The ONE TANK CLEANING SNAIL that you don't want to reef without?

[RCalabrese13]

Ceriths all the way. Not only do they destroy algae, but they destroy cyano as well!

 

[KrisReef]

I like to have a bunch, but if only one I think I would get RoboSnail

 

[CRD23]

Nassarius snail. My Hermit Crabs keep attacking Trochus and Turbo snails. Most of my Trochus and Turbo snails dont survive those attacks for too long. But Nassarius snails, by staying underground are able to dodge these Hermit crabs. Also clean up the leftover food from the sandbed saving me from Nitrate and Phosphate spikes.

 

[chimbo84]

Bummer. Swap out those killer hermits for more trochus.

I firmly believe that hermit crabs are the biggest lie in the hobby right now. Useless pestering crabs that do nothing except eat beneficial snails thus requiring you to constantly refresh your CUC. It’s a racket.

 

[firechild]

Trochus are amazing grazers but they just get too big and clumsy. I've got 1 that wasn't eaten by my hermit crabs and it's huge, I had to move it to another tank with less corals because it was just bulldozing everything. I voted turbos. We don't get the big Mexican turbos here, the species that is common is much smaller and perfect for keeping on top of GHA and they breed like rabbits.

 

[Swede Reef]

Does abalone count, otherwise trochus...

 

[Privateye]

Money cowries 100%. They're the type of thing you add when you have that one stubborn patch of algae, and then it disappears. I got 3 for my 90g. They can be tough to find but they're worth every penny. Still have 2 after 3 years.

Oh, edit, also 100% stomatella snails. They breed in the tank, feeding fish and corals, and they don't knock anything over. Most stores will give them away if you spot them on the glass. Just be sure to buy something too!

 

[Gogol_frag]

I firmly believe that hermit crabs are the biggest lie in the hobby right now. Useless pestering crabs that do nothing except eat beneficial snails thus requiring you to constantly refresh your CUC. It’s a racket.

Yep thats true. That racket has been going on for atleast 10 years, when i first started reefing. Observed their impact, during the first coupla months, and never bought one again. Ditto for any other crustaceans. They dont play nice and have these constant need to snatch food, kill etc. The only crustaceans in my reef are brine shrimps, and they get gobbled up by macrofauna pretty quickly.

 

[mattdg]

another vote for the self righting trochus, followed closely by the incredibly interesting to watch and industrious abalone (if you can find a good one)

 

[tnw50cal]

The best algae eaters in my tanks are urchins followed by turbo snails.

 

[Cichlid Dad]

Two turbos and a fighting conch in my 60 seems to be getting the job done

 

[Spieg]

I don't find snails to be great for tank cleaning... would take an unrchin over a snail any day.

 

[Mark Novack]

Trochus unsurprisingly is number one but I place Tectus and Astria in the same class. All good general cleaners that deny easy food to the other cleaners that will eat less yummy algaes. Its a co-op. You need snails to clean the snails too.

 

[Seymo44]

My vote is for Trochus snails. However, I’m a firm believer in having as much diversity as possible in a CUC. I typically stock a tank with every snail available at my LFS.

 

[PeterEde]

I picked the Nassarius for it's ability to keep substrate clean. Plenty of other critters can be had to keep algae down

 

[dbowman5]

i voted other, i would prefer the Allaya bove' snail they do everything.

 

[Badfish405]

Trochus, because they reproduce in my tank. I pulled all these out from inside of my skimmer.

 

[onemako]

mexican turbos, all 11 of mine do great at 80 degrees.

 

[Heist]

Top crown, not available too often but they do the work of a big cleanup crew. Literally the best if you can get one.

 

[Rico58]

Top crown, not available too often but they do the work of a big cleanup crew. Literally the best if you can get one.

What are they call and were can I get them