Horned Nerite Snail care guide
Horned Nerite Snail (Clithon corona) — minimum tank 10 L, temperature 22-28 °C, pH 7-8.5.
Compiled by Aquairi from published sources · Published · Updated
Overview
Horned Nerite Snail (Clithon corona) is a freshwater (or brackish) snail of the family Neritidae, listed in the Aquairi knowledge base as a beginner-level species. Tiny Nerite with characteristic horn-like projections on its yellow-and-black shell. Great for nano tanks.
Taxonomy
- Family: Neritidae
- Genus: Clithon
- Scientific name: Clithon corona
- Common synonyms: Horned Nerite, Horn Snail
Habitat
Neritid snails inhabit tropical and subtropical coastal streams and estuaries worldwide, from East Africa and the Indo-Pacific to the Caribbean. Most species require brackish or marine water for larval development, although adults thrive in pure freshwater aquariums. The Aquairi knowledge base records this entry from: Southeast Asia.
Tank requirements
- Minimum tank volume: 10 L (2.6 US gal)
- Adult size: 1-2 cm
- Temperature: 22-28 °C (72-82 °F)
- pH: 7-8.5
- GH: 6-18 °dGH
- KH: 4-12 °dKH
- Lifespan: 1-2 years
Diet
A herbivorous grazer. Diet consists almost entirely of biofilm and soft algae rasped from solid surfaces. In the aquarium no supplementary feeding is needed in a mature tank; in nutrient-poor systems, occasional blanched spinach, zucchini or algae wafers supplement intake.
Compatibility
Peaceful algae-grazing snail that does not damage live plants and ignores tank mates of any size. Suitable tank mates listed in the Aquairi knowledge base: Shrimp, Tetras, Rasboras. Should be kept away from: Loaches, Pufferfish, Crayfish.
Breeding
Sexual reproduction with an obligatory salt or brackish larval phase. Females release planktonic larvae that develop only in higher-salinity water and metamorphose into the juvenile stage there before migrating back upstream. As a result, the species essentially does not reproduce in pure freshwater aquariums; eggs may be laid on hardscape, but the larvae cannot complete development.
Why the Horned Nerite Snail Won't Breed in Freshwater (Clithon corona)
Overview
The horned nerite, Clithon corona, is a very small Neritidae snail from Southeast Asia, easily recognised by the horn-like projections on its yellow-and-black shell. Its small size suits nano tanks, and it grazes algae while needing hard, alkaline water. Like other nerites it has an amphidromous life cycle in which the larvae need brackish or salt water, so it does not reproduce in a freshwater aquarium.
Sexing
Horned nerites have separate sexes and are not hermaphroditic, so one snail cannot multiply by itself. The sexes are not reliably told apart externally, so a small group is kept to ensure both sexes are present.
Conditioning
These snails stay healthy and lay egg capsules in hard, alkaline water with plenty of algae and adequate minerals. As with all nerites, conditioning the adults does not enable reproduction, because the larvae still require brackish or marine salinity to develop.
Breeding Setup
Completing the life cycle means providing brackish or saltwater for the larval stage. In practice egg-bearing surfaces are moved to a brackish or saltwater rearing tank, or adults are acclimated to brackish water, because the veliger larvae need that salinity and specific gravity to grow into juveniles.
Why It Won't Breed in Freshwater
In freshwater the female lays hard, white egg capsules on surfaces, each containing many eggs, but no viable juveniles emerge. The larvae cannot develop without brackish or marine water, so a freshwater nano tank does not gain new snails even though egg capsules are deposited.
Common Challenges
The hard white egg capsules adhere firmly to decor and glass and are difficult to remove, and many keepers find them unsightly. Even in a brackish rearing tank, the microscopic larvae are very hard to feed, so successful captive rearing is rare.