Waltoni Nerite Snail care guide
Waltoni Nerite Snail (Neritina waltoni) — minimum tank 20 L, temperature 22-28 °C, pH 7.5-8.5.
Compiled by Aquairi from published sources · Published · Updated
Overview
Waltoni Nerite Snail (Neritina waltoni) is a freshwater (or brackish) snail of the family Neritidae, listed in the Aquairi knowledge base as an intermediate-level species. Caribbean nerite with smooth dark shell and orange foot. Brackish-origin species, hardy in mid-hard freshwater.
Taxonomy
- Family: Neritidae
- Genus: Neritina
- Scientific name: Neritina waltoni
- Common synonyms: Walton's Nerite
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.
Breeding the Waltoni Nerite (Neritina waltoni)
Overview
Neritina waltoni, Walton's nerite, is a small herbivorous nerite snail of the family Neritidae of Caribbean origin, recognised by its smooth dark shell. Like other nerites it is a brackish-origin species and is kept as a hardy algae grazer in mid-hard freshwater aquariums.
The genus Neritina comprises marine, brackish and sometimes freshwater snails, and its members share a life cycle in which reproduction depends on saline water for larval development.
Sexing
Nerites are not hermaphroditic and cannot change sex, so reproduction needs both males and females. Because they cannot be sexed externally, a group is kept to ensure both sexes are present.
Reproduction & Young
Females lay hard, white egg capsules on solid surfaces, with each capsule holding many eggs. The microscopic larvae are very hard to feed and require brackish or salt water to hatch and develop reliably; a freshwater aquarium does not provide the salinity they need. Rearing therefore depends on a separate brackish or marine larval phase, not on the freshwater display.
Common Challenges
In a freshwater tank the white capsules accumulate on hardscape but do not hatch, which is normal for the species. Producing juveniles requires deliberately raising the larvae in brackish or salt water with suitable larval foods and then acclimating them slowly to freshwater, an advanced process. Avoid snail predators such as loaches and crayfish.