# Zebra Nerite (Zebra Snail) -- Algae eater



## elipsius

Does anyone know where I can find this snail in the MD area?
http://www.petfish.net/kb/entry/189/

I'm looking at getting some for my Tang tank to help take care of my algae and they can handle the High PH and are at least from the same continent as the lakes are. I do not want to use a Bristle Nose pleco.


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## Razzo

What about Chaetostoma Thomsoni (bulldog or rubbernose pleco). I have been told they will eat brown algae too.


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## elipsius

Yeah probably will work, but not from Africa, I might consider something else if it was from the lake or at least from the continent, trying to keep my tank close to bio-type as I can. I would let the snails slide even though they are not from the lake. Plus these guys look cool, and I like snails, I'm also trying to find a online seller of them as well, I found a whole sale location but would have to buy 7 boxes of fish/etc from them and I can't do that, then I found a guy who sells them online from Florida but heard bad reports about his business practices so I not going to go with him plus he over charges for them.


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## Razzo

elipsius said:


> Yeah probably will work, but not from Africa, I might consider something else if it was from the lake or at least from the continent, trying to keep my tank close to bio-type as I can. I would let the snails slide even though they are not from the lake. Plus these guys look cool, and I like snails, I'm also trying to find a online seller of them as well, I found a whole sale location but would have to buy 7 boxes of fish/etc from them and I can't do that, then I found a guy who sells them online from Florida but heard bad reports about his business practices so I not going to go with him plus he over charges for them.


Please keep me posted. I may follow in your footprints.

Thanks,
Russ


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## elipsius

Ok will do, I e-mailed the guys at That Fish Place in PA and he has also been looking for them from a reputable wholesaler, so I sent them the links to the ones I found. I'm also keeping my eyes open at some of the LFS in my area, there are 3 pretty good ones with in 1/2 hr or so from me and I have only really checked out one, I am going to start calling the others before I make a drive.

lol what I should do is just buy 7 boxes of them from the wholesaler then sell off what I don't want


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## fmueller

This is going to be of no help to you, but I just happened to have been in Germany for X-mas, and saw the snails there for sale in several pet stores. They caught my eye, since I had never seen them before. Maybe I should have brought some back! The only thing US custom seems to be concerned about these days is 'meat and fish', and I am not sure a snail would qualify as either :lol:

Frank


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## MP Aqua

The site http://www.azgardens.com/ has a zebra variety nerite snail listed but I don't know if this fact is going to be helpful or not because in the picture they don't look the same as the one in the pictures of the link you provided above.


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## DJRansome

I think the one at AZ Gardens is a nerite but is not a zebra nerite...I think it is an olive nerite. I've also tried to get them in the US and been unsuccessful. I assumed they really were not imported. I haunted ebay and aquabid for a while and even posted a "wanted" ad but nothing. Yet on occasion I hear of someone with them here.


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## 24Tropheus

Funny they or something like them is available here in the UK. Find it hard to believe we have something you guys struggle for. It is so often the other way round.
http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.p ... cts_id=850
I just googled Zebra Nerite Snail perhaps just the common name will give you more results? :-?


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## DJRansome

Oh they are very common. For some reason they are not imported very much here. Even Canada has them all over the place!


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## Longstocking

Someone in PA gets them in all the time. She is currently out though. Pm me if you want info. We will all bomb bard her :lol:

Very reasonable on price and shipping. Only to the US


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## Longstocking

She is getting some in at the start of Feb


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## DJRansome

She thinks most vendors don't want to acclimate them to freshwater (in case they were originally caught in brackish or even borderline marine).


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## Longstocking

yeah.... but I have faith. She's got them in before


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## DJRansome

No, I meant her competitors are not willing to bother with the acclimitization...but she is willing. :thumb:


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## arndogg

check www.invertzfactory.com


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## lloyd

i keep many nerites. they have no difficulty surviving in freshwater, produce invalid eggs unless in salt, and are victim to predatory fish often, because they lack an operculum. IME.


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## DJRansome

Agree. We were just wondering why they are not sold often in the United States when they are so very available in Canada and Europe?


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## rogersb

Longstocking - Does she have everything back on track now? I was trying to get some stuff from her for awhile but she was having 'issues' and would not reply very often and in the end I never got my fish from her. I've gotten fish from her several times before and would like to keep my business local.


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## Longstocking

I'm not sure we are talking about the same person. PM me.


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## Razzo

Snails: I have been told by a trusted friend, who has been in the hobby a long time, that the risk of contamination is very high and there is no way to really quarantine them. I am not sure that I want to risk contamination with expensive wc cichlids? I am still hunting for knowledge and wanted some more opinions from people who have epxerience with them.

Thanks,
Russ


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## Azrider

I have olive nerites several of my tanks. They work well for algea clean up, and have not reproduced so far. (Since our tanks are not really a bio type due to stocking levels, I don't mind plecos or snails that are not from the lake.) I have had 11 in my Tang tank for over six months. There are juvie Mpimbwe fronts, Neo. nigriventris, and Julie reganis in a six foot tank. I also have a group of them in a 55 gallon with Mbuna and yo yo loaches. No losses to being eaten in either tank. The only thing that is annoying is all the eggs they lay. They stick to the glass and have to be scraped off, but they do a good job on algea.

Several people in my club were looking for these, and having a hard time finding them. We had a local saltwater store order 50 of the olives, and then aclimated them ourselves. Not sure on the avalibilty of the Zebras though.


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## Razzo

Azrider said:


> I have olive nerites several of my tanks. They work well for algea clean up, and have not reproduced so far. (Since our tanks are not really a bio type due to stocking levels, I don't mind plecos or snails that are not from the lake.) I have had 11 in my Tang tank for over six months. There are juvie Mpimbwe fronts, Neo. nigriventris, and Julie reganis in a six foot tank. I also have a group of them in a 55 gallon with Mbuna and yo yo loaches. No losses to being eaten in either tank. The only thing that is annoying is all the eggs they lay. They stick to the glass and have to be scraped off, but they do a good job on algea.
> 
> Several people in my club were looking for these, and having a hard time finding them. We had a local saltwater store order 50 of the olives, and then aclimated them ourselves. Not sure on the avalibilty of the Zebras though.


Thanks for the reply. I really want to try them but would like to see a few people who are using them respond as you did  I am thinking about putting them in my 125 wc tang community tank. I just may do that. I don't think I'll be putting them in my wc gibberosa kapampa breeding colony (too much money on the line with that group). Maybe if I could have some snails in some of my smaller tanks for an extened period of time, I could transfer them to the frontosa tank one day. I hate the brown algae so much I am willing to try them in a couple of my smaller tanks. I just may try the rubber nose pleco too if I can get my hands on some.

Thanks again for the reply.

Anybody else???


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## lloyd

Razzo said:


> ...I don't think I'll be putting them in my wc gibberosa kapampa breeding colony...


 i feed 1/2-3/4" ramshorns to my frontosa and they eat then fast as pellets. nerites do have a tougher than average shell. that might help their survival chances with big fish...


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## elipsius

I know who she is I found her on another Forum, I went and bought two juvenile BN in the time being but I am going to try and get some from her when she gets some in.

Yeah Zebra N. need salinity when first born and ride currents, but then migrate their way back to more brackish / fresh waters (from what I have read). They also need PH 7.0+ so they work well in the A. Cichlid tanks.

Plus I talked to my LFS and they said they have gotten them in the past and had some on order. I think everyone is having problems getting them at the moment.


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## elipsius

I only have some J. Transcriptus and Brevis at the moment in the tank. I don't plan on adding anything large to my tank so the snails should do good.


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## sharpwhit

AZ gardens now lists Zebras
http://www.azgardens.com/p-1086-algae-e ... snail.aspx
Although they claim the Olives are the best algae-eating snails.
I was going to order from them in a couple weeks, so any feedback or experiences would be great. Also, are the nerite eggs really a pain and eyesore?


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## Arcfusion

I hear gobies will help with algae too. I'm probably going to pick one up for my Tang tank.


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## fmueller

Arcfusion said:


> I hear gobies will help with algae too. I'm probably going to pick one up for my Tang tank.


Tanganyika gobies can be hard to come by, are usually expensive, and in my experience are ultra sensitive fish - think tropheus problems x10. I love them, but I would not recommend gobies if you are just after an algae eater.









_Eretmodus cyanostictus â€˜Orange Congoâ€™ - see the teeth?_ 

Frank


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## Razzo

How many Zebras would you recommend in a 125 gallon tang community tank (brevis, compressiceps & cyps). I struggle with brown algae.

Thanks,
Russ


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## prov356

Razzo said:


> How many Zebras would you recommend in a 125 gallon tang community tank (brevis, compressiceps & cyps). I struggle with brown algae.
> 
> Thanks,
> Russ


Go for a few dozen. i have them in my 180 and they do a good job. They're just small, so get plenty. Be 
patient at first because it'll take them a little time to get it under control.


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## Razzo

prov356 said:


> Razzo said:
> 
> 
> 
> How many Zebras would you recommend in a 125 gallon tang community tank (brevis, compressiceps & cyps). I struggle with brown algae.
> 
> Thanks,
> Russ
> 
> 
> 
> Go for a few dozen. i have them in my 180 and they do a good job. They're just small, so get plenty. Be
> patient at first because it'll take them a little time to get it under control.
Click to expand...

Hey Prov,

Thanks! What are your thoughts on the risk of contamination? What sort of fish do you have in your 180? Are there preventive things that I can do to help minimize the risk of contamination?

Thanks again,
Russ

BTW: I like your use name.


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## sharpwhit

Update on AZ Gardens' snails.

I ordered both Zebra and Olive Nerites from them, but when I received the order yesterday the Zebras were out of stock. So not sure when/if AZ actually has them available.

I will say the Olive Nerites are *amazing*. 20 in at 72g for less than 24 hours and have sucked the bright green algae that developed in the end of my cycling off all the rocks. And they move fast... for snails. Highly recommended so far. Never seen that kind of works from plecos, etc.


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## Razzo

sharpwhit said:


> Update on AZ Gardens' snails.
> 
> I ordered both Zebra and Olive Nerites from them, but when I received the order yesterday the Zebras were out of stock. So not sure when/if AZ actually has them available.
> 
> I will say the Olive Nerites are *amazing*. 20 in at 72g for less than 24 hours and have sucked the bright green algae that developed in the end of my cycling off all the rocks. And they move fast... for snails. Highly recommended so far. Never seen that kind of works from plecos, etc.


One thing I like about the Zebras is that they don't reproduce in captivity. What about the olives? Does anyone know?


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## sharpwhit

AZ gardens claim they can only reproduce in salt water. We'll see.

But also read that adult cichlids will eat baby snails.


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## Longstocking

http://www.capitalcichlids.org/forums/s ... php?t=3854

For anyone that is interested... she just got them in.


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## Fathoms

I have 4 Amano shrimp and one nerite in my tang community tank. They have been in there for almost a year. The nerite was an experiment to see how well it would do and other than leaving white dots around the aquarium it's worked out so I put in a order for 20 olives and 10 zebras from AZ Gardens which should be shipping today.


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## msjinkzd

Hi! I am the one with the thread longstocking linked to. I have several nerite species in stock now, all which were collected from freshwater and doing really well.

I have zebra, green tiger, tri-color horned nerites, mini snails (c. corona species without horns), and red spots. I can provide pictures or more detailed information if you would like.

To answer a previous question, most olive nerites cannot complete the lifecycle in freshwater alone, they will also lay the sesame seed sized eggs. Normally these require varying levels of salinity to develop into snails. The larvae are very small and difficult to feed as well. There have been isolated reports of olive nerites completely the life cycle in full freshwater, but these reports are rare and seem to be limited to a specific subspecies collected from localized areas.


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## prov356

Razzo said:


> Hey Prov,
> 
> Thanks! What are your thoughts on the risk of contamination? What sort of fish do you have in your 180? Are there preventive things that I can do to help minimize the risk of contamination?


Just came across your post. Don't know how I missed it. I wouldn't worry about contamination. Not 
sure what the concern is. I have the snails in with the fish listed in my sig. They curiously picked at 
them at first, but now ignore them. I'd highly recommend the nerites, but they don't get 100% of the 
algae all the time, at least not for me. They do a nice job of keeping anubias leaves cleaned off and 
help keep algae under control. The ones pictured look fantastic. I may need to pick up a few 
dozen more  .


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## TeteRouge

prov356 said:


> I'd highly recommend the nerites, but they don't get 100% of the
> algae all the time, at least not for me. They do a nice job of keeping anubias leaves cleaned off and
> help keep algae under control. The ones pictured look fantastic. I may need to pick up a few
> dozen more  .


Prov356, I think you might've answered a question I had  . So the nerites are pretty gentle with plants, just go after algae? I understand once my Brichardi pair up, they may not tolerate my bristlenose, so it could be a solution..


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## prov356

Longstocking said:


> http://www.capitalcichlids.org/forums/showthread.php?t=3854
> 
> For anyone that is interested... she just got them in.


Ordered from her and couldn't be happier. Excellent quality and they're HUGE compared to what I've 
purchased in the past. Very nice looking snails. Make me wish I had ordered some of the other 
varieties too. Some pics.




























The juli juvie is about 3/4 inch long.


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## Longstocking

They look fantastic !!

I live close to her so I'm picking some up soon....

Julies don't pick on them??? I'm just wondering what type of tangs will do ok with them...

I know sand sifters, paracyps, cyps, feather fins... etc... should be fine. But what about leleupi and some of the meaner lamps.... like nigriventris.


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## prov356

They're in my 180 with the trophs, juliies, calvus, caudos and occies, and they pretty much ignore them. 
But I've had smaller ones in there for a year or more, so they were used to snails. When I first added 
snails last year they curiously picked at them, but once determined they weren't food, left them alone.


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## niccomau

You guys really helped me out today! Currently I have a Malawi species tank of acei, that I'm going to be switching for a Calvus and Caudo tank. It's nice to hear that tangs largely ignore the snails, cause my mbuna maimed the lone apple snail that used to be in there. Since I removed the snail I have to rub the algae off all the anubias and java fern in my tank by hand. Thanks for making this thread guys, the nerite snails should save me considerable time and effort when doing water changes. :thumb:


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## prov356

Here's a short video that better shows the size of the snails.

Snails

I think individual fish's aggression toward them can vary, so no guarantees that some of the meaner 
tangs wouldn't go at them. I can't see caudo's or calvus being a problem at all. They should do fine for 
you.


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## msjinkzd

They look like they have settled in beautifully


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## VT4Me

Just ordered 5 zebras. Couldn't resist it!


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## DJRansome

Anyone have pictures of the white dots they leave all over the tank? Is it just the glass or all over everything? Are they as hard to remove as people say?


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## prov356

DJRansome said:


> Anyone have pictures of the white dots they leave all over the tank? Is it just the glass or all over everything? Are they as hard to remove as people say?


When I first got nerites about a year ago, I saw a few eggs that eventually disappeared, and that's about 
it. I never saw any more. Not sure why. Did some of my fish decide they were nice snacks? Don't know. 
I'm waiting to see if it's any different with these guys.



> They look like they have settled in beautifully


They did. They wasted no time in making themselves right at home. Within 20-30 minutes or so they 
had spread out over the entire tank. I'm watching to see if I actually have to extend the light duration to 
grow more algae. That's a good problem to have though. This is my display tank and I really don't want 
to be cleaning tank sides all the time.


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## msjinkzd

The eggs will be laid all over, I might have a pic, I will look and see. They are not very hard to remove from the glass, an algae scraper will do it. Porous rocks or plants are more challenging. They will dissolve or "pop" over time.

You can see some on the glass (albeit blurry) in this pic:








and this one:


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## TeteRouge

The olive nerites are amazing! Tank and plants are sparkling in 48 hrs. But, man how I wish I'd gotten mine from msjinkzd instead of the Online Retailer I used. Hers are beautiful!! I had to scrape barnacles off of half of the ones I got elsewhere.  If she will ship them this far, next time I get them from her!


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## prov356

I managed to get something of a pic, but not easy to do, since the eggs are so small. I've got about 4-5 
in each of the upper front corners. If there are any on the rocks, etc, I'd never see them.










The four blurry dots on the left side are the eggs.


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## Longstocking

nice ilangi


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## Fathoms

I received 20 olive nerites and 10 zebras from AZ Gardens. Only one of mine had barnacles on it from being born in saltwater I suppose.

I had experience with the olives previously and other than looking rather bland they are incredible little snails. They seem to do very well in my tang tanks and do an amazing job on the algae. The zebras on the other hand are not doing well. I have lost one and I rarely see the others moving. These are not the same as msjinkzd zebras and I'm not even sure why they are calling them nerites as the look nothing like any nerites I have seen. I may move them to my softer water planted tank and see if they recover.


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## prov356

Longstocking said:


> nice ilangi


Thanks, they never miss an opportunity to look for a handout.


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## niccomau

I'm waiting for more funds before I'm going to be able to get some. I don't know why some companies have to have a min. order it can be such a pain! :x


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## niccomau

I put the 23 nerites I bought in my diatom/brown algae ridden tank, and in about 12 hours they almost completely cleaned the front glass and cleared off most the structures and rocks. I AM SO AMAZED!!!! I finally get to put my higher wattage light back up :thumb: They should call them algae destroyers! Though I think I might have too many :lol: ...we'll see....

I wish I too before and after pictures :?


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## Longstocking

I purchased some of the reds from msjinkzd. I am VERY happy. I put them with some fronts and calvus and they have not touched them.

She has more in so I'm going to try many types of them. I hate putting BN's in tang tanks as it make the water quaility go down fast. These seem to have solved that problem.


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## prov356

Mine are still doing well. The tank has never looked more algae free.

Question though. If I put them in with shellies, are they going to go after the shellie eggs? I've been 
wanting to try one or two in my simili tank, but they're just starting to breed, and I don't want to risk 
disrupting that. Thoughts, anyone?


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## msjinkzd

I haven't noticed them being an issue with fish eggs. They are herbivores, I cannot give you 100% on this, but I keep them in my breeding tanks (not cichlids, but CPD's, tetras, cories) and haven't had any issues.


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## Longstocking

if you are keeping them with cories and you dont' have issues with the eggs... they should be good with any tang.

The only tangs I would think might eat them are leleupi types. Even then... I *REALLY *doubt it.


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## msjinkzd

I also keep them with other snails, specifically asolene spixi who lay their eggs in gelatinous clutches below the water line (pretty similar to fish eggs) and the nerites leave them alone completely.


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## nick a

Another fantastic benefit I get from all the Olives in my tanks=just a couple of snails in a 10 gal will keep the tank clean AND keep the bacteria colony in the sponge filter active until I'm ready to move an holding female into the 10.

I've GOT to get some of those zebras, just beautiful!

BTW I got the first batch of Olives back in the Fall of '06. Most of those snails are still on the job!


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## msjinkzd

I still have a couple hundred zebras available for anyone who is interested, sorry to hijack!


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## DJRansome

I just got 2 dozen of the zebra nerites from msjinkzd, they started cruising around the tanks as soon as they hit the substrate. Larger than I expected and beautiful markings. :thumb:


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## DJRansome

Do these guys have a problem righting themselves if they land on their backs in the substrate? Will the Tangs kill/eat them if the soft body parts are exposed?

I turned one right-side-up and he seems fine, but without the operculum, I wondered if they are vulnerable?


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## niccomau

My do get turned upside down everyonce and a while. It takes them awhile to right themselves. My tangs don't bother them at all, they seem to think they are rocks or something. I have sand though, so when they are upside down they've usually got a pile of sand stuck to their bottoms. Anyone that would try to eat them would get a mouth full of sand


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## DJRansome

Well I lost a couple (2) in the mbuna tank. They kept getting turned over, and I'd turn them back each night. Tonight I came home and the shells were empty.

A couple weeks ago I removed 2 others from that tank that kept getting turned over. Thought they might be dead, but I could still see the animal. I put them in the hospital tank and they've been fine ever since.

That mbuna tank is rambunctious and they keep getting knocked around. Also the synodontis multipunctatus swoop by the substrate a lot.

So far in my fry, tang and peacock tanks they seem happy.


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## BioG

If you can get to the ocean you can get to nerites, most of which can adapt to freshwater which, IMO is where they're most useful. I just recently started using these and I'm freaking sold! They eat pretty fast so you don't need a ton of them and they don't breed in fresh water. + since most come from the ocean then high ph would most likely be welcomed. Some Nerites specialize in crawling (or whatever snails do when they move) out to get air and then you lose them. Olives are most common in fresh aquariums.

I've had 10 nerites clean all 4 panes of a 55 gallon in a week!


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## Longstocking

I have tried these guys with a few tangs now... thought I would just share which ones ( different tanks)...

Frontosa
Calvus
Nigirventris
Kilesa
N. signatus

All worked :thumb: Much better than a BN !! :dancing:

My guess, they will work in almost any tang tank.


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## anielynn70

Hello everyone! My name is stephanie and i am new here. i actually have a goldie tank myself and i would like to add a zebra netrite snail to my aquarium and google says this is the place to come. lol. Hope i am not intruding.


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## AU Chief

I think i might be ineterested in getting some of these if you still have them!


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