Margarita Snail vs. Trocus

[malx]

My LFS talked me into getting two small Margarita snails for my Nano instead of one large Trocus snail. It's been a day and they have already removed most of the small amounts of brown algae I have on the glass. Now that I'm reading online, I hear that these snails don't like warmer water. Mine is just shy of 80. Anyone have any successes keeping these snails in warmer water with minimal nutrients? They don't seem to mind the water temp, they are really active.

Also, plenty of fish poop for them to eat on the floor.

Let me know,
Joey

 

[Animagus]

I've had one for at least 6 months now and because of the MH my tank reaches 82, 83 degrees on a regular basis and the snail is still kicking.

 

[malx]

I've had one for at least 6 months now and because of the MH my tank reaches 82, 83 degrees on a regular basis and the snail is still kicking.

That's promising.

 

[GimpyFin]

I've kept both types in temps up to about 81 or 82 and haven't had any issues.

 

[malx]

I've kept both types in temps up to about 81 or 82 and haven't had any issues.

Maybe I'm thinking too much. Well my nano is a constant 79.8 and I won't be adding snails for another 10 days to my main display. I need to get ok the Zeovit Forums tomorrow to find out a good time to start adding livestock.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Moeshi]

IME Magaritas will die within a year in warm waters, whereas Trochus snails will stick around for quite a few years.
Also the Trochus snails reproduce in warm water, which Magaritas don't.

 

[Reef Frog]

Margaritas never lasted long for me. Author Scott Adams has them on his "do not buy" list as he says they are harvested from the Sea of Cortez which is temperate water and tropical reef temperatures are usually too high for them.

But who knows, there may be tropically adapted sub species out there getting into the hobby. There's often not a lot of information available on the naturals history of some of the animals available in the hobby.

 

[Shawn O]

A few Nassarius would be useful as well.

 

[Animagus]

Maybe I'm thinking too much. Well my nano is a constant 79.8 and I won't be adding snails for another 10 days to my main display. I need to get ok the Zeovit Forums tomorrow to find out a good time to start adding livestock.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm not sure where you'll be buying your snails from, but those Margarita snails go for about .99 cents a piece around here, so they're definitely worth a shot even if the life expectancy is somewhat short.

 

[Animagus]

Woops...

 

[malx]

I'm not sure where you'll be buying your snails from, but those Margarita snails go for about .99 cents a piece around here, so they're definitely worth a shot even if the life expectancy is somewhat short.

Yeah that's what I paid, but I don't want to knowingly kill an animal if I can avoid it. Right now, they are in my QT tank and they are VERY active and have eaten all of the brown algae. I'm probably going to end up feeding them some seaweed on Friday. I'll probably leave them in this tank and get Troccus for my main display.

P.S. I know I'm not suppose to be putting animals other than fish in my QT tank, but my QT tank is not medicated, it's used for observation and it's in my office so it has to look clean so my boss doesn't tell me to get it out! Running out of room in my apartment for fish stuff

 

[malx]

I'm not sure where you'll be buying your snails from, but those Margarita snails go for about .99 cents a piece around here, so they're definitely worth a shot even if the life expectancy is somewhat short.

What's your water parameters if you don't mind? Here's mine right now..

Salinity 35 / 1.026
Temp 79 (this does not fluctuate I have a neo-therm heater_
Nitrate < 5
Ammonia, Nitrite, and Phosphate are near undetectable.
Calc = 450
Alk 10
Mag 1500.

They might starve if anything. Also it may be worth noting that these snails are covered in coraline. So wherever they came from had a lot of it.

Cheers,
Joey

 

[Animagus]

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate ?
Phosphates ?
Alkalinty ~8
Calcium ~470
Magnesium ~1320
pH ?
Salinity 1.024-1.026
Temperature 78-82

Coralline seems to be the most dominant algae growing in my tank now.

 

[malx]

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate ?
Phosphates ?
Alkalinty ~8
Calcium ~470
Magnesium ~1320
pH ?
Salinity 1.024-1.026
Temperature 78-82

Coralline seems to be the most dominant algae growing in my tank now.

So our parameters are not so far off from each other. I wonder if being able to support Coraline is one of the keys to your success. I guess we will see! Thanks for the tips!

 

[Cliving1]

I would avoid them, I believe they are 'tidal' in nature. If that's a word.. in my old tank (rimless) every morning I would have to pick them up off of the ground as they tried to climb out

 

[malx]

I would avoid them, I believe they are 'tidal' in nature. If that's a word.. in my old tank (rimless) every morning I would have to pick them up off of the ground as they tried to climb out

Interesting. I've seen them go to the top and turn around and go back down once they reached the surface. I'll look out for that.

 

[Jeff4777]

I have some margarita snails that have been alive for almost a year but they are kept in my seahorse tank which is always around 72 degrees. In my reef I have Trochus/Turban snails which is around 78 degrees.

 

[malx]

I have some margarita snails that have been alive for almost a year but they are kept in my seahorse tank which is always around 72 degrees. In my reef I have Trochus/Turban snails which is around 78 degrees.

So I've decided to leave these snails in my Nano and seem how they do. For my main system though, I'm going to go with a mix of 2 Nerite, 2 Trochus, 2 Nassarious, and an emrald crab as a cleanup crew. I don't want to get a crazy cleanup crew that's going to require tons of food, eventually die off, and make the problem I am trying to solve even bigger.