Nassarius snails?

[Wd40]

What do you guys think of these snails?
Are they really good at cleaning the sand from algea?

 

[jhc]

Nope. They are scavengers. They don't eat algae.

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

Yep, detritus eaters and carnivores. Your best bet would be to buy some cerith snails and some scarlet reef hermits to keep the sand bed clean.

 

[RobbyVonAwesome]

No, they don't eat algae at all. I like them just because they're cool to watch, but they only eat meaty food.

 

[Mathfreak71]

Great at digging in sand and eating scraps and leftovers. I wouldn't have a tank without them.

They might be my daughters favorite thing about my tank. She calls them "honker snails"

 

[HaKs310]

Great at digging in sand and eating scraps and leftovers. I wouldn't have a tank without them."

Agreed.

They are fun to watch when they suddenly pop out the sand.

 

[Shawnbeaulieu]

mine plow my sand all the time keeps it nice and turned and they EAT all the left over fish food when i feed the fish they start poping out of the sand and some climb the glass its surprising how fast they can move!!

 

[PSU REEFER]

Agree w/ mathfreak---wouldn't have a tank w/out them.

 

[TomCs]

how often do these guys pop up at an lfs? or are they generally ordered online. sorry for the dumb question its just that been wanting some for my tank (almost a year) and have never seen these guys for sale in a store over here.

 

[TomCs]

..and no they weren't hiding in the sand bed.

 

[Vitaly]

I have always kept them in my tank to keep the sand clean and turned over (have a 5-6" sandbed). They do a good job...but I would not really on them alone; as mentioned you should compliment the Nassarius with Cerith, Nerite and Turbo snails.

I have rarely seen them at my LFS. I get mine online from either Premium Aquatics or Blue Zoo Aquatics.

 

[TomCs]

i dont even know if they're offered that much in australia, i mean now that i think of it ive only ever seen them in a tank while on here. tanks that ive seen in person i dont think have ever had them... those vendors u mentioned, do they ship down my way?

 

[xJake]

Nassarius snails do not eat any type of algae. They are generally scavengers and will eat whatever detritus or meaty foods are in the tank. The primary benefit to having them is that they constantly bury themselves and subsequently can help keep your sandbed stirred.

I would suggest Reefcleaners.org - unbeatable prices, and an excellent company all around. Their $75.99 500 Dwarf Cerith snail special is hard to pass up as well...

 

[SpencerG]

I love them - they're like Zambonis for the reef. They pop up out of the sand and cruise around, usually around feeding time. Ditto on feeding habits.