ratio of cleanup crew

[buddy381]

What would you guys recommend a good ratio of snails and other clean up crew for a tank. I have a 75 and was just wondering how many snails etc i should have in there....

[sufunk]

How much lr do you have/plan on having?

[marduc]

Just for something to work with, in my 55 gallon I have 30 Astreas, and 25 nassarius in there, and am planning on restocking my cerinth population to about 15.

I personally do not like hermits.. they are opportunistic, and can and will pick off your snails for their shells, and for the scavenger role my serpent stars (2), and the nassarius fill the void nicely.

There are other critters to consider if there is a specific problem you want to address, but can be hit or miss if they decide to munch on the targeted nuisance organisms, or have their own share of innate risks. Included in this category are peppermint shrimp, emerald crabs, cucumbers (tiger tail notably), hermits, ect.

Your best foundation is a healthy snail population, and if other issues arise address them from there.

[kevin2000]

There is no std .. depends on the tank .. whats in it .. and how much you feed. I have less than 20% of the snails that Marduc has in my 55.

Start out with a small diversified crew ... be patient and see how it goes .. add in small increments.

[reefaholic101]

>>

[bertoni]

I agree that rules are hard to make, since tanks differ so much.

For a 75g tank, I might start with 6 Trochus, 6 cerith, and 3-4 Nassarius, then add more on an as-needed basis. Nassarius live on leftover food, for example, and a small number is usually appropriate, unless you'd like to target feed them.

[buddy381]

thanks guys, that really gives me a good idea of how many i should have in the tank.

Ok, next question. Do you guys know what the different types of snails do....ie earlier you said that one type ate basically leftovers.....what do the types of snails feed on and are there any type that will eat algae/diatoms from crushed coral.....i believe i am starting to get some diatoms since my tank is roughly a month old......i have a couple astrea in there, and they have been doing great at cleaning the lr.....just wondering if any of them will clean up the cc.

[bertoni]

The cerith are the most likely to clean crushed coral, in my experience. Cerith, Trochus, Stomatella, columbellid, and Turbo snails are the more common algae eaters. Nassarius vibex eat leftover food. There are many, many types of snails.

[3n1]

Here, this place gives you an idea of what each snail likes what..

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/s...cfm?pCatId=526