Nerite Snails - The Algae Solution

[matchstickgeezer]

I’m sure other people will have said similar over the last few years, but I cannot stress enough how effective a small group of Nerite snails can be in a tank with algae.

My 3ft tank and bogwood was covered in years and years of algae. I could boil it or scrub it off.

In the end I added 4 Nerite snails (stripy and red spotted ones) and they got through the lot in less than a month!!

Since then they have kept everything pristine and they don’t eat any of the plants or breed in tanks either.

Well worth a try if you haven’t tried them already. They are lovely little creatures too!

 

[Herpin Man]

The trouble that I've had with snails in general is that they multiply quickly, and destroy my plants. How likely is that to happen with nerites?

 

[Essjay]

Nerite snails can't breed in fresh water so they will never overrun the tank. Yes, they do lay eggs which look like sesame seeds and are hard to scrape off soft things like wood, but the eggs won't hatch.

Mine have never touched a plant, and I've had nerites of various sizes and species for years.



The only downside to them I have yet found is that, like most snails, they are sensitive to chemicals in the water. So if you ever need to treat the fish for an illness you'll have to remove the nerites until every trace of the medication is removed. The same applies to all other species of ornamental snail that we pay good money for. Pest snails will survive anything!

 

[Byron]

I have not kept Nerite snails so I have no idea on their usefulness when it comes to algae. However, I would question their effectiveness with all algae. What I like to term "problem algae" is what most aquarists are faced with when looking for solutions to algae, and there is no fish and probably no snail that will effectively deal with all species of the "problem" algae. While this species of fish or snail may be able to reduce or sometimes eliminate one species of algae, I have never heard of anything that can do so with any and all species of algae.

All snails graze surfaces, feeding off the biofilm; these natural films cover all submerged surfaces and collect microscopic invertebrates and algae. This is why you will regularly see many species of fish grazing/browsing surfaces such as wood, rock, plant leaves, even the tank glass. The algae that collects here is common algae and any of the small snails (pond, bladder, ramshorn, Malaysian Livebearing) will graze these surfaces and eat the algae, but their capacity is very limited. And none of the "problem" algae is part of this diet, at least not to any discernible extent of dealing with the problem algae.

"Problem algae" occurs when the light/nutrient balance is out of sync. This involves a significant imbalance between light intensity (spectrum can also factor in here) and the available nutrients. Spread of this algae is usually rapid. Resolving the imbalance is the only safe and effective method to eliminate problem algae. Again, there are many species of algae, and every aquarium is biologically different to the extent that different species of algae may become problem while others will not in that aquarium.

Before adding invertebrates or fish to an aquarium to deal with problem algae, the cause should be rectified. And the full impact of introducing the fish or invertebrate must be assessed. These solutions may affect the system to varying degrees, and some (at least the fish) have specific requirements that need to be met if the fish are to be healthy themselves.