Nerita polita

Nerita polita  Shell size of that species varies from 13-40 mm, our specimens have about 10 mm. The colouration and the pattern of the shell varies a lot, a phenomen one can also observe in our common garden snails. Basically speaking,  Nerita polita  is a marine species. But it lives in the uppermost coastline and will fall eventually dry during low tide. In case it starts raining during that time the snail will find itself from one moment to the other in pure freshwater. The snail has to face this and it really does! So successfull keeping of  N. polita  is possible in any salt content from pure freshwater to pure saltwater. However, one must take care that the pH will not sink under 8 for longer times, as this will not be tolerated. In freshwater aquaria one has not to fear a snail plague, because  Nerita  snails reproduce via a free swimming larva that need pure saltwater to survive. As far as we know there are no reports of a successful breeding of that species under aquarium conditions. It is quite important to cover the tank closely, because the snails will follow their inner tidal clock from time to time and leave the water.