# Any nerite or other snails that do not leave eggs on glass?



## newguy (Mar 18, 2006)

Hi are there non-invasive type of snails like nerite that do NOT leave eggs on the glass? I love nerite but their constant leaving little white eggs on the glass is very annoying. Is there a sub specie of nerite that do not leave eggs, or other snails that cleans up the aquarium glass you can recommend? thanks


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## totziens (Jun 28, 2008)

I would say...none. All snails lay eggs. You may try assassin snails though - I have never seen them laying eggs in my tank...in fact I was hoping that they would lay eggs and start breeding as these snails are very expensive in my area. I wouldn't say they don't lay eggs though as I have seen photos of them laying eggs in someone's tank in a forum.


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## jrIL (Apr 23, 2005)

totziens said:


> I would say...none. All snails lay eggs. You may try assassin snails though - I have never seen them laying eggs in my tank...in fact I was hoping that they would lay eggs and start breeding as these snails are very expensive in my area. I wouldn't say they don't lay eggs though as I have seen photos of them laying eggs in someone's tank in a forum.


MTS are live birth not eggs.

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## newguy (Mar 18, 2006)

jrIL said:


> MTS are live birth not eggs.
> 
> Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk


but mts doesnt go on glasses, only buried in substrate from my understanding


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## jrIL (Apr 23, 2005)

newguy said:


> but mts doesnt go on glasses, only buried in substrate from my understanding


Substrate by day, glass etc by night, mostly. But in all things there are exceptions.

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## Tugg (Jul 28, 2013)

They are also considered "invasive" in that they can breed quickly.

The only reason nerites are "non-invasive" is because when their eggs hatch, the larva can't survive freshwater. All your other snails will breed freely.

Mystery snails at least do you the courtosiy of putting their massive egg sacs just above the water line, so you can easily remove them (then hatch them elsewhere and give/sell the babies).


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## totziens (Jun 28, 2008)

I didn't know MTS does not lay eggs. Good to know that. 

Yes, MTS will multiply just like pond snails or ramshorn snails. I got so irritated that I hunted for them every night to get rid of them 1-2 years ago because they made my newly planted glosso floated around every night. 

jrIL is right that they are on the glass at night but stay in the soil during day time.


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## ObiQuiet (Oct 9, 2009)

I had the same question, with the idea that a single-gender or male-only set of nerites might not lay eggs:

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...s/79573-poll-no-zebra-nerite-egg-problem.html


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## zadratus (Feb 25, 2014)

I have 3 Clithion Corona Nerites (bumblebee nerites) for 6 months now and I have not seen any eggs.


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## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

Tugg said:


> Mystery snails at least do you the courtosiy of putting their massive egg sacs just above the water line, so you can easily remove them (then hatch them elsewhere and give/sell the babies).


I definitely like mystery snails for their presence (they're diurnal, big, and fairly active), but I will point out that they can be messy. Still, they do a good job of taking care of certain kinds of algae, and breeding them is fun. Also, large specimens eat duckweed. Just saying. 

As to the matter of assassin snail eggs.... they do lay them, but they're not easily spotted. They prefer to hide them in places like the pores in sponge filters, tangles of vegetation, etc. They're these little squarish tent structures with an egg inside.... kinda hard to describe. Also, for all their wonders, assassins won't clean your glass at all.


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## Axelrodi202 (Jun 7, 2009)

Horned nerites don't really have the egglaying issue; their laying is rather infrequent. When they do lay eggs they are barely noticeable at all.


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## stanjam (Mar 30, 2014)

In my shrimp tank I have mts and micro ramshorns. The mts don't lay eggs but will definitely grow in population.

Micro ramshorns are very small, and their shell lays on its side. Very slow breeder, lays tiny eggs.

Then again what about assassin snails? Not sure if they are safe with shrimp, but they only breed when there is a male and female, and there must be a thriving pest snail population. They will eat the same stuff as other snails as well as snails. They are nice looking as well. They do lay eggs, but not on the glass, and only when there are so many snails in the tank that they need help eating them lol.

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## krissy (Jun 3, 2014)

My tank is about 80 degrees. I have over 30 nerites in my 48 gallon. Olives, leopards, horned. No white eggs. It seem s like they like to lay eggs in colder water. I don't k ow how true this is but in my tank, there's no eggs. Maybe rarely a few.....mm


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## Skizhx (Oct 12, 2010)

I will attest that even in warm water, nerite snails will lay eggs on virtually anything they can. If you have ones that behave, I wish I knew the secret.

Personally I just keep 'pest' snails. Malaysian trumpets being my favourite... They tend to leave living plant tissue alone while doing a good job of cleaning up dead tissues and any excess fish food. Great for assisting decomposition. MTS have the added benefit of providing some churning of the substrate. 

Sometimes you'll see 'pest' snails on the glass, but it's not their favourite place and they're probably there because there's something growing on the glass. They're small enough that they shouldn't spoil the view. Certainly less of an eyesore than any algae eating fish pressed up against the glass IMO.

They will lay eggs and reproduce, but the eggs you'll find will be tiny little things in translucent gel-like packets adhered to plants and sometimes the glass. The entire sacks are maybe the size of a pencil's eraser tip. They're easy to miss, even at a close distance.


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## krissy (Jun 3, 2014)

It's strange how my nerites don't lay eggs. My water temp is about 80 degrees. A little warmer than I'd like but it's the summer now and the heater is off. I even have a clip in fan blowing while lights are on to cool down. I don't wanna jinx myself but not even 1 nerite egg. Not 1. I just bought more olives since a few horned died. I have over 35 snails in a 48 gallon. No eggs.


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