gmerek2 October 21, 2015 Share October 21, 2015 (edited) Anyone agree with these marks? Disagree? Found this on the Internet. Cerith snails sure are looking good Edited October 21, 2015 by gmerek2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmerek2 October 21, 2015 Author Share October 21, 2015 (edited) Edited October 21, 2015 by gmerek2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM October 21, 2015 Share October 21, 2015 I personally lose my cerith snails quickly. I once had hundreds from reefcleaners, now have 1. Maybe hermit crabs attack them? Turbo snails last about 6 months for me. They're big and push stuff around that isn't nailed down and seem to eat something, but not sure what. Astrea snails last a very long time for me and the hermits leave them alone. I do see them eating cyano on the glass and like them a lot. I can't tell the difference between astrea snails and trochus and suspect that I'm being sold either or both when I buy them. Those ninja star astreas are really cool, but only last about 10 minutes in my tank before they've flipped over and can't get back. I assume nassarius do something. I see them come up from the sand when food is added, but never see them doing much else. I never bought nerites because I have a rimless tank and I've always heard they go right over the edges. In my experience if you want something cleaning the goop that grows on the rocks my biggest success is a pencil urchin, but they seem more appropriate for a fish only tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmerek2 October 21, 2015 Author Share October 21, 2015 I have never tried to keep cerith snails. I can visually tell a difference from my Astrea and trochus. Do you have reproduction from trochus Alan? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lutz123 October 21, 2015 Share October 21, 2015 Ceriths are some of my favorite - great for cyano. Odd that they don't show turbos eat hair algae - mine are like lawnmowers. I don't love astreas just because the fact that they can't flip themselves back over is a maintenance issue for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogurnda October 21, 2015 Share October 21, 2015 These charts always seem pretty random. A few comments based on keeping a lot of snails and growing a lot of algae. I have two turbos, one is about 11 years old, and they have been good for diatoms, turfs and hair algae. Once hair algae gets beyond a certain length, nothing except an urchin will touch it. The reputation turbos have for bulldozing is well-deserved, so my frags are securely epoxied in place. Astreas have always done well for me, and do a great job of general film removal. As far as I can tell, they will not touch hair algae. I have tried Trochus several times, and they have never lasted more than six months, regardless of how I acclimate them. Ceriths should have sand to burrow into, and are viewed as food and shelter by hermits. They are the major crew in my slug tanks, and do a great job on the glass, along with cleaning the debris and algae off the macroalgae without eating the macros themselves. Do not touch hair algae, which is good for me because they will not compete with the slugs. Another general comment is that people tend to way overload their tanks with the stupid "cleaning crews" that vendors put together. Next thing you know, you have snails dying of starvation and feeding an algae bloom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thakki October 21, 2015 Share October 21, 2015 I agree on Margarita and Astrea snails for getting rid of hair algae, cyano and cleaning the rocks in general. But the Nassarius snails were really mean in my tank...most of the times they fed on other snails or picked on them every opportunity they had...even after making sure there is enough detritus/food on the sand bed for them. Perhaps I added too many...but anyway...next time I will go for Ceriths rather than Nassarius. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM October 21, 2015 Share October 21, 2015 I know a lot of folks are down on hermit crabs. I was for a while too, but they really seem like little workers getting everywhere taking care of detritus. Also good garbage disposers when something dies in the tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime October 21, 2015 Share October 21, 2015 I know a lot of folks are down on hermit crabs. I was for a while too, but they really seem like little workers getting everywhere taking care of detritus. Also good garbage disposers when something dies in the tank. I still use hermits. I tried to get a variety of snails, but my tank is so small now it's not possible. when I had my bigger tanks, I had success with mostly turbos, and only about 5 of them for a 180. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LCDRDATA October 21, 2015 Share October 21, 2015 I've had some nasty hair algae a couple of times, and it seemed the only snails that would eat it were Mexican turbos - no other snail (including other turbo varieties) would touch it. Pincushion and tuxedo urchins help some, but will pick up and carry off anything small that isn't nailed down and will do some bulldozing as well. I've looked on and off at hairy chitons; they're reputed to do a good job if they survive the initial shipping and acclimation/settling in period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogurnda October 21, 2015 Share October 21, 2015 I know a lot of folks are down on hermit crabs. I was for a while too, but they really seem like little workers getting everywhere taking care of detritus. Also good garbage disposers when something dies in the tank. I still use hermits. I tried to get a variety of snails, but my tank is so small now it's not possible. I still have hermits as well (in my non-slug tanks), but I just keep in mind that many species will have no hesitation to eat snails, especially if the shell looks particularly suitable. There were battles raging on the boards years ago, with some screaming hermits are "never reef safe." Like most things, the story is more nuanced. The Mexican red legs are still my favorites for dealing with hair algae outbreaks in small tanks, but they are also untrustworthy with snails. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lutz123 October 21, 2015 Share October 21, 2015 (edited) Never had an issue with nassarius being anything but scavengers. The tongan (large) nassarius ware aggressive eaters and can steal from corals. Margarita snails are coldwater and shouldn't be recommended for warm tanks. Edited October 21, 2015 by lutz123 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunWyrm October 21, 2015 Share October 21, 2015 My nerites have been doing good with my 30 rimless. Though I have no thoughts as to why, since I've had them in previous tanks where they ended up over the sides fairly quickly. Got some from Reefs2go, and these have stayed on the rockwork for the most part.I also have a lonely "glowing marginella" snail, just truckin' along. Though they usually don't do well. Acts like a small nassarius.Can anyone explain the difference between Astrea and Trochus? I usually see a picture of the same snail but under different names.The snail I miss the most is Tiger Trochus. Mows down hair algae but they never ship well and I can't ever find them in stores. I had 2 in my 360 that were monstrous (and very pretty imo). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmerek2 October 26, 2015 Author Share October 26, 2015 (edited) The one upper one covered in coraline is Astrea snail. Lower is banded Trochus. I have only had trochus a month. The astrea 2 years. The Trochus are suppose to reproduce easily in aquaria. But from the sounds of how things go on here people are having trouble keeping them long term and are arriving in mail dead. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Edited October 26, 2015 by gmerek2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmerek2 October 26, 2015 Author Share October 26, 2015 (edited) Both have trap doors. Lower one is the Astrea Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Edited October 26, 2015 by gmerek2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM October 26, 2015 Share October 26, 2015 sorry, maybe you can see the difference between astrea and trochus, but I still can't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott711 October 27, 2015 Share October 27, 2015 here is a good link: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rs/index.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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