Textile Nerite (Nerita textilis) Care Guide
Nerita textilis is an Indo-Pacific intertidal nerite with a ridged checkered shell, kept in marine tanks as a film-algae grazer.
Compiled by Aquairi from published sources · Published · Updated
Overview
Nerita textilis is a marine gastropod in the family Neritidae, described by Gmelin in 1791. Known as the textile nerite, it bears a sturdy shell sculpted with broad ridged spiral cords. It is a true saltwater nerite kept for grazing film algae in marine aquaria.
Taxonomy
- Family: Neritidae
- Genus: Nerita
- Scientific name: Nerita textilis
- Authority: Gmelin, 1791
Habitat
The species occurs in the Red Sea and the Indo-Pacific, including Aldabra, the east coast of South Africa, Kenya, Madagascar, the Mascarene basin, Mozambique and Tanzania. It lives on rocks in the littoral fringe, an intertidal zone of strong wave exposure.
Description
The shell reaches up to about 5 cm and is sculpted with broad ridged spiral cords. The exterior is white with widely spaced black spots on the cords. The operculum is thick and granulose, and the thick, denticulate outer lip is bluish-grey.
Tank requirements
- Minimum tank volume: 60 L
- Temperature: 24-26 °C (75-79 °F)
- pH: 8.1-8.4
- Specific gravity: 1.024-1.026
- Carbonate hardness (dKH): 8-12
- Lifespan: 2-5 years
Diet
As a nerite, it is a herbivorous grazer that feeds continuously on film algae and biofilm covering rock and glass. Supplemental algae are advisable in tanks with limited natural growth.
Compatibility
The textile nerite is peaceful and reef-safe, suiting marine tanks with most reef fish and corals. Triggerfish and pufferfish should be avoided as they prey on snails.
Breeding
Like other nerites it reproduces through a planktonic larval stage that requires saltwater, so successful breeding in home aquaria is impractical.
Breeding the Textile Nerite (Nerita textilis)
Overview
Nerita textilis Gmelin, 1791, the textile nerite, is a marine gastropod of the family Neritidae. The shell grows to about 5 cm and bears broad, ridged spiral cords. It lives on rocks in the littoral fringe of the Red Sea and the Indo-Pacific, including Aldabra, eastern South Africa, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique and Tanzania. Nerites are gregarious herbivores, and their appetite for film algae makes them effective marine grazers in reef tanks.
Sexing
Nerites are gonochoristic, with distinctly male and female individuals, but they cannot be sexed externally by shell. Fertilization is internal following copulation, yet a keeper cannot select pairs by appearance.
Spawning & Larvae
After mating, females deposit flattened egg capsules on hard, rocky substrate, each capsule containing multiple eggs. The eggs hatch into planktonic veliger larvae that feed on plankton; in Nerita species the larvae may spend up to about six months in the plankton, giving broad dispersal across coasts.
Common Challenges
- Egg capsules may be laid in a tank, but the planktotrophic veligers cannot complete development in closed water.
- A planktonic phase of up to roughly six months is impossible to support in an aquarium.
- Larvae are drawn into skimmers, filters and pumps and need plankton-grade food.
- Marine nerites differ from freshwater nerites only in salinity, not in their planktonic, non-home-bred life cycle.