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Cheap Snails / Hermit Crabs?


Ryan S

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www.reefcleaners.org has snails for $0.15-$0.60, and hermits for $0.45-$0.55.

 

I went to a couple LFS over the weekend (non-sponsors here - just the closest to my apartment); and their snails & hermit crabs were $1.99-$2.99 each. Is that the going rate for inverts at a LFS? Or do I need to hit up some more LFSs?

 

I will start a reefcleaners.org group buy long before I pay a 2000% markup on inverts!

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Ryan - take into consideration that you would have to pay for shipping overnight if buying online. So that $.15 hermit is not really $.15 once you add shipping.

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I've gotten 350 black nassarius off ebay for $25 from a breeder in NC several times. Always gives extra and they're a good size. I'll try to find a link later.

 

Also TonyD, it is if you buy enough!

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I am in if do you get from reeftopia. They do have 100 blue legs crabs for $30, dozen scarlets for $36 and what I realy want is the peppermint at $2.

 

If someone is looking for fish, they have blue angel at $30 and other fishes at gret price.

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A word of caution when buying online versus in the store, you don't always get what you are expecting. For example, there are a lot of nassarius snails out there that are sold in bulk but are not suitable for our tanks and can harbor some pretty nasty stuff in them that comes out when they are housed in warmer tropical tanks (there was a thread on here a few years back that detailed this but can't remember which one it was). Also, sometimes you're getting much smaller snails than you'd expect. I've seen many of the micro ceriths that are often sold and they are far smaller than the cerith snails you'd get from a local store. Not saying that this is bad, just saying that you have to know what you're looking for before you buy. Personally, I have not ordered snails online but have gotten some pretty darn good deals when buying in bulk from some of our sponsors. Not quite online prices, but pretty close and I never bothered to factor in what shipping would have been to see if it evened out in the end. Of course, I was buying 400-500 snails of the larger variety (the big nassarius snails and astreas and turbos) so it's like comparing apples to oranges in the end.

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I found it!http://myworld.ebay.com/ocean-reef-and-marine-coral-invertebrates/&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2754

 

Home grown, aquacultured nassarius snails and free shipping to boot.

 

Support an awesome person with some sweet snails. Also sells more creatures for sale like oysters, cleaner clams and occasionally carries other things.

 

Sorry for sounding like some feedback on ebay, but this person really impresses me.

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I found it!http://myworld.ebay.com/ocean-reef-and-marine-coral-invertebrates/&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2754

 

Home grown, aquacultured nassarius snails and free shipping to boot.

 

Support an awesome person with some sweet snails. Also sells more creatures for sale like oysters, cleaner clams and occasionally carries other things.

 

Sorry for sounding like some feedback on ebay, but this person really impresses me.

you realize that these are temperate species and not really accustomed to living in tropical conditions like a reef tank.

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from the following article (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-11/mg/index.php):

 

Do You Know Who You're Dealing With?

Get to Know the Real Ilyanassa obsoleta

 

"As with any claims that sound too good to be true, consumers should be skeptical of the claims being made about Ilyanassa as an ideal reef snail. Ilyanassa is not a reef snail at all. As a snail from cold and temperate water, keeping them at reef temperatures is sentencing them to a premature death. In addition, they aren't entirely reef safe, especially in tanks with sand beds.

 

We're all aware that our hobby has a reputation for being wasteful of and destructive to marine life. It's time for hobbyists to start making informed and responsible decisions about the animals we keep. With several truly reef safe snails available in the hobby, it is in the hobbyists' and snails' best interest to spend a little extra for more appropriate species, such as this snail's cousin, Nassarius vibex."

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from the following article (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-11/mg/index.php):

 

Do You Know Who You're Dealing With?

Get to Know the Real Ilyanassa obsoleta

 

"As with any claims that sound too good to be true, consumers should be skeptical of the claims being made about Ilyanassa as an ideal reef snail. Ilyanassa is not a reef snail at all. As a snail from cold and temperate water, keeping them at reef temperatures is sentencing them to a premature death. In addition, they aren't entirely reef safe, especially in tanks with sand beds.

 

We're all aware that our hobby has a reputation for being wasteful of and destructive to marine life. It's time for hobbyists to start making informed and responsible decisions about the animals we keep. With several truly reef safe snails available in the hobby, it is in the hobbyists' and snails' best interest to spend a little extra for more appropriate species, such as this snail's cousin, Nassarius vibex."

 

How did u break your vow of silence since joining in 09 and this being your first yet very informative post :blink:

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wil

I think I may try these Nass eBay snails

 

Illysiana species of nassarius are predatory. Don't be surprised if you end up having to get them all out of your tank.

 

Sometimes local vendors will do group buys for us - you need to ask them.

Edited by treesprite
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I've ordered snails/crabs from both reefcleaners.org and reeftopia, am having much better luck with the order from reeftopia although reefcleaners did tend to put more extras into the order. Only thing I got from reeftopia that I wasn't very happy with was the nerite snails, came in small and were much more than reefcleaners price.

Astrea's, larger cerith, blue leg hermits sm & med, emerald crabs, sea cucumbers, atlantic deer cowry and peppermint shrimp are all doing well after a couple months. Lost one emerald crab and my mystery wrasse had one of the peppermints for dinner the other night but everything else is crawling around.

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Predatory how? Towards other snails? I think my mantis may have a feast coming up ohmy.gif

 

I'll just have to slowly take them out and replace them I guess, thanks all for the input. I should've known better or at least asked opinions first.

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Looks like someone else found the reference article I was looking for on these.

 

Again, I'd go with one of the vendors around town. I have gotten some great deals on snails in bulk from both F&F and BRK (and other things beyond snails including hermits, shrimp, and crabs), pay them a visit and ask. I had to take possession when they came in since there were so many of them but it was worth it.

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I placed my order with reefcleaners.org tonight. They're interested in becoming a sponsor here at WAMAS, so I hope that works out too.

 

60 snails for $20 = $0.33 each:

 

Quantity Name SKU Price Subtotal

1 Pods+ 3624 USD9.99 USD9.99

35 Dwarf Cerith 11001 USD0.15 USD5.25

5 Zig Zag Periwinkles 11009 USD0.20 USD1.00

5 Florida Cerith 11003 USD0.40 USD2.00

5 Nassarius Vibex 11002 USD0.40 USD2.00

5 Nerite Snails (Large) 11004 USD0.60 USD3.00

5 Nerite Snails (Small - Medium) 11005 USD0.45 USD2.25

 

SubTotal : USD25.49

Coupon Discount: - USD5.00

Shipping and Handling Fee : USD9.50

Tax Total : USD0.00

Total: USD29.99

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