Snails For 125g

[jeffopentax]

Been bouncing around the internet trying to figure out what would be a good cuc for my upcoming 125. I think part of my problems in the past have been insufficient crews. This is what I've come up with as far as snails go. Seems kind of overkill (not to mention over $300!). Is it too much?

Astraea - 20
Cerith - 15
Turbo - 15
Nassarius - 20
Nerite - 20
Spiny star - 15
Trochus - 20


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[Poseidon]

Way overkill. You'll notice the people recommending the 'package' are also the people selling it to you

honestly, get 20-40 banded trochus (they flip themselves over) and call it a day.
You'll get small hitch hiker snails and other random critters as you go.

Ad Infintium (Rob) will have some insight on this too. As I've heard his opinion on this before

 

[Aquatic Dreams]

I'd get some Nassarius snails as well as the Trochus assuming you'll have a sand bed. They eat any leftover meats and help churn the sand. Those are the only 2 types of snails that I have in both my tanks. I've read that Cerith snails are really good as well although they don't seem to last long in my tank I think partially due to the hermit crabs. I only have a couple of hermit crabs left but I don't plan on buying any more. The hermits don't seem to bother the Nassarius and the Trochus just wiggle and fling them off. LOL Every other type of snail besides those two never seem survive in my tank. Also neither of them need to be flipped over constantly. (Well ... sometimes if the Trochus land pointy side down in the sand they need some help. )

I'm basically a NOOB when it comes to reef tanks but those numbers sounded a bit high to me as well. Over the last year I've spent a fortune on snails that almost all end up dying. You could certainly get a few of each kind to see how they do but from my limited experience Trochus and Nassarius are all that you need. I recently added a pincushion urchin to my tank that does a great job with cleaning as well. The only problem with urchins is that like Turbo snails they'll knock over everything not fastened down. Also I think you'd want a good amount of green or coraline algae already present for the urchin to feed on unless using Nori.

 

[jeffopentax]

One of the articles i read (i need to start bookmarking!) recommended how many total (1 per gallon), then broke down how many gallons for each type. Wasn't a store I know that. That is mostly what my list is based on. Variety seemed to be strongly recommended.


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[Aquatic Dreams]

One of the articles i read (i need to start bookmarking!) recommended how many total (1 per gallon), then broke down how many gallons for each type. Wasn't a store I know that. That is mostly what my list is based on. Variety seemed to be strongly recommended. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah ... I've seen numbers like that as well. Some say for every gallon, some for every 2 gallons etc. depending on the snail. I also read on several forums to cut those numbers at least in half if not a third to be more realistic. I suppose if you had a huge algae problem you may want to get more initially but expect them to die off as the algae gets eaten or dissipates.

If you start with a few and decide you need more not really a problem. If you start with lots and most of them die off then you have a polluted tank and you're out more $$$.

 

[Salty Cracker]

I only have the teensy ones that come on liverock. Probably about a million of them. No "real" snails though, they tend to just disappear never to be seen again...

 

[AdInfinitum]

I only have the teensy ones that come on liverock. Probably about a million of them. No "real" snails though, they tend to just disappear never to be seen again...

Careful Glen...or Jerry will be on you too!!!

Seriously...Jeff, it is absolutely vital that you maintain your Nassarius, Trochus, Hermit ratio at a constant 4:7:3 with a minimum multiplier of 6 per 18 litres of tank volume multiplied by your surface area/depth ratio or your tank is doomed to be consumed by noxious algae and zombie-like re-animated detritus and possibly Triffids. Forget all this voodoo chemistry and nutrient control... bristle worms and stomatella snails can't possibly do a good job since they're free...

Is your bioload creating excess nutrients that are fueling algae growth? Then the obvious answer is to add a bunch more creatures to add to the bioload even more.

Full disclosure...I currently own 2 star astrea snails (cool) and a Halloween hermit (cool looking and much nicer citizen than any regular hermit) and 2 banded Trochus (came as hitchhikers). So clearly I have now embraced the "CUC culture"...lol