Red Spotted Nerite care guide

Red Spotted Nerite (Neritina virginea) — minimum tank 20 L, temperature 22-28 °C, pH 7.5-8.5.

Overview

Red Spotted Nerite (Neritina virginea) is a freshwater (or brackish) snail of the family Neritidae, listed in the Aquairi knowledge base as an intermediate-level species. Caribbean nerite with variable red, brown and black patterning on smooth shell. Originally brackish — does best with low salinity.

Taxonomy

Family: Neritidae
Genus: Neritina
Scientific name: Neritina virginea
Common synonyms: Virgin Nerite, Red Onion 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: Caribbean.

Tank requirements

Minimum tank volume: 20 L (5.3 US gal)
Adult size: 1-2 cm
Temperature: 22-28 °C (72-82 °F)
pH: 7.5-8.5
GH: 8-18 °dGH
KH: 6-14 °dKH
Salinity (specific gravity): 1.005-1.015
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: Mollies, Bumblebee Goby. Should be kept away from: Loaches, 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.