If black beard algae is winning in your tank, these are the snails you want.
Bumblebee Horned Nerite Snails (Clithon corona/diadema) are widely considered the gold standard for algae management in freshwater aquariums. They'll tackle spot algae, hair algae, and black beard algae without touching your live plants, bothering your shrimp, or reproducing in your tank.
Native to the Indo-Pacific region, these are among the most distinctive-looking nerites in the hobby. Ours ship at approximately 0.25" (pea-sized) and grow up to 0.5" at maturity.
Why hobbyists reach for them:
- Black beard algae control — one of the few invertebrates that will actually attack BBA
- Won't reproduce in freshwater — they'll leave tiny pearl-like eggs on glass and decor, but these never hatch and dissolve over time
- Plant safe — grazes on algae and biofilm on foliage, never the leaves themselves
- Shrimp safe — peaceful and compatible with Neocaridina and Caridina tanks
- Distinctive look — spiked, patterned shell stands out in any aquascape
Cassandra's Notes:
Useful and attractive!
Broadly considered the gold standard in algae management, Nerites work tirelessly to keep your glass and decor spot-free!
These little guys play such an important role in a balanced aquarium! They are nature's recyclers, and work tirelessly to scrub detritus, algae and fish poo from your tank.
Peaceful and easy-going, these snails do not eat live plants, but you may see them resting on green foliage in order to scrub away any algae or biofilms on the surface.
These guys are undemanding, but would prefer a planted, community tank within normal parameters. They do like a bit of cuttlebone here and there to keep their shells hard and clear.
These snails do not reproduce in a freshwater aquarium. They will try by leaving tiny little "pearls" on the glass and decorations. These eggs will never hatch, however, and will slowly dissolve over time.
If you do not see any visible algae anywhere in your aquarium, it would be pertinent to place a blanched piece of vegetable on the substrate every few days. Be sure to remove within the day, as you won't want to foul up your water! They will also happily accept little algae wafers (the kind advertised for bottom feeders such as Plecos).
Care Requirements:
- Species: Clithon corona/diadema
- Size: Ships at ~0.25", grows to 0.5"
- Temperament: Peaceful
- Compatibility: Shrimp safe, plant safe, community tank safe
- Diet: Spot algae, hair algae, black beard algae, blanched vegetables, algae wafers
- Reproduction: No breeding in freshwater
- Variants: Pack of 3 ($18.99), Pack of 6 ($34.99)
Under 40°F where you are? Don't forget your Heat Pack.
Looking for a different nerite? Browse the full Nerite Snail collection.
These little guys are so cute and much more active than expected.
Cute little guys! Arrived healthy and started zooming around almost as soon as they were placed in the tank.
All snails were shipped and arrived quickly. They were wrapped up carefully for shipping. I’ve heard that sometimes the horns break off of horned nerites during shipping, however, that wasn’t a problem here due to how well they were wrapped. The shells on all three look great. All three arrived happy and went right to town cleaning our aquarium. It’s been over a week now, and they are still doing great!
I got three of them and they came on time, wrapped in a wet paper towel. It took them a day to get settled but now all three are happily doing their thing in all of my tanks! Very cute and vibrant coloring, super happy with them.
Came in a few days wrapped in wet paper towels, all alive. They were smaller than expected but hopefully will grow larger.