Lets talk about SNAILS

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DaveG99

What is the difference between Astraea, Trochus, Margarita, cerinth, nasarius, etc. I know they look different but which are best for doing clean up crew work?

I added some pictures so the new people can see what I am talking about.

Cerith
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Nassarius
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Margarita
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Trochus
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Astraea
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@DaveG99 wrote:
What is the difference between Astraea said:
Depends on what you want them do to.. they all eat algae, except the nassarius, they eat detritus and are sandbed snails.

From there, the difference is the speed and amount they eat.. Astrea eat smaller amounts. Margarita more.. and the Trouchs even more. Ceriths eat the least as well, but can get into smaller nooks due to their size.

Ceriths reproduce in our systems as do Trochus. Astrea might, but I've not heard of it.

I know nassarius will lay eggs, but am not positive they produce new ones.

If you get Trochus and you can find the black footed variety, they also flip themselves back over if they end up on their backs. The others don't.

Depending on the algae, some will be more prone to eating it. Hair Algae and Bryopsis in particular, the Margarita or Mexican Turbos will eat them more readily.

Usually a good mix of different varieties works best.
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This is the first time I have actually had to buy my clean up crew. I used to live in Florida and I would catch all my snails and crabs in the ocean and put them in my tank. I went to the store and just told them to give me a veriety of every snail they had. I think it was $15 for 10 snails. The turbs and the ones that flip themselves back over are $4 a piece though so I didnt get those.
 
I bought one of the back footed trochus snails. I love that thing, but I swear that I only see it every few weeks and even then not for very long.

They are actually pretty fast for a snail, they eat quite a bit, and they do a great job of cleaning the corners and hard-to-reach places. Mine eats the slime on the tank grall around the circle of the vortech.
 
@BigJay wrote:
I bought one of the back footed trochus snails. I love that thing said:
Yep the black footed trochus, tiger trochus, zebra trochus etc... are the best snails. Expensive, but very effective. I'll use others if they are not available, but those are always my first choice. Have your spawned yet??
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I've got a bunch of little snails that I believe to be nassarius snails. I put a bunch in my tank about a year ago and they all died over a period of a few months. Started reading up on them and found out they don't like the higher temps and my tank was getting to around 83 at the time. I believe there is a pacific variety that does much better in the tank. Anyway, a few months after all mine died I noticed what appeared to be baby nassarius snails popping up out of the sand when I would feed the fish. It has been around 6 months since I noticed them and they haven't grown any so now I'm not sure if they are nassarius snails.

I've never had good luck with the cerith snails. I always order a dozen or two when I replenish my cleanup crew but most of them die.
 
@Opus wrote:
I've never had good luck with the cerith snails. I always order a dozen or two when I replenish my cleanup crew but most of them die. said:
My ceriths are brutally murdered by hermits frequently for their shells, but on the bright side they are breeding in the tank.

Dave I haven't bred the black foot snail, I had only bought one of them since I don't want them to starve. There's only so much algae in the tank to eat.
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some people on ebay and other places sell nassarius obsoleta, found on the beach frequently on the beaches of long island and other places in the northeast...

these are temperate snails and will not do well in your aquarium.

nassarius vibex are the ones you want.
 
be cautious of some snails that cant do well in our tanks long term, many need colder water and they can not get use to 80ish water in a reef.

Dr. Shimek did a good write up on a variety of them in reefkeeping magazine

check these out :

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rs/index.php
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-06/rs/index.php
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-07/rs/index.php
 
i lost all my snails except the sand diggers bc of the high temps. i just ordered fans and havent used lights all summer so hopefully it wont happen again.
 
@squishles wrote:
i lost all my snails except the sand diggers bc of the high temps. i just ordered fans and havent used lights all summer so hopefully it wont happen again. said:
so you must not have coral.
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If doing a deep sand bed the nassarius snail is a must in my opinion. As mentioned earlier, the will help keep the sand bed clean of detritus. Another great snail to have are fighting conches. If you ever have a cyano breakout, those little boogers will obliterate the cyano. I personally have a misture of Astrea, Nassarius, Cerith, Blue/Red Hermits, and Cucumbers. Keep in mind that you WILL lose some snails through the process and WILL have to replenish them later. When I bought the cleanup crew for my 210 gallon, I over bought knowing that I would loose a lot due to one reason or another.
 
I'm having a bit of a cyano breakout and would love to try some fighting conches. Does anyone know of any LFS that carry them - or are they a specialty item that must be ordered? Thanks!
 
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