what snails do you like?

Capt_Cully

Capt_Cully

Active member
I've had the same 8 or so astreas since I started my old tank. They're still going strong.

I've had turbos but they bull dozed everything, though they worked great.

Also had some small nassirus and ceirths but they have all since died over 18 month period.

What other snails would you guys recommend and why?

I'd like to mail order some but I'd like any opinions or experience you guys might have to offer.

Thanks,
Mark
 
Why do you want/need more snails... to control nuisance algae, cyanobacteria or keep the sandbed clean?
If you need some help controlling nuisance microalgae get some Stomatella from another reefkeeper. They'll reproduce in your aquarium forever.
 
I found a collonista snail in my tank a few months ago. Now I see quite a few. From what I have read, they are good algae eaters. They multiply like stomatella.
 
looking for some to mix up the sand bed a little. I've only got a SSB which get's pushed around by the powerheads. So it looks like an SSB/BB.

what are stomatella?
 
you can usually get some Stomatella from other reefkeepers. All you need is a few and they'll multiply. They won't stir your sandbed up, though. Nassarius are probably the best choice for a sandbed type snail.
 
how many nassarius for a 180?

like I said, i'm gonna place an order.

anyone out there have any stomatella?
 
Nassarius will burrow in your sand and come out when you feed the tank so it kind of depends on how much sand you have. Some might stay out but they are awesome sand cleaners and will keep your bed nice and stirred up.

A guy who came into AT last week referred to them as zombies everytime he would feed his tank because they smell the food and come out of the ground. (sandbed)
 
zombies is right...
i did notice when i had them that they didnt last very long and their number declined as they got older... but there were still lots that remained....
 
nassarious are only for carrion eating like dead snails or other dead things and of course left over fish food so you dont really need alot of them for your tank i have about 25 small and 4 large nassrious and they are too much for my 220 i think the big guys will hunt down and kill other snails if they get hungry so watch out for them. but they are great scavangers. now if you want your sand stirred the nass will stir it where thye dive and and come up but they wont really walk through the sand like the ceriths do, i just got these huge cerith like HUGE from a online vendor and they sift like crazy but IME ceriths are best for sand sifting that and the tongan fighting conches sift a little more than other conchs but queens are great for vaccumming up yur sand bed. IME trubos are great algae eaters but like you said they bulldooz through eveyrthing and they knock my stuff off the rocks all the time now i do have huge ones which i will be getting rid of soon. and of course astreas are number one for size and eating ability. but for example ill give you my list of clean up in my 220 and then you will have a good example. 25 small nass 4 large nass 30 ceriths 2 large ceriths 6 queen conches 1 tongan fighting conch 6 turbos all diff sizes 50 astreas probubly 15 margarita snails 10 zebra hermits 7 electric blue hermits 15 scarlet hermits 15 blue legs 2 tiger tail cucumbers and a bunch of other smaller snails like stomellas and baby turbos and the such, but i would also reccommend stay away from the zebra hermits (i will be taking them out soon) because they get big and dont work as hard. i would go with scarlets they seen to be the best IME for alage and they arnt as aggressive as other hermtis. the blues arnt bad because they stay real small and dont really kill anything but each other lol. also i will be getting rid of the big turbos for more astreas. and the large nassrious watch out for i think i saw 2 of them kill and eat a queen the other night so im kinda warry about them now. hope this helps but the best way to go is to use a assortment of clean ups like i do and they do a great job but the best algaa eaters are tangs ;) also i need for astreas ;) and i cant really get enough ceriths. but i have atleast half of my sand bed open for them to roam so i have alot of sand for them to sift ;) and they dont always get everywhere id like them too ;)
 
Or to stir up the sand bed you could get a diamond goby... I got that bright idea and while my sand bed looks awesome he clouds up the water every time he starts excavating or eating. I guess it's ok though as the more that gets stirred into the water column, the more gunk gets removed from the water in the sump. I read somewhere they are hard to keep alive though so maybe they're not for everyone. I had two mandarins prior to the move for over a year and since they died during the move I've got a gazillion pods in my tank so I'm hoping he'll be happy for a long time to come.

Before the most recent move I used to use two conch snails, 4 large nassarius and a sand sifting star and my sand bed still looked icky. Not algae, just blah...

**Note - My sand bed is purely for aesthetics so I do not worry about disturbance of sand bed fauna... deeper beds may experience negative consequences... not sure.
 
What kind of snails/crabs or critters clean live rock?

Which snails are best for keeping the glass clean? I started with 6 cerith snails for the sandbed in my tank that just cycled. No fish yet. Need to wait a bit more before I add my first fish. Would you add any food to the tank for the snails every couple of days? My LFS said it's not necessary, but I've read on this board where others say to give them a pinch of food every other day.

Thanks.
Pam
 
I would be careful of the scarlet hermits,if they are not "true" scarlets they will attack and kill your snails and conchs for their shells.It's actually pretty cool to watch but it's kinda like throwing money away.JME
 
Yea, I've read that two. I'd like to get one scarlett...but it makes me nervous.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9983076#post9983076 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Henry Colf
I would be careful of the scarlet hermits,if they are not "true" scarlets they will attack and kill your snails and conchs for their shells.It's actually pretty cool to watch but it's kinda like throwing money away.JME
Click to expand...
 
scarlets are fine but if you only want one hermit go with the electric blue just makre sure he has a big enough shell they are awesoem but their claws are a lil bigger not as shrp pointed so the scarlets can get into smaller crevacies and they stay smaller so IMO scarlets are the best but i love the way the blues look ;)
 
My electric blue loved to kill snails left and right to get their shells, even if there were plenty available. I think that the temptation of free room AND board was just too much!
 
I like ceriths and large nasaurius with a sand bed.Astrea and nerites are good for me on the rocks. I don"t care for crabs ;I think they are unpredictable as predators. If the tank has a lot of algae growth turbos are very good but clumsy. I really like my diamond goby(if you get one beware it will jump out of the tank without a cover). I also use sea cucumbers. I've tried sea hares but they died within a month after cleaning the algae up . Two months ago I decided to try a dwarf sea hare. The tank is clean and it's still thriving . I use a asm g4x skimmer on my 400gallon system along with a couple of chaetomorpha laden refugia so my water stays relatively clean. In this situation,I find about one cleanup critter per 5gallons is about right. Generally I think the l per gallon recomendations lead to unecessary death due to starvation. As for woker fish ,my best grazer is a foxface.
 
I tried one several years ago. It died in a month. As I understand it they need a good bit of open sand bed
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9992452#post9992452 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Brent Thomann
anyone try using sand sifting star fishes for their sand beds?

http://liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=572&N=0

I was thinking about getting a couple?
Click to expand...

My understanding is that they need a LOT of sand, not just a big tank. And they eat the contents of a sand bed, so they might stir it up, but in the process they will eat many other living things. So they are very bad for a DSB. I'd avoid them.
 
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