# Nerite Snails Question



## Harry Muscle (Mar 13, 2007)

I'm thinking of getting a Nerite snail or two, but I've read that their eggs can be an issue. So I was wondering, is there any way to tell which are males and females? Will the females lay eggs even if no males are present?

Thanks,
Harry


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## josh1604 (Mar 31, 2008)

i have read that they can not reproduce unless it is a perfect enviroment and also it has to be done in saltwater i am not sure if it was talking about 100% saltwater or something with a smaller concentration of salt just what i have read though


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## looking4roselines (Mar 28, 2008)

Nerites will lay eggs whether the eggs are hatching or not. Fresh or salt.

I too had bought a group of 6 nerites. Witin days, a lot of my plants and the glass were covered in white eggs. It literally looked like my nana petites had ick. lol

You can scrape off the eggs on the glass with a razor blade. I dont know how to get the eggs off the leaves without damaging the leaves as theyre quite hard. The eggs can deform your leaves as well.

Theyre good algae eaterst though. Only down side is their eggs.


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## teban (Feb 2, 2006)

i think for snails in general they are hermaphrodites (excuse me for the spelling) meaning they can turn into both sexes however they still need a mate (meaning at least a pair) in order for them to reproduce. Not sure though if they would still release unfertilized eggs


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## fishsandwitch (Apr 20, 2008)

Thats not true for all snail I dont think


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## RoyalFizbin (Mar 7, 2006)

teban said:


> i think for snails in general they are hermaphrodites (excuse me for the spelling) meaning they can turn into both sexes however they still need a mate (meaning at least a pair) in order for them to reproduce. Not sure though if they would still release unfertilized eggs



You are wrong. Some snails are hermaphrodites but Nerites are not. Nerites have distinct genders and the females will lay all sorts of ugly white eggs all over your tank. I know from experience. The eggs stick very well to everything and are about 1mm in size. I have to use a razor blade to scrape them off the glass. The ones on the wood and plants, i have no choice but to leave them alone. The eggs will not hatch in fresh water and seem to last for months if you leave them to decompose on their own.


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## kana (Oct 23, 2007)

Funny, I had Olive Nerites for about a year and I hardly seen any eggs. I think my female Betta or Lemon tetras must have been snacking on them because I might have seen just 5 or 10 at any given time.


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## volatile (Feb 13, 2007)

I'm getting tired of scraping algae from the glass and also interested in getting 1-2 male nerites, specifically the Horned Nerite because of its cool looking shell, and smaller size. I don't need 5 though since my tank is a small ADA Mini M, so I probably can't order from planet inverts =( 

http://www.planetinverts.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=72


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## SPC (Jan 14, 2008)

FWIW, I had many nerites in my reef tank and there eggs would hatch but would never make it to adult hood due to the many planktonic stages they go through.
Steve


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## klumsyninja (Apr 16, 2008)

my Nerite died about 2 days after introducing him to my tank... either that or went very very dormant.

no eggs though


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## Raimeiken (May 20, 2004)

They do lay eggs here and there, but I rarely see them in my tank after a few days. I guess my fish or shrimps are eating them.


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## litzel (Oct 25, 2017)

josh1604 said:


> i have read that they can not reproduce unless it is a perfect enviroment and also it has to be done in saltwater i am not sure if it was talking about 100% saltwater or something with a smaller concentration of salt just what i have read though


their optimal is brackish water, not soft, but not too hard either.


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## paulbert (Jan 22, 2017)

I had 2 Nerites a year ago and they laid white eggs everywhere. I'm down to 1 Nerite and no more eggs.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

Harry Muscle said:


> I'm thinking of getting a Nerite snail or two, but I've read that their eggs can be an issue. So I was wondering, is there any way to tell which are males and females? Will the females lay eggs even if no males are present?
> 
> Thanks,
> Harry


I use Olives as my main algae "janitors". To me their benefits far outweigh their drawbacks..
For me at least, it's the worst at first introduction and egg laying falls off quite a bit after that.. YMMV...............


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## Matuva (Jun 8, 2015)

I have the opportunity to collect my nerites in the wild.

I love them, they are awesome cleaners!

Here, you can learn how to make the distinction between male & female nerite : https://hopeelephants.org/nerite-snail-eggs/


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## fishisfish (Feb 17, 2018)

So, from what I understand (please correct me if I'm wrong!):

- nerites are not hermaphrodites - they are either male or female.
- female nerites lay eggs in salt/brackish/freshwater, regardless of whether there are males around or not.
- only if males are also present and if the water is right (brackish) will the eggs actually be viable and hatch into larvae.
- it is impossible to distinguish the gender of a nerite unless you have seen it laying eggs!
- eggs can be unsightly in an aquarium and are hard to remove, especially from plants.

If all the above is correct, then how on earth can I be sure to only get a male?!
I have a 120l aquarium - will I have to supplant the nerite's diet with additional algae wafers or something? The aquarium currently has 2 common goldfish in it (inherited - I know they'll outgrow this tank too some day), lots of live plants, sandy bottom. 

Thanks!


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## Surf (Jun 13, 2017)

> - nerites are not hermaphrodites - they are either male or female.
> - female nerites lay eggs in salt/brackish/freshwater, regardless of whether there are males around or not.
> - only if males are also present and if the water is right (brackish) will the eggs actually be viable and hatch into larvae.
> - it is impossible to distinguish the gender of a nerite unless you have seen it laying eggs!
> - eggs can be unsightly in an aquarium and are hard to remove, especially from plants.



My experience with neuritis is that if each one you have as a unique shell color pattern they will not produce eggs.

So females in my experience will only lay eggs if a male is present. Also I never seen a nerve egg hatch in my fresh water aquarium. My understanding is that they only hatch in brackish water. The eggs are easy to remove from the tank walls and other hard surfaces. You can easily pop them off with your finger nail. However getting the eggs off of a plant might damage the plant.


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

You can't be sure, to get only a male. You'd just have to be lucky. That's the downside to them. I've had females that laid eggs all the time, with no other nerite in the tank. They do that whether there's a male present or not. Mine never lay eggs on plants, but on the glass and they really seem to prefer on the driftwood. I've gotten used to the sight of the eggs and just ignore them. Their work cleaning up algae is worth it to me.


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## Olskule (Jan 28, 2010)

Matuva said:


> I have the opportunity to collect my nerites in the wild.
> 
> I love them, they are awesome cleaners!
> 
> Here, you can learn how to make the distinction between male & female nerite : https://hopeelephants.org/nerite-snail-eggs/


This topic won't come up for me, even with searching that website for applicable terms. Anyone else have this problem?

Olskule


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