Nassarius Snail Question

[jb61264]

I have a 75 with a SSB and am wondering how many nassarius snails I should add to my tank...I currently have a few astreas and turbos in there (but not nearly enough)...wanted to have the nassarius snails to help keep the sand moving and heard they are good for that.

Anybody have any experience with them? Will they mess with any LPS corals I have in the sand (open brain, etc) or clams?

 

[jimsplace]

I have a few in my tank and have not had any problems with them messing with anything sitting on the sand. They are fun to watch at feeding time because they pop out of the sand and head in the direction of the food. If anything dies in the tank they will help clean it up too. My hermits are wearing a few shells so I don't think I have as many as I started with, but I think I started with about 6 in my 90.

 

[surge19us]

They won't bother anything. Start with 6-8. If there isn't enough to eat some will die.

 

[saf1]

Idsf has a lot of good info on those little guys - or did when I ordered mine from them. Only issue I have with them is if you also house hermit crabs - aka - their mini's.

While I dig the mini hermits - these snails become fodder for them. Their shells are perfect for their new homes.

 

[cloak]

I'd start off with about 6-8 also. In a SSB though, you can always just use your finger to turn the sand over every now and then. It's pretty much the same thing the snails will be doing for you, only on a larger scale. Just hook up a filter sock and do a water change right after and your good to go.

 

[Beaun]

Reefcleaners.org suggested 9 for me in my 65 gallon, and more if need be. I think a lot of it depends on the number of fish you have and how often/much you feed them.

 

[rick99vt]

Like one of the previous posts said, if your sand bed isn't very well developed they may just not have enough food. I initially added some to a tank that was 3 months old and they all eventually disappeared. I added some more after the tank had been up over a year, and they mostly have survived since then (2 yrs).

 

[jb61264]

Any comments about other CUC additions?...how many other types of snails do you have if you have 8-10 Nassarius and how many hermits do you have as well?

 

[saf1]

Idsf should have been IPSF - Indo-Pacific-Sea-Farms.

Sorry.