Snail questions

[kdblove_99]

Whats the main Difference between Nassarius and Ceriths? I know Nassarius borrow in the sand and do not eat algae at all. BUt do an awesome job at stirring the sand and also eating debrits. So if i got 100 Nassarius would Ceriths be necessary? I would also get 100 Turbo Astrea's. How are the Nerite snails?

 

[aromantis]

I'm not sure about the ceriths, but I have kept astreas, and they annoy the hell out of me! Sure they are great algae eaters, but they always fall and then can't get up. Then, they end up dying behind the rock where you can't get them. I think 100 would be waaaaaay to much to handle, you would end up righting several everyday, and still some would end up dying.

I would personally recommend nerites, although they have their own downfalls, namely their habit of leaving the water. However, I'm not sure how often that actually happens. Whatever you choose, good luck!

 

[reef321]

i have a bunch of mexican turbo's and astrea turbo's and they do a great job eating all my algae. and none of them have died yet after a couple months.

 

[serolis7]

Nassarius are carnivores that eat leftover food. Ceriths are algae eaters. Astreas are trouble for the reason previously mentioned. For a 100gal tank, you may need 20 nassarius (depending on how much you feed) and 50 ceriths. I like ceriths because they can get into tight corners that turbos cannot while not bulldozing everything over.

 

[robsk]

You are right...the nass snails are good at stirring sandbeds...just think 100 would be overkill. Maybe 20 or so like the others have said. I do like to keep them just for the bed stirring.

 

[Shawno]

from what i see @ my LFS, the astrea snails do such an amazing job. and they sell like crazy.
ive seen 200 in a 90gal tank and the tank was amazingly clean for weeks. i have about 24ish in my red sea max (34 gal) and i want more. although i do want some sand sifting snails too just for the heck of it

 

[Shawno]

wait maybe they were margarita snails at the local fish store and the same ones i have in my tank...
i dont friggen know. theres too much stuff to remember in this darn hobby.
ill find out idfk
haha