Snails
- Thread starter mltmtascp
- Start date
Tomoko Schum
New member
Which shop do you have in mind to order them from?
Tomoko
Tomoko
mltmtascp
New member
I was looking at Blue Zoo Aquatics because Don want some mexican turbo snails. Has anyone ordered from them?
https://www.bluezooaquatics.com/index.asp
Monica
https://www.bluezooaquatics.com/index.asp
Monica
mltmtascp
New member
Or maybe www.reeftopia.com whom I have ordered from already.
Tomoko Schum
New member
I hope these vendors will do individual shipping like Floridapets did for us in the past. Otherwise you will have to get together somewhere to split one order.
Tomoko
Tomoko
timrandlerv10
New member
unless Tomoko corrects me, i could be in for 50 vibex and a dozen margaritas.
Tomoko Schum
New member
Even though a nassarius vibex is small, 50 sounds like a lot to me.
People on RC often recommend a high number of snails, though.
Tomoko
People on RC often recommend a high number of snails, though.
Tomoko
timrandlerv10
New member
75 display, 55 fuge probably only 45-50 gallons total, hope to be around 125-150# of rock in the display. i have about 15 snails total, and they are nowhere near doing the job!
how many should i get?
how many should i get?
Tomoko Schum
New member
I heard the same recommendation before, but I don't have so many.
Tim, what kind of job do you want sails to perform for you? Nassarius are carrion eaters. They don't eat algae. Snails are not as particular as sea slugs, but they have their specialties. Some eat various algae, some eat more diatom than green algae, some eat only soft algae, and some like Whelk eat other snails, etc. I try to match my snails for the job I want them to do for me.
Tomoko
Tim, what kind of job do you want sails to perform for you? Nassarius are carrion eaters. They don't eat algae. Snails are not as particular as sea slugs, but they have their specialties. Some eat various algae, some eat more diatom than green algae, some eat only soft algae, and some like Whelk eat other snails, etc. I try to match my snails for the job I want them to do for me.
Tomoko
timrandlerv10
New member
Tomoko, you've explained this to me before, yet for some reason, my brain wont retain snail information 
maybe I need a vacation to someplace these snails are indiginous...so I can see them in their natural habitat...
1) clean the algae of the glass in the sump
2) keep the top of the sand turned over and clean in the display
3) eat the crud that accumulates in the first sump section
is there anything else that snails do that i might want?
given those requirements, how many and what kind should i have?
maybe I need a vacation to someplace these snails are indiginous...so I can see them in their natural habitat...
1) clean the algae of the glass in the sump
2) keep the top of the sand turned over and clean in the display
3) eat the crud that accumulates in the first sump section
is there anything else that snails do that i might want?
given those requirements, how many and what kind should i have?
Tomoko Schum
New member
I like Nassarius vibex and Florida fighting conch for sand bed stirring. Nassarius stirs up a shallow sand bed well when they come out of their hiding place in sand to feed on left over fish food, and Florida fighting conch are known to eat diatom and algae off sand particles. They stay small and don't easily starve to death like a queen conch.
For glass surface, you might try a variety of algae glazing snails. Margarita is one of those snails that are touted as great algae eating snails by many vendors, but Dr. Ron Shimek, who has been studying snails for a very long time, recommends against it in this article called [url+http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rs/index.php]Grazing snails Part 1[/url].
As for snails in a sump, I don't keep one myself (at least intentionally) and I cannot really comment on this since I don't have any experience with it. Does anyone keep snails in sump? Without any light to grow algae in the sump, I suspect that there is nothing for them to eat there. I have a refugium next to my sump and I see some collonista on some of the rocks in my sump near the light of the refugium. I suspect that they came in with the rocks when I moved the rocks from the display to the sump.
I don't know of any "detritus" eating snails. I wish I know one so I can put it to good use.
If you are really bothered by the crud that accumulates in the first part of the sump, you could put a filter sock or pad there to capture the incoming crud. I never had that problem with my 20GL sump. My strong skimmer must have been doing a really good job.
I recall that you have a HOT magnum filter. Can you put a gravel cleaning attachment made (sold separately nowadays) for the filter and just vacuum clean the section periodically?
Tomoko
For glass surface, you might try a variety of algae glazing snails. Margarita is one of those snails that are touted as great algae eating snails by many vendors, but Dr. Ron Shimek, who has been studying snails for a very long time, recommends against it in this article called [url+http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rs/index.php]Grazing snails Part 1[/url].
As for snails in a sump, I don't keep one myself (at least intentionally) and I cannot really comment on this since I don't have any experience with it. Does anyone keep snails in sump? Without any light to grow algae in the sump, I suspect that there is nothing for them to eat there. I have a refugium next to my sump and I see some collonista on some of the rocks in my sump near the light of the refugium. I suspect that they came in with the rocks when I moved the rocks from the display to the sump.
I don't know of any "detritus" eating snails. I wish I know one so I can put it to good use.
If you are really bothered by the crud that accumulates in the first part of the sump, you could put a filter sock or pad there to capture the incoming crud. I never had that problem with my 20GL sump. My strong skimmer must have been doing a really good job.
I recall that you have a HOT magnum filter. Can you put a gravel cleaning attachment made (sold separately nowadays) for the filter and just vacuum clean the section periodically?
Tomoko
timrandlerv10
New member
i just have the filter, not the container...we jammed it on the end of the downtube from the overflow when i was filling the tank to reduce the dust. i've been thinking about making a DE polisher out of it though...
this stuff in my sump is yellowy and nasty like a thick algae. there is also a whitish film on my overflow parts--the snails like to sit in there and eat like mad...they move very quickly, and you can see lots of snail bite marks in great meandering trails.
so, to get back on topic:
how many fighting conch?
what type of crabs to pick detritus off rocks and sand beds?
do the places that sell snails like we're getting sell crabs?
this stuff in my sump is yellowy and nasty like a thick algae. there is also a whitish film on my overflow parts--the snails like to sit in there and eat like mad...they move very quickly, and you can see lots of snail bite marks in great meandering trails.
so, to get back on topic:
how many fighting conch?
what type of crabs to pick detritus off rocks and sand beds?
do the places that sell snails like we're getting sell crabs?
Tomoko Schum
New member
Is this your 75 gallon tank? Aren't you running a skimmer?
I don't know what you mean by having a filter if you don't have its container. Do you mean that you are using a micron filter media by itself at the end of the display tank drain?
For a 75 gallon tank, I keep just one fighting conch. If you keep more than one, they may eventually starve to death.
Here's an article on detrivores by Dr. Ron Shimek:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-03/rs/index.php
He has a table that lists a number of them in this article. He lists Cerith snails as detrivores, but there is no mention of any crabs. Crabs are scavengers. They seem to love to eat regular food than someone's poop or decayed materials.
Tomoko
I don't know what you mean by having a filter if you don't have its container. Do you mean that you are using a micron filter media by itself at the end of the display tank drain?
For a 75 gallon tank, I keep just one fighting conch. If you keep more than one, they may eventually starve to death.
Here's an article on detrivores by Dr. Ron Shimek:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-03/rs/index.php
He has a table that lists a number of them in this article. He lists Cerith snails as detrivores, but there is no mention of any crabs. Crabs are scavengers. They seem to love to eat regular food than someone's poop or decayed materials.
Tomoko
