# Horned Nerite Snails..pros & cons of this algae control snail?



## ravensgate (May 24, 2012)

I have one onion nerite in a 3 gallon and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my nerite. I had two but one died (he was sick when I got him). They do a bang up job cleaning which was evident when I moved him to another tank for a week and the tank he was in suddenly looked like it had cloudy water. No, it was just film on the sides of the tank since Mr. Nerite wasn't there to clean. Not sure if you're going to have him with fish or shrimp but shrimp actually eat the snail poo so not a lot of extra bioload cause of that. If you happen to get a female she might lay white eggs everywhere which I've heard are unsightly. Mine (and the one I lost) is male so no issues there. I *think* nerites DO have to have both sexes to lay eggs, but gosh I could be wrong. If that IS the case though you should be ok if you just have one. My one does a good job on the 3 gallon by himself, but with an 8 gallon you might want 2-3.


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## DBlauj (Apr 17, 2012)

I have four(spontaneous buy) and i love the job they do on algae. I dont have shrimp so their waste load is crazy if you have a ton of algae. You'll wake up the next day and see your tank has been hit by hundreds of little poop bombs lol. Other than that they are great little guys. The eggs can be ugly at times but if it gets bad just scrape them off. Oh and they may climb out of your tank from time to time if you don't have a hood. Mine. Always found their way back into the tank though.


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## ravensgate (May 24, 2012)

Oh yes yes, they DO get out of tanks so you need a lid of some sort.


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## sbarbee54 (Jan 12, 2012)

They rock you will love it. I have 2 in each of my 20L 1 in each 15L. The keep algae to a min in my tanks. Just enough for my shrimp to feed on the side walls. I have never had one crawl out on me. But if you are rimless I couls see it.


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## Knotyoureality (Aug 3, 2012)

Females will lay eggs whether a male is there to fertilize them or not.


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## spyke (Oct 14, 2010)

Great cleaners, but lay eggs on everything, especially driftwood and rocks. And they can climb right out, and will.


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## Monster Fish (Mar 15, 2011)

They only eat hard algaes growing on hardscape and walls. They won't touch hair algae, bba, staghorn, or any of the filamentous algaes. They also don't like soft water.


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## duganderson (Dec 5, 2011)

Monster Fish said:


> They only eat hard algaes growing on hardscape and walls. They won't touch hair algae, bba, staghorn, or any of the filamentous algaes. They also don't like soft water.


What is good for hair algae?

Also, can LFS tell which are males or females to get a male so they don't lay eggs.

--Doug


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## dougolasjr (Mar 3, 2010)

You can't determine nerite sex. You might be able to try Amano Shrimp (Spelling).


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## Monster Fish (Mar 15, 2011)

duganderson said:


> What is good for hair algae?
> 
> Also, can LFS tell which are males or females to get a male so they don't lay eggs.
> 
> --Doug


Amanos, SAEs, manual removal, hydrogen peroxide. Though fixing the cause of the algae will be better for the tank in the long run.


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