Marbled Limpet Nerite

Care at a glance

Overview

This is a peaceful, slow-moving grazer that spends its time on rocks and glass eating algae, biofilm, and diatoms. It does best in a well-oxygenated tank with plenty of hard surfaces to work over and some current. Water can run a touch hard and it tolerates a little salinity. A 20 liter tank is enough for one. It will not breed in plain freshwater, so the population stays put.

In the wild

The marbled limpet nerite comes from fast, clear freshwater streams and the lower reaches of rivers in Southeast Asia, clinging to rocks in the current. That tells you what it wants in a tank: hard surfaces, good water movement, and oxygen-rich water with a film of algae to graze. Keep it warm (low to high 20s C) and slightly hard, pH 6.5 to 8.

Good to know

Septaria porcellana is in the family Neritidae and grows to around 3 cm. Unlike the rounded shells of most nerites, this one is flat and cap-shaped, like a limpet, which is the whole trick to how it lives. It needs brackish or marine conditions for its larvae to develop, so it will not produce young in a freshwater tank.

Did you know

The flat, limpet-like shell is built for sticking to rock in moving water. It presses down with a broad muscular foot, sheds drag the way a low profile does, and can clamp tight enough that it is hard to pry loose without hurting the animal, so it is best left to move on its own.

Related species

• 

  Tiger nerite

  Vittina coromandeliana

  1 in (2.5 cm)5 gal (19 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)

• 

  Zebra Nerite

  Vittina natalensis

  1 in (2.5 cm)5 gal (20 L)66–84°F (19–29°C)

• 

  Dusky Nerite Snail

  Neritina pulligera

  1.6 in (4 cm)5 gal (20 L)72–82°F (22–28°C)

• 

  Olive nerite

  Vittina usnea

  0.8 in (2 cm)5 gal (20 L)72–82°F (22–28°C)

• 

  Virgin nerite

  Vitta virginea

  0.8 in (2 cm)5 gal (20 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)

• 

  Horned nerite

  Clithon corona

  0.6 in (1.5 cm)5 gal (19 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)