What Do Your Nerites Eat?

hI there! I was curious about what y'all feed your nerite snails besides the algae in your tank? i've heard of them ignoring veggies like blanched spinach, cucumber, lettuce, zucchini, celery, etc.

i'm planning on getting a nerite soon and I don't think I'll have enough algae to sustain it forever. it's a month old 10 gallon planted tank with a male betta. I wanted to try the veggies, and also stuff like roasted seaweed. I don't really want to feed them algae wafers but I will if I have to/if they'll eat it. i'd really like to hear what they will and will not eat from experience!

a few more questions:

- i'm assuming they'll need calcium supplements like cuttlebone in the tank?

- will they eat diatoms (aka "brown algae") or ignore them?

- do you think my size tank + betta will do best with a horned nerite or a tiger/zebra nerite?

thanks!

 

A lot of people are going to disagree with me here, but I don’t think their diet needs to be supplemented with veggies or wafers. Mine did quite well in a 3g, eating just biofilm and algae. She was a Zebra nerite. I rehomed her because she kept on laying eggs everywhere, making my driftwood unsightly. I think the larger nerites will do just fine in your 10g.

 

Honestly people overestimate how much nerites eat. (Mystery snails NEED suppliments, nerites usually reject them.) They can survive off just the algae in the tank without any supplimental foods. If your tank is pretty new and hasnt had time to grow any algae yet, you could try spinach, seaweed, etc but my guess is your guy won't be hungry enough to take any.

Unless your water is unusually soft, I wouldnt add calcium suppliments. If in a few months you see the tip of his shell turning white then I might reconsider, but most likely he will be fine.

My nerite eats diatoms, but only when hes really hungry. He prefers regular green algae and I have enough in my tank that I end up removing the diatoms by hand :/

I think either type of nerite will do great. How aggressive is your betta? Personally I think horned nerites are much more cute, but my zebra nerite also grew a lot larger and therefore is eating a lot more of my algae haha

 

thanks guys. I feel like i'd be starving the nerite if I didn't give him something else to eat, but with the rate my algae and diatoms grow.... it's good to hear that they will eat diatoms (I have sand substrate, so my diatoms aren't going anywhere fast).

I wonder if fish will eat nerite eggs?? I hope I get a male lol. I have a big piece of driftwood.

my water is very hard. I don't have exact numbers, but i've read the most recent city water quality report for tds, hardness, etc. it has lots of calcium and dries white.

my betta is obnoxiously friendly. he's only ever flared at a mirror and doesn't do it for long. he usually just drifts with his fins all puffed out in between dancing frantically around for food. i'm hoping he'll do okay with a snail. I like horned nerites because they stay tiny and can climb smaller plants better, but I think the zebras and tigers are prettier. idkkkkk

 

Unfortunately, I'm not aware of any fish that will eat nerite eggs.

It's good you have driftwood. Aufwuchs will grown on it, making more food available for your snail. Mine got so soft, the snail would also eat the wood and poop wood dust out, lol. There was quite a pile that developed on the base of it, too. I know this sounds absurd, especially when you look at their puny mouths, but it's true.

I agree that the larger nerites look nicer than the horned. My favorite are the red racers. Over $10 at my LFS, however.

 

My Tiger Nerite Snail died this time last year after living alone in a 12 gallon for 15 years. I purchased it on 09.03.02.

It only cleaned the surfaces as far as I know. I never saw it eat any other foods. It was very large and could be heard rasping on the glass.




I have kept others that did not live for more than a few years.

 

I do have some microfauna in the tank that it can eat too I guess. lol at the sawdust poop. my wood is getting a bit soft, it's mopani. I just recently discovered red racers! I like them too. I think i'd like them more if they didn't have tire tracks on them.

View attachment 463360

My Tiger Nerite Snail died this time last year after living alone in a 12 gallon for 15 years. I purchased it on 09.03.02.

It only cleaned the surfaces as far as I know. I never saw it eat any other foods. It was very large and could be heard rasping on the glass.

View attachment 463361

I have kept others that did not live for more than a few years.

15?? 15????!!!! I heard they only live a year lol.

 

Probably most of them do only live a year, but the potential is clearly greater.

Also, its important to point out that while I've had some long lived pets I'm not successful with everything.

 

They definitely live longer than a year. 15 yrs is quite an accomplishment. I always believed in less is more when it comes to feeding. Another member has one currently living 6-7 yrs now, if I recall.