Snails... What good are they?

[Saltine]

So, what good are snails? Nassarius sift sand sure, that's helpful, but there are many other critters that can do this. Astrea snails are supposed to clean glass/rocks etc, but I still find myself scraping algae off the glass and most of what they are eating off my rocks will turn into coralline anyways...

The ever growing snail shell graveyard at the bottom of my tank has me asking... why buy more?

thoughts?

 

[Boesemani]

I think we can all agree that astreas are pretty useless, but nassarius's are helpful. I'm not sure if I understand though... Snails seem to be good at eliminating some types of algae but it also depends on the type of snail.

 

[that Reef Guy]

Tiger Trochus are the Snails you want.

They Plow through Hair Algae and can usually Flip themselves over unlike Astrea Snails (I have no idea why people buy those they are such a waste of money as they always Die).

Tiger Trochus are often called the "Cadillac of Snails"

They are the Only Cleanup Crew that I use in my 6 Tanks.

 

[cloak]

Being that I keep the glass clean with a Mag-Float and I keep the sand clean by stirring it up every now & then, snails don't really do much for me at this point. Coralline algae is the most dominant in my tank now.

FWIW I've got one Trochus snail in my 20 gallon tank and that's it. There's really no need for any more.

 

[Saltine]

Tiger Trochus are the Snails you want.

They Plow through Hair Algae and can usually Flip themselves over unlike Astrea Snails (I have no idea why people buy those they are such a waste of money as they always Die).

Tiger Trochus are often called the "Cadillac of Snails"

They are the Only Cleanup Crew that I use in my 6 Tanks.

I do have a couple of those and they seem like the work horses! I'll just keep those :).

I have a horseshoe crab that keeps my sand bed well stirred. I have a hairy shroom on my sandbed that's just kind of "there" he moves it all around.

Salt

 

[LetItReef]

Trochus here too and Conch.

 

[happyhourhero]

Being that I keep the glass clean with a Mag-Float and I keep the sand clean by stirring it up every now & then, snails don't really do much for me at this point. Coralline algae is the most dominant in my tank now.

FWIW I've got one Trochus snail in my 20 gallon tank and that's it. There's really no need for any more.

That is a turbo snail. They are decent snails too.

I also prefer tiger trochus snails. They are great.

Astreas are good at cleaning frag plugs. That's about all they have going for them.

 

[cloak]

That is a turbo snail. They are decent snails too.

Are you sure? I've had the snail for at least 3 or 4 years now and the flesh is black if that makes a difference.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=497+526+564&pcatid=564

 

[happyhourhero]

Tiger Trochus

Zebra Turbo

 

[cloak]

Hmm. Let me see if Pagojoe can identify it for me, but thanks for the heads up. :)

 

[Boesemani]

I do have a couple of those and they seem like the work horses! I'll just keep those :).

I have a horseshoe crab that keeps my sand bed well stirred. I have a hairy shroom on my sandbed that's just kind of "there" he moves it all around.

Salt

Better watch that horseshoe crab, they generally don't do too well in home aquariums. Trochus snails are really the only snail I'd call great at cleaning.

 

[AdamNC]

I keep 3 Banded/Tiger Trocus in a 29 gallon and they seem to do a good job.

 

[rock_lobster]

Zebra trochus are insanely good at cleaning aquariums. You can drop them into a tank loaded with hair algae, bryopsis, anything imaginable and they will have it looking immaculate in a few days. Only probably is they get very large like golf ball sized.

 

[Feltman]

So are these margarita or trochus snails?

 

[happyhourhero]

^Those are trochus.

Zebra trochus are insanely good at cleaning aquariums. You can drop them into a tank loaded with hair algae, bryopsis, anything imaginable and they will have it looking immaculate in a few days. Only probably is they get very large like golf ball sized.

You are thinking of zebra turbo snails. Trochus do not get too big.

 

[cloak]

I was able to have Pagojoe identify my snail for me.

http://www.gastropods.com/4/Shell_24.shtml

 

[Saltine]

Better watch that horseshoe crab, they generally don't do too well in home aquariums. Trochus snails are really the only snail I'd call great at cleaning.

I've had him for going on a year now, no problems yet. What usually happens?

Salt

 

[Roboson]

They get rather large and require more food than the average sandbed can provide.

 

[DracoKat]

Sorry for piggy-backing on this thread.. how many trochus snails for a 75 gal reef would be good?

 

[rock_lobster]

I had trochus snails they never really did anything except clean the film algae that doesnt really show up on rocks. they put tiny bite marks all over it on the glass and still has to be cleaned just as often with a mag cleaner or scrubber. The large turbo snails like zebra or mexican turbo snail I was referring to above eat the filamentous algae that is found in most aquarium of some variety.