Cleaning Crew

[Reefugee]

Hello,

I need to order a cleaning crew for my 120G shallow sandbed tank. I am thinking of ordering from www.aquaticisland.com . Here is my thoughts on how many of each to order:


100 Nassarius Vibex snails ($0.19 each)
20 Margarita Snail ($0.69 eacg)
40 Cerith Snails ($0.19 each)

They do have Red Tip Hermit, but I really don't know if I trust them. I only trust Scarlet hermits - but they don't have any.

The cost will be $44.30 + $8.45 priority shipping.

What do you think? Is there something else I should be looking at.

BTW - they close their website at 8PM tonight - so I have to get the order in by 8 PM.

Minh

 

[Pico1]

They close for good at 8 pm tonight!? I was going to make an order on thursday. I've heard not to get the margarita snails as they will die in warm water and can't flip themselves over.

 

[H20Sidhe]

I've also heard that it's best to stay away from margarita snails, as they are temperate water organisms and will slowly boil in our tank temps of 79 and up. BUT - Steve Robinson @WMC said they can stand extremes of temp (are they tidepool critters?). Also I've seen some for sale @ Yourreef & I'm sure that John is a responsible & ethical dealer - so what is the real deal on margarita snails?

Occasionally we get conflicting info from the "experts" and it is sometimes due to using the same common name for different organisms!

 

[Pico1]

I'm placing my order now. Which is better, UPS, FedEx, or United states postal service?

 

[Reefugee]

When I called them earlier, they told me that it was ok to ship via USPS. Only catch is that if the weather gets too hot, you're gonna be screwed.

Minh

 

[Pico1]

so USPS is my best bet?

 

[Reefugee]

I didn't say that. I said that what they told me that I can use. How much are you ordering? Are you going to be at the MARS meeting on Friday? I figured if you were, we might be able to consolidate orders. (BTW - I am not interested in doing a group buy).

 

[Pico1]

I am going to the friday meeting. I am ordering $18 in cleaners. Just wondering whats best FedEx 2 day, UPS 2 day, or USPS 1-2 day.

 

[Reefugee]

Give them a call. I didn't go into much details with them. Ask them how they will keep the snails cool in the hot weather. Please post a response when you get a chance.

Thanks
Minh

 

[dzovi]

Fed Ex and UPS will be the more reliable of the two by far. I personally don't trust the USPS one bit.

 

[Pico1]

Aquatic Island said that there is a chance that they have to refund your order because they may run out of cleaners.

 

[Pico1]

they also are now out of hermits

 

[Reefugee]

That's funny. I called them earlier, and they told me that they had quite a few of the cleaners instock and that it shouldn't be a problem. Maybe I should just play it safe and order them from Reeftopia. Anybody ordered from Reeftopia? What did you think about their specimen?

Minh

 

[Reefugee]

I just placed an order with aquaticisland. I went ahead an picked UPSP (2 day). If they package it properly, it should be fine. Also - since they are in S. Cal, it should only take a day to get here.

Minh

 

[Marc Daniels]

Good luck...I was going to chime in but I just didn't have it in me to bash anyone this evening.

 

[shilo_1]

They are the supplier that ships their snails and hermits in wet newspaper, right ? I'm curious to hear how well that works, never had mine shipped that way before,

 

[Reefugee]

Did I miss something Marc?


Shilo - I ordered snails in the past, and they were shipped in wet paper towel. I accidently had it shipped to my work. Our post office accidently kept it for 2 extra days. No snail died though. The weather was cool (not hot and not cold).

 

[Marc Daniels]

Shilo-

Damp shipping works very well with certain species...such as most snails & hermits.

My only problem with this company is that they are amateurs, and I remember back to when KentonHQ was selling Nassarius snails and 90+% of them arrived dead. He had "friends" in Mexico (not to far from the border) that were collecting them for him. With the prices of some of his livestock, such as the Nassarius vibex snails, he is way below even wholesale prices, so I would assume that they are specimens that they are collecting themselves.

In the "about us" section they mention helping us meet minimums, I would assume they mean that our/your order will help them to reach the minimum order level from a wholesaler. All in all they appear very, very flighty.

A lot of these snails, such as the "Margarita" are coming from colder waters, but can survive in warmer temps. The problem is that it is a warmer water temp than what is optimum for their long term health. The higher temp speeds up their metabolism and shortens their lifespan. How much does it shorten, I couldn't tell you, but it could considerably shorten it.

 

[MandM]

Minh, I've had very good luck wtith the red-tipped hermits. They don't get the big claw like the black and white ones do and they don't kill snails and other hermits. They do eat cyano.