nerite eggs

[finfan]

i got some nerite snails to see if they can help with algae, they are helping with that some, but a very bad side effect, little white eggs all over the glass and some plants, they stick really hard and not easy to remove and the fish do not eat them

do you guys have experience with this?

is there any way to prevent this? or remove it easily?

[FuzzyDragon09]

I have a couple of Nerite snails myself. I actually don't know how to get rid of the eggs and I seem to accumulate more if I add Aquarium Salt to de-stress my fish or to battle a disease. I think that they will eventually go away. They dissolve, or the egg hatches and the baby snail can't live in the non-brackish conditions, or something. I just leave them alone since I haven't made any headway in trying to scrape them off. I don't know what else to suggest. I haven't had mine long and can't find much information on their species.

[tnguyen]

That's the only bad side effect. The egg won't hatch in freshwater so that is good. If the eggs are on the glass, just use a razor blade and scrape them off.

[finfan]

thanks for the info, that really sucks that there is nothing to do, i guess i have to take the snails out of the tank because the white eggs are very unsightly

[newb]

+1 for the razor blade, thats what I did to a used tank i purchased

[PlanB]

Yeah, they won't hatch and will eventually dissolve, but it'll take awhile. I find it easier to use a plastic ice scraper myself.

[marauder_77868]

I think they do hatch...if you look very closely you can see the ring where it was attached previously...we just don't know how to raise the larval form, which is a bummer...either way, the eggs go away

[ghoastgirl1]

I've never had a problem with the eggs. They're just there, little white dots. Not really doing any harm to anyone. if you're concerned you can look for the ones attached to each other and remove one into another tank. The males have to be fertilizing the ladies for the eggs to be laid. Do that until you get all of the eggs out is my best solution.

[JStrider]

yah if you see them riding on each other, usually thats them mating, pluck the smaller"hitch hiker" off and drop him in the tank, and take the bigger female and put her in a tank that is alright to have eggs.

[fshfrk]

I dropped a netrite in my acrylic over flow and got them dots. he cleaned it up real good then crawled out in the tank and left 100's of the dots.

[FuzzyDragon09]

if you're concerned you can look for the ones attached to each other and remove one into another tank. The males have to be fertilizing the ladies for the eggs to be laid. Do that until you get all of the eggs out is my best solution.

+1
I actually found a pair on top of each other and removed one into another tank. I noticed a decrease in egg production in the original tank and no eggs in the new tank.

Finfan, I'm sure if you watch them closely enough, you can separate the snails while they are mating and keep only the male nerites. It would probably take a while but you would have the algae eating/cleaning power without the eye sores. There's no need to completely remove them.

[finfan]

thanks guys, i left them in a jar, i will put them back in to catch them in the act and interject lol

[FuzzyDragon09]

thanks guys, i left them in a jar, i will put them back in to catch them in the act and interject lol

I originally put my snails in a small plastic container (to sort of quarantine them) before putting them in my tanks and saw them in the act. It might be easier to split them up if you keep them in the jar, just add a little food, and wait. Probably better than trying to peek through the vegetation in your planted tank. Just a thought.

[finfan]

good idea laura... will do