fishstick41
New member
the set up is a 20 Long, I don't any hair algae as of right now but I do have a Diatoms would this CUC work as of right now.
4 Nassarius
5 Trochus or Astraea
5 Ceriths
4 Nassarius
5 Trochus or Astraea
5 Ceriths
Help with snail clean up crew
- Thread starter fishstick41
- Start date
whosurcaddie
New member
I would just stick with Trochus at this point. Nassarius are detritovores and Astrea cant flip themselves over so you will constantly be flipping them.
Trochus IMO are the best snails we can get in the hobby. They are long lived, have voracious appetites, can right themselves, and readily bread in the aquarium.
Trochus IMO are the best snails we can get in the hobby. They are long lived, have voracious appetites, can right themselves, and readily bread in the aquarium.
fishstick41
New member
So you would go with just 5 Trochus and just upgrade when needed?
donut0079
New member
I don't know that I would give up on the nassarius. Yes they aren't a clean up crew member in that they don't eat algae but they are extremely useful in cleaning up any left over food in the tank. They also give some limited sand movement. I agree to me trochus and nerite snails are the best I've seen and trochus tend to be a little more effective. I personally would say more than five though. Some say one per gallon but I would start out with at least ten and work from there.
+1 - Trochus are the best in my tank.
fishstick41
New member
Thanks guy 
tkeracer619
New member
If there isn't any algae for them to eat start small and work your way up. Get them locally if you can.
Trochus are the best. I also love mexican turbos but you need your tank to mature a bit to feed those algae mowers.
5 trochus are a good start. Maybe a single nassarious to eat leftover food.
I really don't like it when folks dump a ton of snails in their tank only to have them die, pollute the tank, restock, rinse, repeat.
Snails can take months to die from improper acclimation so take your time and don't beat yourself up if some of them die in a month or two. It likely happened since before you got them.
Trochus are the best. I also love mexican turbos but you need your tank to mature a bit to feed those algae mowers.
5 trochus are a good start. Maybe a single nassarious to eat leftover food.
I really don't like it when folks dump a ton of snails in their tank only to have them die, pollute the tank, restock, rinse, repeat.
Snails can take months to die from improper acclimation so take your time and don't beat yourself up if some of them die in a month or two. It likely happened since before you got them.
Genera
Blink and you're dead.
I like to start with a number of tiny snails, and a few larger snails. For my 90, I got 14 nerites with .25 - 1in shells, and a little over 100 snails of .25in or less, most have about .15in shells. So far its been 2 weeks or so, and no casualties except for hermit crabs attacking the snails, which are going to be removed, and algae is abundant (which I don't mind). I too agree with don't go overboard at the start and let them die and repeat. Say for a 20 gallon getting 20 nerites, and over 100 tiny snails. That would make the take sparkly clean in a matter of days, but then you'd have a massive snail die off. I personally like the Zig Zag Periwinkles (Which I believe are Echinolittorina Ziczac) from reefcleaners. They are extremely tiny, and very cheap at $0.15 each, but actually do a great job of cleaning, mine had a big egg laying event or something on one of my rocks, it's funny to see all of them piled up on a small portion of rock.
Shawn O
Active member
Just something I've noticed in my tank.... My Nassarius snails zip across the bottom most of the time (tank is BB) and spend about 10% of their time on the glass. Not sure why they'd go on the glass unless they also eat algae, unless it's just to get away from the hermits. They are somewhat entertaining, though.
My Mexican Ceriths tend to just sit in one spot on the glass, up near the water line. Don't seem to do much except donate their shells to others for shelter. I just bought some Caribbean Ceriths and they spend every minute on the glass eating algae. I had been behind on cleaning the glass and was going to do it the next day but saw them on it eating away. I could actually see where the snail had been grazing. I like being able to see their mouths moving, grazing like sheep. The only Ceriths I'll be buying in the future will be Caribbeans.
My lone Turbo snail is the laziest snail I've ever seen and my four Bumble Bees hang out on the rocks or scoot across the bottom but I have no idea what they eat. Will have to try a couple Trochus and one of those Mexican Turbos.
My Mexican Ceriths tend to just sit in one spot on the glass, up near the water line. Don't seem to do much except donate their shells to others for shelter. I just bought some Caribbean Ceriths and they spend every minute on the glass eating algae. I had been behind on cleaning the glass and was going to do it the next day but saw them on it eating away. I could actually see where the snail had been grazing. I like being able to see their mouths moving, grazing like sheep. The only Ceriths I'll be buying in the future will be Caribbeans.
My lone Turbo snail is the laziest snail I've ever seen and my four Bumble Bees hang out on the rocks or scoot across the bottom but I have no idea what they eat. Will have to try a couple Trochus and one of those Mexican Turbos.
