Nerite snail help

[WhiteWolf]

I have a Nerite snail in a 10 gallon cycled aquarium with a Betta and two small African Dwarf Frogs. The water parameters are fine. The last water change was four days ago.
Last night, I noticed that the snail hadn't moved much throughout the day. Today, I came home from work and he was upside down with his shell almost closed. I picked him up and touched him, and he closed his shell door, so he is still alive.
He is about an inch long, and I have had him for about four months. How long do they usually live? I thought that they were supposed to get to two inches at full size?

 

[WhiteWolf]

Doesn't anyone know how long they are supposed to live?

 

[CatmanDru]

I may be remembering incorrectly, but I think they live to be 2 - 3 years.

And I think they only get 1" to 1.25 " for the larger type (zebra, tracked, tiger -- Nerita natalensis). There are other types: horned nerites grow to about .5", green olive nerites are about 1".

Again this is all off the top of my head/memory and it may be wrong.

In my experience, my nerite (tracked/tiger = Nerita natalensis) barely moved when there wasn't algae to eat. Once I introduced algae to it's tank/tub it stopped sitting around and started moving and eating. And from a few sources I've read and my own personal experience, they really don't like to eat anything BUT algae.

So, do you have algae for it to eat?

If you don't have algae for it to eat, then maybe consider growing some algae by increasing your tank's light duration or the intensity.

Also what temperature is your tank?

 

[WhiteWolf]

He is a zebra nerite, and he is about an inch long. I guess I will have to look for a smaller one next time so it will live longer. There is no algae in the tank, but there are a few live plants.
He used to be really active and there are some Ramshorn snails breeding in there too. The lights are on for about 12 hours a day already. The temperature stays around 72 in the winter so I don't have a heater.

 

[WhiteWolf]

I just realized there is a little bit of algae in there on some of the plants and the side wall.