# Snails: Nerites, Clithons and Tylomelania



## milalic (Aug 26, 2005)

Wanted to share some pictures of some of the Sulawesi Snails I have:

Clithons:



















Red Spotted Nerite:



















Zebra Nerite:



















Tylomelania - Golden Spotted Snail























































Tylomelania - Black Rabbit





































Tylomelania - White/Yellow spotted














































The some of the Tylomelanias are around 1" and 2". They are plant safe. Amazing snails in my opinion. 
The nerites are great algae eaters especially the algae on the rocks.

Cheers,


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## Jeff.:P:. (Nov 20, 2007)

Wow very nice!, any breeding going on yet?


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## PlantsAndMe (Apr 3, 2005)

Beautiful snails and pics! I'm assuming you bought those at PlanetInverts from Wood?


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## milalic (Aug 26, 2005)

PlantsAndMe said:


> Beautiful snails and pics! I'm assuming you bought those at PlanetInverts from Wood?


no sir...


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## Ebichua (Jun 3, 2008)

That clithon is a Clithon sp.souleyetana 

I can't wait to get mine in the mail!


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## jmontee (Feb 7, 2008)

Milalic,

Where did you get the nerites? I have been trying to find some for ages and I can't find them. They are really incredible looking animals. I'm glad you were able to collect such great specimens. Good luck on breeding these guys, I ma sure there are a bunch of snails in Africa that are rooting for you too.:whoo:


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## clifford (Jun 28, 2008)

Those are fantastic. The red spotted, golden spotted, and zebras....wow.

It won't be long before I'm forced to pick some of these up, just holding out for some more breeding tips before I take the plunge...

Cliff


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## missewell (Jul 12, 2007)

So pretty and nice photos:mod:


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## milalic (Aug 26, 2005)

missewell said:


> So pretty and nice photos:mod:


thanks!


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## kelvin2go (Apr 6, 2008)

whats the water parameter for keeping them?
Look very nice ~


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## milalic (Aug 26, 2005)

kelvin2go said:


> whats the water parameter for keeping them?
> Look very nice ~


I have them in tap water. Temp around 78-80F


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## jazzlvr123 (Apr 29, 2007)

very nice snail pics. any successful breeding yet?


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## southerndesert (Oct 14, 2007)

Those are some very nice snails Pedro! Nice photos as well.

Bill


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## milalic (Aug 26, 2005)

jazzlvr123 said:


> very nice snail pics. any successful breeding yet?


They will breed but nerites are slow breeders.


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## milalic (Aug 26, 2005)

southerndesert said:


> Those are some very nice snails Pedro! Nice photos as well.
> 
> Bill


Thanks!


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## jmontee (Feb 7, 2008)

I just received some of the red spotted nerites from Milalic, they are incredible. I didn't know they were lik two to three times the size of olive nerites. They are really a welcome addition to the tank!!

Thanks Pedro!


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## jackh (Oct 9, 2007)

do the red spotted nerites eat algea as well as the olive nerites?

if so where can i get some?


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## milalic (Aug 26, 2005)

jmontee said:


> I just received some of the red spotted nerites from Milalic, they are incredible. I didn't know they were lik two to three times the size of olive nerites. They are really a welcome addition to the tank!!
> 
> Thanks Pedro!


great...hope you enjoy them. They are good algae eaters.


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Here are some observations about the different kinds of Nerites, Suns (Clithon) and Rabbits (Tylomelania):

All of them are wildcaught so many of them have small blemishes on the shells. If you google "Neritina" or "Tylomelania" you wil notice the blemishes on very much every single picture.

Nerites
=============
** Reds
Compared to Olives/O-rings the reds have much lower mortality rate. The dead reds pollute the water MUCH less than the rest of the Nerites I have. The red color maybe brick red or brownish red depending on the light and the individual snail. In any case - the reds (along with the Zebras) are the nicest looking, at least to me. No tendency to explore above the water line.

** Zebras and Big Line Zebras
Low mortality rate compared to the Olives/O-rings. The dead Zebras/Big Line Zebras pollute the water a little more than the dead reds. Will search and eat other dead snails.

**
Olives and O-rings
Mortality rate seems higher than Reds and Zebras. The dead pollute the water much more. Can stay out of the water several hours with no ill effects. Will search and eat other dead snails.


Suns (Clithon)
===========
About 1/4 inch diameter. Comes in different patterns/colorations. Very low mortality. Ultra cool looking. Would not eat plants. Often climbs on bigger snails.


Rabbits (Tylomelania)
==============
** Black
Smaller than the White or Yellow Spotted. The hind 1/2 of the shell is whitish. Less active than the White spot. Very low mortality. Would not eat plants. The dead blacks barely pollute the water.

** White Spot
A bit less active than the Yellows. Very low mortality. Would not eat plants. The dead ones barely pollute the water.

** Yellow Spot
Very active and not easily intimidated. Would not eat plants. The dead ones barely pollute the water. Strong snail - will bump newly planted stem plants and make them float. Rooted plants have no issues.

--Nikolay


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Hm, reading my last post I see that it appears that I talk a lot about dead snails. I was worried if the different kind of cool snails will make it in my tanks so I was watching them closely.

Actually only about 3% of the Olives/O-rings died in my tanks compared to about 1% or less of the others. But I have much more Olives/O-rings then Reds. So my observations mean that all of the snails survive very well.

Still my favorite is the striking and active the Yellow Rabbit!

--Nikolay


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## southerndesert (Oct 14, 2007)

Thank you for the informative post! Have you seen any young snails yet or eggs?

Bill


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## Melody (Apr 15, 2004)

Looks like the snail market is opening up once again in the tropical US. When they first cracked down, the only thing allowed to legally move across State lines were P. bridgesii/diffusa. That's nice to see - I know there are a lot of dedicated snail enthusiasts there and I've had the pleasure of dealing with many of them.

We've had a full range of Nerites in Canada for several years and then new creatures like Brotia species started to arrive. Most of the oddities came through Germany's dealers at that time and the Nerites came out of Asia for the most part. 

Remember to quarantine new snails though - anything wild-caught or with close wild origins can carry diseases and parasites. On the flipside, our captive snails can be carriers of diseases they're now immune to. Wild-caughts are often more environmentally sensitive as well.

Good luck & thanks for sharing the pic's!


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## clifford (Jun 28, 2008)

niko said:


> Hm, reading my last post I see that it appears that I talk a lot about dead snails. I was worried if the different kind of cool snails will make it in my tanks so I was watching them closely.
> 
> Actually only about 3% of the Olives/O-rings died in my tanks compared to about 1% or less of the others. But I have much more Olives/O-rings then Reds. So my observations mean that all of the snails survive very well.
> 
> ...


I definitely agree with you there... I picked up 10 zebras, 10 red spot, and 10 yellow rabbits from Pedro, and although they are all fantastic, the Yellow Rabbits are by far my favorites. Great price, too.

My mortality was higher than yours, I lost at least several of each kind, but there are still plenty to go around. Any evidence of breeding from yours? I keep checking for tips online, but there just don't seem to be many people talking about these snails. I would love to have them reproduce in my tanks, but so far, nada.

The only tip I have is for suplimental feeding, as you mentioned-- they like dead snails. I routinely execute all pond snails, and many extra ramshorn and MTS snails...all three types of sulawesi's I have make a b-line for squished snails.


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## FazTeAoMar (Jan 2, 2005)

Hello!



milalic said:


> They are plant safe. Amazing snails in my opinion.


They really are amazing but the part where they are plant safe couldn´t be more far from the truth.

Tylomelanias do eat plants or at least some plants! I have four different species of Tylomelania ( Tylomelania patriarchalis, Tylomelania towutica, Tylomelania sp. " yellow head" and Tylomelania sp. " Super Yellow") and they all eat plants at some point of its growth. Maybe not the Biotope plants as they, somehow, in evolutionary terms, developed some kind of defense mechanism against snails ( I am just speculating here) but the most common plants that we possess in our tanks are snacks to them.

Sure the smaller ones don´t eat plants as they probably don´t have enough strength in their jaws to chew but as they grow bigger, they surelly can chew plants, even harder leaf plants. I have tried Anubias, Cryptocorynes, Bolbitis, Echinodorus, not to mention Marsilea hirsuta that they just love as a snack.

And before you ask, I didn´t mistake snail bites with nutrients deficiency.  I have seen, several times, the hole trails left behind in the Echinodorus leafs as the snails walk and chew.

But, don´t take my word for it, just try and see. You won´t be disappointed with the feeding frenzy. 

Regards,
André


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## milalic (Aug 26, 2005)

Any pictures where the snail can be seen eating a healthy plant leave?

I have not seen this behavior at all with the Tylomelanias where they eat healthy plants.

I do have seen them eating dead plant matter.



FazTeAoMar said:


> Hello!
> 
> They really are amazing but the part where they are plant safe couldn´t be more far from the truth.
> 
> ...


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## FazTeAoMar (Jan 2, 2005)

milalic said:


> Any pictures where the snail can be seen eating a healthy plant leave?
> 
> I have not seen this behavior at all with the Tylomelanias where they eat healthy plants.
> 
> I do have seen them eating dead plant matter.


Sure, no problem! This ones are specially for you, still hot from the camera!

As someone once said: " A picture´s worth a thousand words"

*The grabing*









*The munching*


















*Taking the snail away*









*Borders of the leaf clearly damaged, with a characteristic pattern*


















*While the snail was having his dinner, I took the liberty of snaping more pcitures of other damaged Anubia leaves.*




























And these are Anubias, wich have very hard leaves. You should see what they do to the softer ones...

The fact you haven´t seen them eat healthy plants doesn´t prove they are plant safe, does it? 

Regards,
André


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## milalic (Aug 26, 2005)

I know there are a few more people that have Tylomelanias. Have you seen the behavior above?


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## FrothHelmet (May 18, 2006)

yep, my orange posos and german yellow posos both eat java fern and mini-pellia ><. I think they left moss alone. but they are ravenous plant eaters.


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