column parameters. PS They do escape, which is sad to discover. I had one large Olive Nerve that had been thriving in a heavily scaped and planted tank until one day I couldn't find it. I figured it was feeding under the edge of a rock or wood, so I let it go. Then came that fated day when I as vacuuming. Poor thing had scurried along the floor all the way into another room and died underneath my bed. A sad day, to be sure.
I've had my nerite snails for three years. They live in a tank with shrimp, and have had various fish companions during their time with me. They are actually pretty smart little things! My RO water is treated with Salty Shrimp GH KH+ & a half dose of API Aquarium Salt (only API product I recommend, except for the API Master Test Kit.). I have only rarely supplemented their feeding, obviously I have enough algae to keep them going. BTW, snails love a slice of carrot, especially when its been in the tank a day or so. Somewhere I've got some HILARIOUS photos of the snail upside down, munching on the carrot slice. BTW, the aquarium salt doesn't mess up my plants. But I NEVER EVER use more than the full recommended dose of salt in any aquarium, and that only for treatment purposes!!!
I've had some issues with nerite snails, including 1 that escape-artist'd itself to death, but the majority have done very well including one zebra that i've had for almost 2 years now, and i didn't realize until watching other people struggle that it's because i have such hard tap water! Hard water can have its drawbacks but the way it enables my snails to thrive with little effort on my part is a big plus
This was an unexpected treat! Nerite snails are very popular and recommended algae eaters, but when I read about them in online articles they never mention how difficult they can be to keep alive, even when there plenty of videos and forums to suggest it’s a common issue So thanks for helping to spread the word about them! 👍
Ditto! I've never had so much trouble with an aquatic animal. I'm so glad that the 3 nerite snails I have now are doing well because they really are so cool and such good algae eaters. My brackish tank is completely clean, except for a stubborn sprig of staghorn algae that they don't like the taste of but it's really easy to remove manually.
@@GirlTalksFish Glad to hear things are working so well for you!^^ And it’s amazing how some of the most popular and recommended aquarium pets are also the most difficult 😅 Like mollies for example
@@GirlTalksFish I remember! Same case with dwarf gouramis supposedly being shy and peaceful fish, but most people who’ve kept them would probably beg to differ
Somehow my nerites are the longest living things in my tank 😂 I got them back in 2018 when I was first starting the hobby and literally everything I had died except them 🙃 5 tanks later, they roam around my new 55 gallon setup like they're still fresh young snails 😆 based on their age I'm sure I won't get to enjoy them for many more years, but I'm so proud of their tenacity, especially with how difficult they can be to keep alive 💕
I still have a zebra nerite snail in my tank going strong at 4+ years. I live in a place with very mineral-heavy tap water. This is due to the huge amount of limestone in the underground. I would love to try out a brackish set-up next time i have room, and i'll definitely add nerite snails to the mix! Informative video as always.
thank you so much for this!!! i have been doing a ton of research for my betta fish tank i've set up, and you've by far been the most handy when it comes to this topic!!! it's so lovely to see another woman talk about this topic too, it's not something we see very frequently in this field. thank you for all your work!
You can also add mineral stones and other mineral sources like those coddle stones that are made for birds, if your snails are getting white spots or holes in their shell, just break off a piece of those cuddle stones and drop that in the tank. I’ve always added Salt, I had incredibly soft water it was 60 ppm out of the faucet and are used equilibrium and aquarium salt and in the 29 gallon tank I had at the house. I probably used about 2 tablespoons and added a little every now and again when I change to water, but not religiously. I started with six neurite snails and they say they live a year to two years. I had one last a little over three years and the others lasted about a year and a half but I don’t know how old they were when I got them they were already about full grown. It makes sense because they are brackish water species and will only breed or hatch anyway in brackish water.
I have moved several states over now and my water parameters are different - very low GH, very high pH (a little over 8!), and very high KH. It almost doesn't make sense and I wondered for a while if my test strips were wrong lol. Anyway, I put a nerite in tank a few weeks ago here - the tank is about 2 months old at this point so I guess we will see if I can keep up the "magic" I had for my previous nerites XD
I've tried nerite snails too and couldn't seem to keep them alive and then one day I found a tiny baby snail and I have no clue what kind he is but he's been doing amazing ever since 🤷♀️
I never use Seachem Equilibrium. It's geared towards plant health, not invertebrates. I prefer to use specific products for shrimps like Salty Shrimp Bee Shrimp Mineral GH+. The snails benefit from this as well. They have a GH/KH version but I don't want to raise my KH so I don't use that product. I keep my GH at 8 in the tanks where I have shrimps and snails and the pH is around 7-7.2, so far so good.
Good video, for me it turned out that I should have thoroughly let the tank season in (1 yr) before adding the snails, water parameters need to be super stable, my well water is not soft. Thanks!
If you worry that your nerite snails dies feed them dried hokkaido pumpkin. I have a Theodoxus fluviatilis breeding tank and even they love the hokkaido pumpkin every snail i kept eats them. 2 years ago i had a nerite snail only tank it was a 15g that had about 14 large rescue nerites and not a single peace of algae and they are healthy and doing well Only eating the pumpkin once every 2 days and now i made them to a healthy weight and gave them away like 2 or 3 per person that wanted nerites. Now i have 4 left that i love and bought 3 years ago in my community 29g tank
The only time I lost a nerite snail was during the pandemic. I had to go take care of a relative and in my absence my housemate was only adding water (not changing as trained) if the level got low; betta survived, snail did not the bad water parameters. I have had my current nerite Lena for two years and she is a delight. Once a week at night I put a "snail cookie pellet" from Crayfish Empire in a spot I know Lena likes to feed. I usually find her finishing up the meal in the morning. Kyogre, betta, is a bully always flaring at her, but she ignores him, knowing she was in the aquarium first. I add 1/8 teaspoon of aquarium salt for every half gallon I replace during water changes of my 5 gallon tank and Kyogre, Lena and live plants all are happy (other than Kyogre flaring, but hey its exercise).
OMG 😱😱😱😱😱 THANK YOU!!!! I also live in the PNW, just south of you guys, and my water is so soft (6.8-7). Although the watershed is on fire at the moment, so we'll see what happens with my water in the coming months... The quality is great for my heavily planted tanks. I don't have to play chemistry and know what to add. But it's very bad for snails. My poor Nerites live, but they get holes in their shells after a year and then eventually die from exposure. Around two decades ago I always mineralized with aquarium salt. But I stopped because of new information.
I was really worried when I got my first Nerite snail, after seeing many people saying it's hard to keep them alive. I don't know if it's just luck, but I have had the same Nerite snail for 5 months now. He has no cracks on his shell and moves around like crazy! If you were wondering he is an olive nerite snail.
Try Seachem Brackish salt. No sodium chloride. So, it's perfectly safe for plants. I've been using it for years. I never lose nerites, except from old age. But, I'm always on the lookout for ones that are upside down, as my goldfish sometimes knock them over or off whatever they're attached to.
Wanted to get a nerite snail to clean algae as they're much more efficient at it than mysteries, but our tap water is also soft water and we have fish in the tank. I'm too nervous to change anything about the water in case it affects the fish, so the salt isn't really an option. I'll probably get a pretty red nerite, or a horned nerite, and if it dies within a few weeks, I'll try getting an olive, since they're supposedly hardier than other nerites. But if that one dies too, I'm going to assume that the water isn't good for them and not get anymore.
great and useful video as always. the tip about salt into my fresh water is very good i will try it because my snail has a cracked shell but my water is hard. thanks again!!
I weirdly have always had the opposite situation! My nerites have lived in previous tanks for years! I purchased an adult nerite that ended up living 3 years in a tank. However, when I added a couple of mystery snails to a few tanks, they all died within a month! Two of them were in the same tank that was conducive to my nerites thriving and laying eggs everywhere... But the mystery snails didnt make it.
That's so frustrating! Our mystery snail Snowy that lives in the 15 gallon cube is doing great and has been the biggest snail I've ever owned. She must be happy because she keeps laying infertile egg clutches everywhere.
I had the same thing happen! I have a nerite that's perfectly happy, and ramshorns and trumpets, but when I tried a mystery snail it died within a day. It didn't help that all the swordtails and endlers wouldn't leave it alone, but I moved around trying different tanks and the tetras left it alone so I left him in that one, but he was floating dead in the morning. I'm not sure if I should try again or not :(
My nerites always thrived in my hard water planted goldfish tank. The big problem I now have is trying to scrape nine years worth of egg debris off the glass. The ice scrapper ive always used can’t get it all off.
My nerite lived for live a year and i have no experience with them, but if u just let them do their thing, they'll be fine. I had no live plants, so just leave them alone, dont add any extra to make the tank look good, they will be okay as long as they move around the tank, meaning they are looking for food, and u can give them wafers to feed them.
Oh no! I just got 5 small horned nerites last weekend for my shrimp tank! I finally have enough algae and there are tons of shrimp in there and a couple of plants. I use Salty Shrimp for my water changes and my ph is around 7.8 and gh around 10, so hopefully they will make it.
I can relate with the 2nd reason haha. I bought a nerite snail few months ago, then after 2 months it suddenly disappeared. After cleaning the back of my cabinet just last month, i saw my nerite snail's shell at the back of it.😮😮
I bought 6 nerite snails and 5 died pretty quickly. The last one seems to be doing well. I know 2 or 3 of them were on the glass of the heater and died there. My theory is they overheated. Also, I have a low algae, low bio load tank. So maybe 2 is just right. Plus, when I added plants they came with some hitchhikers, so they’re eating up some waste.
I keep my Nerites in brackish conditions. Not only do they thrive, but they breed. My Figure 8 Puffer keeps the unsightly eggs in check, but some invariably get through. They mow through hair algae like little goats.
My nerites died long after I used the No Planaria medicine in another tank and re-planted ONE plant from that tank. They are THAT sensitive. I'm done with them.
My first two nerite snails I had, one of them was always trying to climb out. He eventually committed suicide, and I found him on the floor. The other died randomly after almost a year. I have one now that I got maybe 6 months ago, and he seems to be doing well. I think it's just the luck of the draw with these critters.
Just added a horned nerite to my tank to help with green spot and kind of taught hi. What I wanted him to go after by placing him on my anubias that was covered in GSA. He cleared the leaf off before the day was over.
I didn't know soft water isn't good for plants. I use RO water and the only thing I add is Easy Life Filter Media, Easy Life Profito and a local brand Potassium fertilizer and my plants are doing well. my nerite snails also do well when they don't escape from aquarium(I don't like putting lid on my tanks but fortunately each time they wanted to escape I noticed and put them back in water)
Oh wow yes My mystery snails 🐌 are doing great However My first nirite snails died And my send obe always seems to be just holding on. 😬 Thanks for the video 👍
The way you feel about nerite snails is the same way I feel about cherry shrimp! Funny enough my nerite has been going strong for 1 year+ but I’ve tried cherry shrimp in the same tank multiple times with no luck! The worst part is everyone talks about how easy/hardy they are which doesn’t help my psyche🤣
My boss Zenzo from @tazawatanks had the same issue... He has a whole fish room full of every species imaginable but couldn't keep cherry shrimp alive. I believe he finally was successful once he used crushed coral in the substrate. 👍
So I'm not the only person with soft water that has high pH - good to know. Apparently it's not that common. Would be great to hear more about how you manage water parameters.
A majority of my nerite snails died from a bacterial bloom. However only one sole survivor made it but only hangs by the HOB filter now and won’t explore from anywhere else 😢.
Our snails have eaten all the green algae. They keep going around and around the tank. They seem to be doing fine. Are they still eating things that aren't seen by us or do we need to supplement? We thought you said get the nano food tablets and we did but they don't seem to be interested in them. Are we missing something or not patient enough? We have a beta and 2 nerite snails in a 5 gallon. I thought maybe 1 too many snails for that size tank or is it fine? Thank you for all the videos you make!
Thank you for this video. I few concerns. I’m pretty new at this hobby and the closest aquarium supply shops are 30 minutes away. I’ve had one snail for almost a year and another for maybe 6 months. They’re very active and there’s usually one hanging out above the water line. Does this mean my water might be poor quality and they’re trying to escape? Our tank is full of algae on the glass. I didn’t know that heat could cause the algae alone with aquarium lights. I’m new to this hobby and was sort of pushed into it. My job is very exhausting sn I’d seen to lose time and can’t do a (1/2 tank.) ware rchsnge weekly. This makes me feel so terrible. I also cannot relocate the snails. So I wait for them to both be one one side of the tank floor so I can clean the bottom and replace the water.
My mate 'Munchie' is lookling forward to his 3th birthday this Christmas.... slow? he can lap the tank in a matter of minutes. My water is hard/alkaline as it runs through the local chalk bedrock
Interesting. I’ve had two die when I first started my aquarium a year ago. The others are doing just fine. I’ve change the water once since I’ve started. I have sand substrate, plastic plants four stones. Two sponge filters.
@3:10, I also cannot stop mixing up water sprite and wisteria when I talk about either. I have no trouble distinguishing them by site, but in my mind I constantly refer to them as the wrong name!😅🤣✌️
Just watched this and the relevant bit if the aquarium co-op video and while you both suggest a dose per 20 gallons neither mentions frequency of dosage. Is that a one off until you do water change ( which I rarely have to do in my aquascape..) or is it say once a month - any suggestions? I kept a marine tank some time back and only replenished salt if I had done a water change ( again not very often) , otherwise I just topped up with RO. Grateful for any guidance..
Isn't that so crazy how sensitive they can be? I've definitely had that happen before too where I moved a mystery snail from one tank to another and it promptly gave up on life. 😢
I just leave my light on for a longer time frame and let some green algae grow. Then I turn the lights off for awhile and the nerite goes to town before the absence of light kills off all the algae. Can I ask you a question? You said you use tap water? I use it as well and treat it with Seachem Prime. I still get really bad mineral deposits that build up all over the filter and plastic aquarium rim. It looks like whitish-dull yellowish crusty/flaky build up. I tried treating it with a water softener maybe thinking I have hard water but that did not work that great. I really don’t want to have to buy R/O water from an aquarium shop or an expensive R/O filter to make my own? Do you have any ideas on what could be causing these mineral deposits or build ups? I do weekly water changes as well. About 1/4 of the tank. It is only a 20 gallon high tank.
Thank you so much. If you see this, could you possibly tell us how to add the Equilibrium dose? I don't really get it! I have a huge container of it,. Oy Vey! LOL
Nerites are brackish water shrimp. They aren't supposed to survive fresh water. There are a few species identified as fresh, but the others are doomed.
Being a s.water aquarist since 1974 i when moved to planted 100 gal using R.O D.i I in my wet dry F.w I just tool a filter media bag filled it with Calcium reactor media and laid it on bio media under filter pad media keeps my ph dkh about spot on 24/7. Light off Co2 rises more mineral is released..
If humans leave the nature be everything works very well... This well fits for planted aquarium, why u people are obsessed with ph,gh etc... dont intervene with your chemicals nature will make the place best for fishes on its own and it knows how to keep everything balanced ....Just have more plants and small fishes dont change water you will see the magic happen without our intervention and your snails will live happily.
