Vittina natalensis


Vittina natalensis, commonly known as spotted nerite or zebra nerite, is a species of small freshwater snail with an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae, the nerites. It returns to brackish waters to reproduce. This is a popular aquarium snail, sold because it looks attractive and eats algae in freshwater tanks, but can only reproduce in saltwater or brackish water conditions.

Distribution

This species is endemic to the coastal plain of East Africa -- Kenya, Mozambique, Somalia, South Africa, and Tanzania. Its specific name natalensis refers to the region of Natal, South Africa.

Human use

This species is a common choice of algae-eating snail among freshwater aquarists. In the aquarium trade, the striped shell of this species has caused it to be known as the tiger snail, zebra snail, or zebra nerite. The stripes in some individuals may display as zigzags, dashes or spots.
In an aquarium, the shell of this species grows to about 2.5 cm in diameter. This snail prefers an aquarium temperature of 22 to 26 °C.