Just got horned Nerite Snails!!!
I was buying fish food the other day and found some horned nerite snails. These snails are excellent algae cleaners and add something new and interesting to the aquarium. With so many planted tanks a I got a group of six, perfect as a cleanup crew for the Fluval Spec V. These, plus the Malaysian trumpet snails and Otocinclus really have the aquarium spotless. They're doing so well I've had to overfeed a little and throw algae discs for food.
Unlike the Malaysian trumpet snails, nerite snails are active feeders who roam the entire aquarium. One of the good perks of these snails is that they do not breed in freshwater. They produce larvae which grow in saltwater during their first days and them migrate slowly to freshwater so if you see nerites putting eggs fear not, you will not have a snail explosion. This is a double edged sword for people like us who actually like to breed. Complicated setups must be made to form the transitions of salt to fresh water and barckish in the middle, etc. Not to mention the first food must be planktonic since they are small larva and filters can't be used or they'll suck the larva and kill them. That is why nerits carry a heafty price, from $2.50-$6 or $8 depending the variety. This group cost $2.50 but a new group may be brought, looking for a group of red nerite snails.
