Hi Tom

Thanks for the pictures and info. From the looks of it, you are definitely
right about the Vittina coromandeliana, and the Septaria porcellana is spot
on. However, the species sold to us as "Clithon brenspinas" is completely
different: the snails we receive under this name have identical shell
morphology to the Vittina coromandeliana, but a more reddish background
with spots instead of stripes - they are known by the common name of Ruby
Nerite. Perhaps they are simply a colour variant of the Vittina
coromandeliana, and not a separate species at all. The plot
thickens . . .

All these snails do very well here in our freshwater tanks, living perhaps
3 or 4 years, growing to about 3/4 of an inch, and keeping the tanks really
clean (apart from dozens of egg capsules). It is quite rare to lose a
snail. However, for reasons unknown the Septaria do seem to be harder to
keep alive (not to mention impossible to get off the glass if you want to
move them!) and because of this are not commonly sold.

Thanks for taking the time to send me all these details.

Kind regards,
Anna

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