How many nerite snails for algae control?

I recently had an major algae problem and someone told me nerite snails did a good job at keeping it in check and I was wondering how many I should use? I want to put some in my 10G and some in my 30G and I saw on ebay somone selling 5 for $20 and was thinking maybe 2 in the 10 gallon and 3 in the 30 gallon would that be enough or to many? Also is that a good price for them I don't think anywhere local carries them.

 

5 sounds good to me, but once they take care most/all of the algae you might want to think about growing some algae for them to eat. I got mine at my LFS that sold 3 for $8, so to me 5 for $20 seems a bit on the expensive side...

 

What part of MD are you from might be fairly close to me.

I have some high light plants so I am afraid I will always have some algae unless I have snails lol.

 

I'm in Montgomery County, my LFS is congressional aquarium, here's their website: https://www.congressionalaquarium.com/
They have a looooot of stuff but I'd say they are a little expensive. But the fish look pretty healthy (and the snails) so I suppose it's worth the extra money.

If you really have no choice than to order online for the $20, I'd say go for it the snails are really cute and they do a really good job at eating the algae. Mine have never escaped and I don't keep the lid on in the day, but I have heard from others that they can escape.

 

Have you tried on here? if so, what about aquabid or ebay?
I agree, $4/snail seems high to me unless that includes shipping, but I'm no expert. :/ A side from my assassins to eat my snail population, only snails I've ever gotten were hitchikers from my plants!

 

Nerites do a pretty good job of keeping the diatoms away. I have 4 in my 36 gallon tank.

The only downside ( at least for me ) is that they are escape artists and can be out of the water for days! That being said, its best to make sure that you have a secure lid. Mine also likes to go inside my HOB's. If I don't see them for a few days, I look in there and there they are!

Also, they leave white egg dots on everything! Very hard to get off of and I don't want to use a razor to scrape it off the glass in case I scratch it....

I paid about $3.00 each for mine at a lfs - they are really small, about the size of a peanut m&m

 

I don't use a lid on my 10G and my 30G lid stays open more than its closed. I wonder why they want to escape so much? I have a mesh lid I could chop up so my filter would fit for my 10 gallon and I could just close up the 30 gallon I suppose.

 

I don't use a lid on my 10G and my 30G lid stays open more than its closed. I wonder why they want to escape so much? I have a mesh lid I could chop up so my filter would fit for my 10 gallon and I could just close up the 30 gallon I suppose.

I dunno why. When I first got mine, they stayed ABOVE the water line for over a week!!!!! During that time, I did not see when/if they went under the water. I am assuming they did but I never saw them and they were always in the same position the next day. I was really starting to get worried - I covered up all of the holes ( using Saran wrap )
Finally about 2 weeks after I got them, they started cruising around the tank more and being more mobile. They still hang from the lid and go places they shouldn't but at least they can't get out! LOL

 

I dunno why. When I first got mine, they stayed ABOVE the water line for over a week!!!!! During that time, I did not see when/if they went under the water. I am assuming they did but I never saw them and they were always in the same position the next day. I was really starting to get worried - I covered up all of the holes ( using Saran wrap )
Finally about 2 weeks after I got them, they started cruising around the tank more and being more mobile. They still hang from the lid and go places they shouldn't but at least they can't get out! LOL

Hmm, that's weird. My nerites have never tried to escape and I only put on the lid at night! Mine never lay eggs either. The only thing they do is chill out on the lid at night or once, I found one on the filter where the water comes out. Guess he needed a shower

They poop a lot though, I've noticed. Once I put one in a breeder net to clean up after my fry and instead he only made it dirtier with all his poop. ~_~

 

Nerites do an amazing job with algae, but be careful about getting too many. They take care of the algae in no time, so you'll have to create more to keep them happy.

 

I like to use 1 nerite in a 30 or less, and even my 33 long I have one. Now in my 75 I like 2 to 3 and my 40 I like 2 as its a heavily planted tank with a lot of fertz and lights.

 

I agree, it's better to have too few snails than too many. The biggest issue with snails is starvation.

 

I have always heard that if snails continually come out of the water then it is indicative of water quality issues that they don't like. I have never had my nerites stay out for more than an hour or so and very infrequently.

 

Good morning,

Two suggestions for you:

Create a thread in the Buy/Sell/Trade/Free section of the forum and title your post WTB (want to buy) Nerite Snails. Maybe someone on the forum has some they will sell to you.

Also, check with Harpua2002 via Private Message. I have bought all of my Nerites from her. I have 4 in my 33g long and several in my 265g. I've always been very pleased with Snails and Plants that I've purchased from Harpua2002 and highly recommend her.

Ken

 

Have a 10 gallon tall tank with Glofish and Serpae Tetras, fake plants and a small LCD light that came with the setup. The light is on 8 hrs a day but I am still having a small problem with green algae that collects on the fake plants and ornaments.

I would like to go to a planted tank soon but until then I would like something to control the algae a bit (hate cleaning the nooks and crannies of the ornaments and plants every week).

Was thinking about using Nerite snails to control the algae on the fixtures and tank wall.

Would these guys work for me and if they do how many for a 10 gallon tank?

Thanks

 

I'm going to say 1 would do the job in a 10 gallon (but wait for more answers). I have 2 nerites in my 29 gallon and they do a great job! (Plus with only 1 you won't get eggs all over the place).

 

I've got two olive nerites in my 10 and they keep the algae nicely under control. That being said, in my experience it's infinitely harder to control algae on silk plants, as it tends to grow fast and grow often on them. Since you have no live plants, maybe consider dialing back the light to 6 hours a day until you're able to replace get live plants in there?

I've also heard of people having success killing off algae by blacking out the tank, double-dosing with Flourish Excel for a few days, etc. My preference is to just use snails and a good, old-fashioned aquarium brush to control the stuff.

Another suggestion from experience, pond snails do a great job with algae. Whenever I've dropped a handful in the tank to help with algae, the population tends to grow while there's ample algae to feed on, then once things are more controlled, the population shrinks down again. As an added benefit, LFS and pet stores will often give you a large handful for free, as they really don't want them anyway. Of course, if you're overfeeding your tank with these guys in it, you will soon have more pond snails than you know what to do with.

 

That's a good idea....I have a pond snail hanging out in my 90 gallon planted tank. Maybe I will just move him over to the 10gallon.

 

For a 10 gallon, I would recommend 1 or at most 2 nerites. With 1, it may take a while to achieve "clean" plants and decorations, but the 1 would have a better chance as it wouldn't out eat its own food supply. With 2, you would have to supplement them with food, as they would run out of algae to eat unless you have a crazy problem with algae.

As for the nerite egg statement, nerites can produce eggs even when alone. I believe nerites have a males and females. Females will always produce eggs they just won't be fertilized. Even if you have a male and a female the eggs may get fertilized but they won't survive when hatched as they need brackish water for the babies. So if you get 1 nerite, you have a 50/50 shot of getting an egg producer. I've always thought if someone could perfect sexing nerites and breeding them, they could make a fortune selling guaranteed male snails that don't produce eggs. The eggs from nerites is about the only negative thing about them, otherwise a great tank inhabitant which cleans many forms of algae.

 

I have 3 in my 10 gallon and they do the job well, but the lights, ferts and CO2 are cranked way up. For your purposes 2 is probably the most you need. I suggest if youd o get 2 get 2 of different types so you won't get eggs.

 

@Dolfan I thought I read 1 time that a single nerite (female, presumably) would not produce eggs to be fertilized unless in the presence of a male? I could certainly be mistaken, but I thought I read that somewhere...

 

Algae typically thrives where the tank is in direct sunlight. however snails will take over your tank if you install them! so where you get these snails for the algae I personally would get an assassin snail to keep numbers of pest snails down!

 

I would go with two nerites.

 

I agree - 2 in a 10 gallon is perfect! I had 4 in my 36 gallon for a year now and they did a really good job at getting rid of the diatoms. I just added 6 baby Horned Nerites on Saturday

 

2 would be great for a 10 Gallon!

 

@Dolfan I thought I read 1 time that a single nerite (female, presumably) would not produce eggs to be fertilized unless in the presence of a male? I could certainly be mistaken, but I thought I read that somewhere...

Algae typically thrives where the tank is in direct sunlight. however snails will take over your tank if you install them! so where you get these snails for the algae I personally would get an assassin snail to keep numbers of pest snails down!

Female nerites will constantly produce eggs, but they will not be fertilized without a male present. You'll find them stuck onto glass, decorations, and any other hard surface. Eventually, they just decay.

Nerites definitely will not reproduce without a fair amount of effort on your part, so assassin snails are entirely unnecessary.

I'd start with one, see how it does, and add another if necessary. Nerites can be hard to feed if there's too little algae present, and it may be that you're only growing enough algae to keep one snail healthy. A single snail always kept my 29gal reasonably clear of algae.

 

Nerites can be hard to feed if there's too little algae present, and it may be that you're only growing enough algae to keep one snail healthy..

Nerites can be given most veggies as well to supplement their diet. I feed mine zucchini, broccoli, carrots, pumpkins, squash.
I have little or no algae left in my tank and they are happy just sitting on a piece of veggie all day

 

Nerites can be given most veggies as well to supplement their diet. I feed mine zucchini, broccoli, carrots, pumpkins, squash.
I have little or no algae left in my tank and they are happy just sitting on a piece of veggie all day

Learn something new every day. I had read that other people had issues feeding nerites. Mine never quite ran out of algae, so it didn't come up. I'll keep this in mind for the future.

 

Learn something new every day. I had read that other people had issues feeding nerites. Mine never quite ran out of algae, so it didn't come up. I'll keep this in mind for the future.

I've had mine for over a year now. I got them because I had a huge diatom problem. With 4 of them, it took them 3 months to get it under control. They did a pretty good job even with free flowing veggies that I give my other snails in the same tank. They LOVE the minI pumpkins - everyone of my snails was inside my carved one I did for Halloween last year and cleaned the thing out!!! Even my Pleco turned yellow/orange!!!

 

Good morning,

I have 4 Nerites in my 33g long. It's rare that I see them feed from my zucchinI slices but they do at times. I can't say I have an algae issue any longer and I've had these snails for around 18 months. Love 'em! I have Zebra and Red Spot Nerites.


Fresh and brackish water Nerites

Ken

 

I have two assassins in my 30G tank, and I have a serious snail infestation. however I have noticed, after the assassins kill a single snail, they go into hibernation for the rest of the day! so it could take months and years, if the snail numbers are to be totally destroyed. but you don't want all to be culled because what food have the assassins got? they'll starve to death!

 

how many Nerite snails to clean up brown algae in a 55 gallon tank? Its only on the substrate right now but I don't want it on my decorations. Tank is a month old.

 

You can probably do a dozen or so.

 

I'd just do 4-5, too many and they will starve.

But, you and a scrub brush are the best algae cleaner

 

I'd just do 4-5, too many and they will starve.

But, you and a scrub brush are the best algae cleaner

I have 3 mystery snails already

 

I have 3 mystery snails already

What about them?

 

What about them?

Didn't know if that mattered.....

 

No, it shouldn't.

 

I got 2 that was all the LFS had.....

 

I got 2 that was all the LFS had.....

Awesome Pics?