Nerite Frequent Mating Behavior Question.

Hi all,
I have a grandpa nerite. I say grandpa because he is at least 2 years and has been a great little worker. I added a second nerite recently and IT'S A GIRL so for the first time I've got nerite eggs everywhere which is no biggie.

Here's my problem: he won't leave her alone. I know, I know... It's not a problem right? Well... maybe. I bought a 2nd nerite a few months ago and once grandpa found that nerite they never separated (were either foot to foot or grandpa was on the newbies back) and the nerite died a week later. I know the snail's death was probably unrelated to grandpa's behavior. But when I got this new one I watched their interactions more carefully than I did with the other one. Again, as soon as grandpa found her they were in constant contact (that I could tell). They were foot to foot for a couple of days, then I mostly saw grandpa on top of the new one's shell attempting to get foot to foot. I noticed that when they were on the sand he could dig himself into the sand to get underneath the female. Later I noticed she had climbed onto a rock and didn't move for days. He kept trying to get under her but he couldn't do it while she was on the rock. I wondered if she was parked in that spot to block him from attaching to her. She stayed there, in that same spot for a few days. Were they even eating?

So I bought 2 new fish several weeks ago, set up a quarantine tank, and moved grandpa over there, which temporary separated them. At this point the fish have been moved to the permanent tank and I can break down the QT tank except grandpa snail is still in there.

Am I silly to be concerned about this? I'm aware that nerites frequently mating is totally normal, but is there a point where it can become hazardous for one of them?

 

I don't think anyone really knows why these snails behave like they do but it must get pretty stressing for the female
Why not move him in with the fish

 

I don't think anyone really knows why these snails behave like they do but it must get pretty stressing for the female
Why not move him in with the fish

There's nowhere to move him to. My only active tank is 20 long (with 1 female nerite and panda corydoras). I have the 10 gallon QT I was using to quarantine the new fish but they've now been moved to the 20. So I'm ready to take the 10 gallon down and store it away, except the male is still in it. I do have an empty 5 gallon. Maybe I'll give him another try in the main tank and if it ends like last time with days and days of no movement on the part of the female (& constant contact by the male) maybe I'll start up the 5g for him. Thank you for the reply!

 

Just wanted to add, he will go after her again, if want to stop this, they must be seporated.

 

Just wanted to add, he will go after her again, if want to stop this, they must be seporated.

Yeah, I agree. After I posted that about maybe giving it another try I thought, "Why even bother trying? These are biological forces that aren't going to change."

This tank could really use 2 snails instead of just one. Should I try for another female nerite to go with the other female? Or is there a different type of snail that won't bother the nerite but will also work on algae?

 

I love rabbit snails! They can get large, but won't overpopulate the tank. You need a male and female to breed them, and even then they will only have a single baby at a time. hence the hefty price tag on these guys.

 

I love rabbit snails! They can get large, but won't overpopulate the tank. You need a male and female to breed them, and even then they will only have a single baby at a time. hence the hefty price tag on these guys.

I'll look into it!