Choosing not to have snails & hermits??

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swishyfishies

Aquarium Advice Activist
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Nov 12, 2002
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Yes they are part of the clean up crew but I am thinking of skipping them on this next tank because of the fact that their lifespan is so short & I don't have a LFS to keep replacing them. Also since hermits can be detrimental to featherdusters. Wouldn't it be just fine if I skipped them & used other cleaning inverts like sea stars?
 
The thing about snails is that they are able to eliminate algae better than most any other inverts. I do believe you could keep a sucussful tank without hermits. Also, check out getting a sea urchin, roval urchin take care of algae, live long, nad that sp. doesnt have long spines.
 
I have many snails that are well over a year old. Plus, some even reproduce and I rarely have to replace them. I also agree that hermits are not that necessary for tank cleaning.
 
If you are wanting to keep corals of any kind, the urchins are out.
 
i keep both hermits and snails, but i only have about 10 snails in my 125. they don't really seem to do that much in my tanks and die off too quickly. i keep lots of hermits because they're fun to watch and seem to live longer (i have one that's 4 years old -- i marked his shell so i could keep up with him out of curiosity).
 
I have a blue tuxedo urchin that will sometimes knock smaller frags over but other than that is reef safe.

Brian
 
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