Black Military Helmet Snail | Neritina pulligera
The black military helmet snail (Neritina pulligera) is a popular freshwater snail for planted aquariums. It has a shiny shell that’s dark brown to black, just like a soldier’s helmet. You can find black military helmet snails in fast streams with rocky bottoms and even in slightly salty water near the ocean. These gentle snails eat algae and leftover food in your tank. Because they’re hard to breed, you don’t have to worry about them taking over your aquarium.
Background and Key Benefits
Nerite snails or Neritina sp. are freshwater snails related to the mollusk family. They will clean algae from glass, substrate, and décor. They are also so popular in our hobby because they do not reproduce in freshwater. In the wild these snails return to brackish water to breed and the baby snails require brackish water for early stages of growth. Therefore, Nerite snails will not overpopulate in an aquarium.
Along with serving practical purposes in the aquarium, the snails have beautiful shells and they are fun to watch. If you look at your glass closely after adding them, you will see the tiny track marks these snails make as they graze on algae!
We keep these snails on pool filtered sand and in bare bottom tanks with a Matten filters. We feed Shrimp King Algae Pops and Shrimp King Snail Stixx along with Indian Almond Leaves for natural biofilm. We also use LED lighting to provide enough natural algae growth for them to feed.
Please note: During shipping, snails sometimes go into a hibernation-like state and may not become fully active for up to a week once acclimated to your aquarium.
Tank Parameters
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Ph: 7.2 to 8.5
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Gh: 7 to 15
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Kh: 2 to 8
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TDS: 120 to 400
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Temp: 68 to 78
Tank Equipment
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Filter: Matten Filter
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Substrate: Pool Filter Sand
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Water: RO/DI Water remineralized with Salty Shrimp Gh/Kh+
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Decor: Malaysian Driftwood, Java Moss and Indian Almond Leaves
