Tiger Nerite Snail: Vittina semiconica

Tiger Nerite Snail

Amber shell banded with dark tiger stripes. A tireless algae grazer that cannot breed in fresh water, so the population never gets away from you.

Natural Habitat & Origin

Estuaries and lower river reaches across East Africa and Southeast Asia, where fresh water meets brackish. Adults live in fresh water; larvae need salt to develop.

Care Requirements

Keep Tiger Nerite Snail at 22-28°C with a pH of 7.0-8.2. Hard, alkaline water matters more than temperature — the shell erodes in soft or acidic conditions. Provide a secure lid, since nerites climb out of open tanks.

Use the Aquarium Tracker to log these parameters against your own readings — it flags a drift before it becomes a problem.

Diet & Feeding

Grazes film and green spot algae from glass, hardscape and leaves. In a clean tank supplement with algae wafers or blanched courgette, or it will slowly starve.

Behaviour & Temperament

Slow, methodical and entirely peaceful. Spends the day working across surfaces and rights itself if it falls, though a snail stuck on its back for hours needs help.

Tank Mates

Safe with any peaceful community fish and shrimp. Avoid loaches, pufferfish and large cichlids, which eat snails.

Breeding

Will not reproduce in fresh water. Females lay small white eggs on hardscape that never hatch — an aesthetic nuisance rather than a population problem.

Choosing between nerite varieties

All nerites share the same care requirements, so the choice comes down to shell pattern and size. See the nerite snail comparison guide for the full range side by side.

Common Health Issues

Shell erosion from soft or acidic water is the usual issue. Copper-based medications are lethal — check treatments before dosing a tank containing snails.