Nerite Snails Escaping

[Sunfire]

Hi guys, I got 2 spotted nerite snails and they keep escaping! It's been 2 days since I introduced them to the tank, and I've been finding them everywhere, e.g. on the floor, on the outside of the tank, etc... Any reasons for this?

[Quixotic]

Don't know if there are particular reasons for this, but their escapes from tanks are commonly reported among aquarists. You will need a lid to keep them in.

[Matt]

My only conclusion for such behaviours displayed would be that they do not really belong to the aquarium environment. Most likely, their natural habitats are just moist-land beside rivers/streams. And occasionally, they would take a dip into the water for food. But prefer to stay out of water. Sounds logical?


*I'll go do a research on this and will update if any new findings are found.

Research done:
I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post any links to other sites here. But anyway, here is a summary. "They do sometimes have the unfortunate tendency to wander out of the tank due to their (#) intertidal nature." quoted from Reef Corner.

# Intertidal : of, relating to, or being the part of the littoral zone above low-tide mark.

[Quixotic]

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post any links to other sites here.

Yes, you can if you just want to share some information, as long as it isn't just a case of redirecting traffic or excessive promotion of the website.

The information that you quoted is most probably referring to marine/brackish water nerites. A point to note is that nerite is just a general term, and that there are freshwater as well as brackish water and marine species.

Therefore, it is also possible that the water condition is not suitable for them and hence, the escaping act. Although, some may be adaptable to different conditions, it is always better to find out the exact species to provide the proper care.

Read this article (supposedly by Dr. Neale Monks)...
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebI...wbrnerites.htm

[Matt]

Thanks Quixotic for clearing up. Yes, the quoted statement is actually referring to Reef Nerites Snails, thus my conclusion for the escapes. We can't be sure of the ones selling in the LFS, if they are Freshwater or Brackish/Marine species.
Would the LFS know which species are they selling? I wonder, sometimes.

[bossteck]

I used to had mine escaping too... I found the dried up shell behind by aquarium.

Not sure why is it they escape, but I can tell you how to prevent it.

Short of getting a hood for your aquarium, I have found that since I switched to a tank with euro-bracing, I have stopped having my snails escaping from the tank.

[Sunfire]

Ho ho, can't do that. The reason I have nano tanks ONLY is because I don't have room...

Might be getting more snails soon, going to y618 (THAT AQUARIUM) for a look...

[silane]

Yes, you can if you just want to share some information, as long as it isn't just a case of redirecting traffic or excessive promotion of the website.

The information that you quoted is most probably referring to marine/brackish water nerites. A point to note is that nerite is just a general term, and that there are freshwater as well as brackish water and marine species.

Therefore, it is also possible that the water condition is not suitable for them and hence, the escaping act. Although, some may be adaptable to different conditions, it is always better to find out the exact species to provide the proper care.

Read this article (supposedly by Dr. Neale Monks)...
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebI...wbrnerites.htm

It is not surprising that those nerites snail were collected brackish water and they do not live well in acidic water. The one that has zig zag pattern like to climb out of tank. The onion nerites like to stay in water. A few other species shell will corrode in acidic water.

I am sure all of us whom keep nerites will experience white eggs everywhere in the tank, but not resulted in any offsprings. Does not mean they are marine or brackish by nature??

Maybe you can help us to id which are the freshwater netrite? So hopefully, the eggs can hatch in my tanks

[Quixotic]

The one that has zig zag pattern like to climb out of tank.

The zig zag ones look like zebra nerites like this?
http://perso.infonie.be/pomacea/neri...alensis_uk.htm

If so, then they could be actually freshwater species, Neritina natalensis from South Africa. Previous discussion here,
http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ad.php?t=27853

I am sure all of us whom keep nerites will experience white eggs everywhere in the tank, but not resulted in any offsprings. Does not mean they are marine or brackish by nature??

It could just mean that the snails are all of the same sex. Nerites are gonochoristic, and not hermaphroditic. The article by Dr. Neale Monks that I posted a few posts before this, did mention they need different sexes to reproduce. However, of course there is also the possibility that they are kept in the wrong water conditions.

Maybe you can help us to id which are the freshwater netrite?

I am no expert on snails, just curious on a lot of things. So I trawl through information on the Internet.

You can always do a search based on Dr. Neale Monks article. There are several species mentioned there, and I think more than one is availabe in our LFS.

If anyone needs help to ID the snails, just create a thread, post a picture and someone curious enough will look them up.

Freshwater nerites

Most of the Asian and African nerites seem to be genuinely freshwater species, but they are almost never sold under a Latin name so confirming this is very difficult. The Asian spiny nerites Clithon diadema and Clithon coronae are among the most distinctive of these snails. Having green or golden shells respectively, these snails have a whorl of short, slightly curved spines around the apex of the shell.

Neritina natalensis and Vittina coromandeliana are African freshwater nerites that may be sold under the zebra nerite monicker, but they have light brown shells with dark brown to black stripes so are quite easily to distinguish from the brackish water nerite Puperita pupa. Distinguishing them from one another, on the other hand, is tricky because both are exceedingly variable in terms of the regularity of the banding and the proportion of dark bands to light brown ground colour.

Quite commonly traded are the snails sold as batman snails or horseshoe snails, which seem to be Neripteron auriculata, a freshwater species found across Southeast Asia, Australia, and various islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. These snails have an odd, limpet-like shape with a pair of short ‘wings’ on either side. Other nerites appear all the time, under a variety of common names and almost never identified to species level.

[flashout]

I also having the same thing. They just keep crawling out of tanks. I m not sure, but seem like more nerite snail are blackish and unable to breed in our normal tank conditions.

So, I still prefer APPLE SNAILS...hehehe...