# Quarantine Nerite Snails?



## jrf (Nov 10, 2009)

I have a couple of Nerite snails coming tomorrow. What sort of quarantine procedure should I use on these guys? IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve heard that they can be carriers for certain protozoa - like flukes. However, I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t know which meds are "snail safe", or what exactly I need to proactively treating them for before I declare them fit for my tanks?


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## dmiller328 (Nov 17, 2008)

I have heard of people doing a saltwater dip to get rid of leaches on Tylomelania which should work with Nerites.I haven't had a problem of disease that passed to fish with them but I have found that the olives are by far the hardiest of the bunch.I had Zebra nerites die for no apparent reason with plenty algae to eat in the tank after having them for over a month.I have not tried the horned nerites yet to see how hardy they are.


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## jrf (Nov 10, 2009)

I thought salt baths were one of the things done to killed snails?

I should have asked before I ordered. I got the Zebra/Tiger Nerites. I guess IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ll be looking for some OliveÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s if these guys drop dead on me. Not that theyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re expensive, but the shipping charge stings a bit.


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## aquariam (Feb 11, 2010)

I used to work at a pet shop that went through a lot of nerites.

The zebras are hardy and can live for many years if they're shipped properly. Sometimes you get a batch that doesn't make it but if you get all your snails from a 'good batch' they are extremely hardy as a general rule. There are bad batches of apple snails too.

The horned nerite is fairly hardy. Definitely less hardy than the zebra. Much higher 'what happened?' death rate. The red nerite with the black spots is fairly fragile. I'd say (in Tang terms) it's about the equivalent of cyprichromis. It's not a weak fish, but it doesn't tolerate much adversity. Those are the only ones I had any experience with. I know people who've had the same zebra nerites for like four years.


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## jrf (Nov 10, 2009)

*aquariam*, did you ever have an issue with the snails bringing in diseases?


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## aquariam (Feb 11, 2010)

jrf said:


> *aquariam*, did you ever have an issue with the snails bringing in diseases?


That's like asking if I ever got influenza from a salad buffet. I've eaten salad at a buffet, and I've had the flu. I don't keep track of things well enough to know if the two were connected.

I've never noticed anything change in the weeks or months following adding the snails, but you should always quaranting everything when possible.

Also keep in mind, Nerites lay really unattractive egg masses that never hatch in FW and are really annoying to remove. Usually a sharp object of some sort is needed and sometimes you can't get them out of a rock or wood crevace at all.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I love my zebra nerites but I do find them somewhat delicate and better with peacocks than Tangs or Mbuna.

Mine lay their eggs on background and rocks but not glass. I don't mind them.

I added 2 dozen to various tanks and did not have any disease problems.

Everything I have read suggested a one-year life span however. Mine are nearing that now.


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## jrf (Nov 10, 2009)

Yeah, IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve read about the egg issue. IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m not really thrilled about it, but to get rid of some of the algae in this particular tank IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ll live with it.


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## aquariam (Feb 11, 2010)

DJRansome said:


> Everything I have read suggested a one-year life span however. Mine are nearing that now.


They live much longer than one year.


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## Darkside (Feb 6, 2008)

They live longer in brackish water.


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## aquariam (Feb 11, 2010)

Darkside said:


> They live longer in brackish water.


Yup. But even in fresh if well cared for they will grow and live a long time.

Keep in mind that for them to be healthy you have to feed them. They won't last too long if all they get is algae. They'll happily take meat and veggie based prepared foods. They especially enjoy (as do all snails) Tetra tablets, which have a skim milk powder base.

I find that snails kept with more aggressive feeders (which, for a snail, is EVERYTHING), they're best fed in a corner at night by putting the food in a corner then putting snails on top of it.


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