Silly question? Maybe... (algae control question)

[bishop_gideon]

...but I seem to get great advise from you guys... so I keep coming back for more...

Algae control critters... so I went out and got some snails... 10 turbo and 6 black snails if I remember correctly... (I bought them at the same time as my flame angel... guess which I was more excited about... )

And looking at my tank, the inside glass seems... well... I dunno... kinda glazed over? is that the word I'm looking for? It looks kinda like there's a layer of stuff on the inside...

This was there before I got the snails and I had hoped that the snails would help with this. They sorta did... anywhere there was green or brownish the snails were all over! They ever started cleaning off other areas than the glass (rocks and such) yay snails! go guys go!

But here's my question... since I only have 15 snails (my chocolate starfish got one so far... I'll have to recount to see if he got anymore since last week)... should I get more snails? Would they help more?

I'm lookign at packages and they're selling like 100 snails... and my first thought is "I'll never see the fish!!! The snails will take over the tank!!!" Is that a reasonable fear?

I was looking at something like this... but to me it seems like too much for my little 75 gallon tank...

"36 Turbo Snail {astrae}, 12 Med Blue Leg Hermits, 12 Scarlet Reef Hermits, 4 Emerald Crab, 6 Nerite Snails, 6 Cerith Snails and 2 Star Snail."

What do you guys think?

I can't buy anything for a while (as recommended by another guy) because my tank is a little cloudy and my nitrites were up too high... so now I'm starting to get better at how often to feed the fish (not twice a day every day) and how to better change water (stir up the sand and such...) it's a learnign experience, but I'm thinking that 1 person doesn't know everything... and you guys (put together) know alot... so help my obi wan... you're my only hope...

 

[ostrow]

The starfish did not kill the snail. It ate it after it died. You'll want more than 16 total snails/crabs in a 75.

If you have a sandbed, you want nassarius snails. Look for the tongan nassarius, sometimes called jumbo. Not all places have them, they are large and very sturdy fellas, rarely die if water is even close to ok. I'd get 6 or so.

Get a fighting conch or a queen conch.

Get your self some combo of astraea, nerite, cerith blueleg, scarlet hermits that adds up to about 50. I'd go lighter on astraea as they die off pretty quick and emphasize the ceriths and nerites on the snails, and any combo of those crabs. But opinions will vary.

I'd get a couple mexican turbos.

Where are you ordering from???

 

[bishop_gideon]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7698035#post7698035 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ostrow
The starfish did not kill the snail. It ate it after it died. You'll want more than 16 total snails/crabs in a 75.

Interesting... ok... I'll have to watch next time... I read in another site that chocolate chip starfish eat anything slower than them...

If you have a sandbed, you want nassarius snails. Look for the tongan nassarius, sometimes called jumbo. Not all places have them, they are large and very sturdy fellas, rarely die if water is even close to ok. I'd get 6 or so.

Yeah, I've got a sandbed.. about 2 inches deep... maybe 2.5 inches... 6 big snails... ok... I'll look at those...

Get a fighting conch or a queen conch.

Conch? I'll have to look at those.... see what my wife thinks... the WAF must be high...

Get your self some combo of astraea, nerite, cerith blueleg, scarlet hermits that adds up to about 50. I'd go lighter on astraea as they die off pretty quick and emphasize the ceriths and nerites on the snails, and any combo of those crabs. But opinions will vary.

50! wow... ok... I'll have to start looking around...

I'd get a couple mexican turbos.

Different than regular turbos?

Where are you ordering from???

I hadn't decided on a place... I'd prefer to go locally if I could... but I still ahve to wait probably about a month or so before I do any purchasing... thanks for the advise!

 

[Biggie]

Id steer away from too many turbos with too many crabs mine all became a meal for the blue and red leg crabs over time. Bummble bees are cool too but even smaller and easier target for the crabs. Get some Emerald Crabs they will eat algae and some say they eat bubble algae. Good cleaners though. Star fish are scavengers the will compete with the snails for food but not kill anything as food.
A Lawnmower Blenny might help too just dont forget when the algae is gone you have to provide a substitution for a food source or everything dies and creates an ammonia problem.

 

[ostrow]

Very true on turbos and crabs. Don't get redleg crabs ... get scarlets. That'll help.

 

[MBasile]

for the glass, simply get a magnet scraper ;- )
is the tanks relatively new? sounds like maybe diatoms and stuff like that on the glass to me, easily removed with the magnet. even though snails eat it, they wont get it all anyways. just my 2 cents for today, but if that might be an option, check it out

good luck with the tank!

 

[bishop_gideon]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7701793#post7701793 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bigbadbasile
for the glass, simply get a magnet scraper ;- )
is the tanks relatively new? sounds like maybe diatoms and stuff like that on the glass to me, easily removed with the magnet. even though snails eat it, they wont get it all anyways. just my 2 cents for today, but if that might be an option, check it out

good luck with the tank!

Relativly new... probably about 6 months or so... maybe 8... I'll have to try and figure it out... I came here about the first week I got my tank, but that was before I filled it...

 

[ostrow]

dounds like diatoms.

but you want more cleaners in there or the sand will go bad!!!

 

[jmicky41]

As for the CC star eating snails, it can happen. One time at the LFS I saw a CC star eating an astrea right off the glass - stomach was extended and all.