Horn Nerite Snail

Clithon corona · Peaceful · Beginner care

$1.50
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A thumbnail-sized algae machine in black and yellow spirals, crowned with tiny horns. Widely rated the best algae-eating snail in the hobby — and it can never overpopulate a freshwater tank.

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SKU: horn-nerite-snail-6-pcs
Beginner care Peaceful Not strongly social All levels dweller

At a glance

Species profile Clithon corona

Origin

Southeast Asian coastal streams and estuaries

Family

Neritidae

Adult size

Up to 1.5 cm (0.6 in)

Diet

Algae and biofilm grazed off glass, rocks and decor (Herbivore)

Temperament

Peaceful

Swimming level

All levels

Minimum group

1+ (shoaling)

Lifespan

1-2 years

Minimum tank

20 L (5 gal)

Water type

Freshwater

Size to scale

Natural range

Where it comes from — Southeast Asia

Southeast Asian coastal streams and estuaries

Water

Singapore tap water vs its needs

pH 7–8.5 tap 8
Temperature 22°–28° tap 29°
Hardness (dGH) 6–15 tap 3

Hardness: Medium to hard (6-15 dGH).

Adjusting pH the natural way — Singapore tap water suits this fish well — no pH adjustment needed.

In the aquarium

How it lives in the tank

Swims at every level of the tank

Gensou's take 2/5

Sensitivity Index — Hardy

Hardy and beginner-friendly; keep up routine water changes and it will thrive.

Our own read on how forgiving this species is of water changes — not a formal standard.

Keeping & care

What this fish needs

Special care — A tiny spiky horned nerite and superb algae grazer; needs hard, alkaline water and a lid, and won't overpopulate a freshwater tank.

Family

About the Neritidae family

Neritidae are the nerite snails, small hard-shelled snails from coastal and brackish tropics that have become the hobby's premier algae-cleaners — zebra, tiger, horned and olive nerites among them. They graze film and even tough spot algae tirelessly across glass, rock and hardscape without touching healthy plants, and stay small. Crucially they cannot reproduce in freshwater, so they never overrun a tank.

Keep them in hard, calcium-rich water to protect their shells, supplement with algae wafers once the tank is clean, and secure the lid — nerites often wander above the waterline.

Breeding

Does not breed in freshwater

Nerites lay small, hard white eggs on hardscape and glass, but the larvae need brackish or marine water to develop, so those eggs never hatch in a normal aquarium. That is a feature, not a flaw — an effective algae-eater with no population explosion; deliberate breeding requires a dedicated brackish larval setup and is rarely attempted.