Snails: The Good and Bad

[Mitchell0605]

Hey Guys,
Out here in Aus it's a huge, huge pain to find snails that aren't turbos. (At least it is for me). I've been looking and looking and so far I've only found Trochus and Cerith snails. (BTW 5 Ceriths for $30AUD is a rip right?) Can someone whose had these give me the lowdow please?

BTW While I was searching myself I found this:

Notes: The shell of this animal is constantly growing. The fleshy mantle deposits the calcium based construction material on a continual basis. Maintaining proper calcium levels of 350 to 450 ppm will assist the growth of this animal. If algae becomes unavailable in the aquarium, supplement this animals diet with dried seaweed.​

I'd be pretty happy if it came to that lol.

Heres where I would buy the Trochus: http://www.ausfrags.com.au/shop/ausfrags-trochus-snail-p-626.html

And here's the Ceriths: http://www.coralkingdom.com.au/Store/Clean-up-crews/Cerith-Snails.aspx

 

[nxb161]

I can't say with Aus....I know I pay $2.99 for some types at the one fishstore, and yesterday I got one while I was getting other goodies and she only charged me a buck. It was an astrea I believe. Mine is only a 29G, but my CUC actually took care of all the red algae on the black back of the tank, and doing a decent job on the green algae on the sides. I'm not sure who took care of the rocks if it was the serpent star, the hermits, shrimp, snails, or algae blenny, but they're white again )

 

[melosu58]

I pay 2.99 also here for snails. As far as the dried seaweed I dont see why that would not work. They are janitors and will help clean up or scavange.

 

[cmor1701d]

Prices have been going up the past few years. If you want the lowdown on snails here's the information I have gathered over time:

Nassarius Snails - Nassarius spp. (N vibex or Fiji) They mostly stay in the sand, but will sometimes make short trips up the glass. They are mainly detritus eaters and do an excellent job cleaning and shifting the sand. These are also some of the most hardy snails available. They can flip themselves upright very easily. They are fun to watch as they come bursting out of the sand bed at feeding time.

Cerith Snails-Cerithium spp. (Cortez) - Good algae and detritus eaters that forage rock, glass, and sand. Some can pick themselves up and some cant.
Cerith Snails (White)- Good algae and detritus eaters that seem to stay in the sand more than the cortez, but can be found on the rock and glass. Once again, some can pick themselves up and others cant. These are good sand bed snails.

Astrea Snails -Astraea tecta: Most common of all saltwater tank snails. They are excellent algae eaters and will forage all over the rock, sand, and glass. These guys fall very easily, can not right themselves, and then die.

Margarita Snail - Margarites pupillus. (Stomatella Limpet Snail, Pearl Snail, Little Margarite Snail, Pearly Topped Snail ) Another snail to add to the algae eating aresnal. Will cruise around on the rock and glass.

Fighting Conchs - Strombus gibberulus. Little vacuum cleaners. One per 2 sq. ft. of sand. They'll eat diatoms and, sometimes, cyano. Get one per 2 sq. feet of tank is what was recommened to me. They tend to disappear behind the rocks for a few days then come back around to the front again.

Nerite Snails - Nerita spp. Mostly a rock and glass snail that are all about the algae. They may crawl above the water line of your tank as they often become exposed in the wild during low tide. Mine usually end up in the sump where they can get above the water line and come back down when they want to.

Turbo Snails : They are big and clumsy. They'll knock over or move anything
that isn't glued/nailed down. Actually I had one knock a coral frag that was glued to a a plug right off the plug. But, they will attack hair algea. Mine are now escargot size and I moved them to the sump because they were always knocking corals off the rock and plugs they were attached to.

Banded Trochus - Trochus spp. (Tiger Trochus Snail, Banded Trochus Snail, Black and White Snail, Spiral-Top Snail ) Algae eating machines. Ideal size, won't knock over corals/rock, and can move very fast. Will also eat hair algae.

Stomatella Snails : Will breed in your tank! You will only need to get 4 or 5. They're great algae eaters and stay very small.

Queen Conch - Strombus gigas

Red Moon Snails : Cold water species.

Bumble-bee snails : Carnivorous. Not very hardy. Marginal algae eaters, but more of a detritus grazer. They can prey on other snails and sand bed critters

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

A big thumbs up here for the trochus. They are my absolute favorite. Good algae mowing machines, they eat diatoms, and they can flip themselves back over again when they've fallen upside down in the sand.

And yeah... I'd love to have to supplement my snails with seaweed too... but that's never happened! (Well... except for my fighting conch. I did feed it - but it still died on me.)

 

[Mitchell0605]

Thanks guys. I think I'll definately grab some Trochus, how many do you recommend?