# snails for 29 gal.
 

ready to add the snails - no other creatures in the tank yet, but a fair amount of detritus and some hair algae, etc. from the live rock. At this time planning on cerith, nassarius and trochus. When a given number of snails per gallon is recommended, does that assume only [I]that[/I] snail is being added, or should the #'s be modified if others are being added as well? I'm thinking the former, since the species each target different nutrient sources, yes?

Fish will be added fairly soon, but I'd like the snails to deal with the junk a bit first. As it clears up they'll be fed with the fish.

Plans are
Trochus = 5; cerith and nassarius = 25 each

too many or about right?

thanks!
-rw

I have a 24 gal and I only have 1 nassarius snail, and 5 margarita snails, I also have about 10 dwarf hermits and they keep my tank very clean

not interested in hermits this time around

I'd say with that many snails, you will have a lot of empty shells in six months or so.

If you got 3 trochus and 5 each of the cerith and nass, you'll probably still have too many to keep from starving, long term.

I have 6 trochus in my 65 gallon anemone tank.

I have 3 astrea and a couple of small hermits in my 40 gallon mixed reef tank.

I have 3 astrea, 2 nass and a bunch of hitchhiker "mini-grazer" collonista snails in my 80 gallon mixed reef.

The 80 gallon tank has one rock that has a red turf algae problem. Otherwise, the snail line-up you see keeps the tanks pretty clean.

IMO and IME, buying a whole lot of snails is generally a waste of money.

FWIW,
Kevin

In general, the LFS people and other sellers wayyyy overestimate the number of snails you'll need for a cleanup crew. You would probably be better off to think in terms of the number of square feet of substrate that you have, rather than the number of gallons of water in your system. I try to visualize what I would expect to see in the wild, and then at most double that, due to the concentration of fish and other animals that will ultimately be kept in the tank with them. I would also avoid hermits, but many people keep them with their other animals without problems. Here are my opinions, nothing more, and you could probably add or subtract 50% and still be in the "OK" range.

The Trochus snails are going to spend most of their time on the rocks and glass, so the substrate size really doesn't apply to them as much. Unless things are overrun with algae, 5 smallish Trochus snails should work, more than that and they'll likely be starving soon. If you get the small ceriths, between 5 and 10 should be plenty, and the number of Nassarius you'll need depends mostly on how much sand you have and how heavily you feed the tank. Nassarius are carnivores, not detrivores, so think of them in terms of stirring your sand when they bury themselves or come out to eat, and as a safety system to keep excess food and dead animal matter out of your system. If you get the big "Giant Tongan Nassarius," which I don't recommend, you likely won't want more than 2 or 3 in a system that size. If you go with the smaller species, like Nassarius horridus or Nassarius vibex, you may be fine with 10 or 12 of these little guys. They max out at around 14 or 15mm.

Hope this helps, Cheers,



Don

many thanks guys.