snails ?

[steve617]

Just wondering what are the hardiest and best snails for a small reef? Thanks for your opinions.

Steve

[ChasingPuck]

Cerith and nassarius. The nassarius my reproduce though, so you may need to have a plan for getting rid of the extras.

[EdKruzel]

Steve,
What do you consider small? In most tanks under 100gal I would recommend all available with the exception of Turbo's, Queen & Fighting Conchs, Abalone, or Cowries.

Astrea, Nerites, Cerith, will get the job done.
For left over food or waste you need Nassarius and Peppermints. These are scavengers of decay along the bottom and do not climb well on rock or glass.
You will occasionally see them climbing but they fall off quite easily.

For more specific answers post over in "Ask Dr Ron" forum. Snails are his specialty.

Take care,
Ed

[steve617]

My reef is 20 gallons. I have 2 conch's why dont you reccomend them. Thanks

Steve

[EdKruzel]

Queen's & Fighting Conchs grow rapidly and become huge.

If you have an agreement with a LFS to exchange larger conchs for tiny ones, then it's no problem.
In a 20 gallon tank one mature fighting conch (about 5''-6''s) would starve in no time at all.
A mature Queen Conch is over 12''s long and wouldn't even fit in a 20 gallon tank.

I have one Queen in a 37 cube. When it reaches about 3-4''s I trade it for a half inch specimen.
Many hobbyists with monster tanks would appreciate a larger conch, however they ship smalls only from most wholesales reps.

Check your local store to see if you can arrange such a swap program.

Take care,
Ed

[steve617]

Thanks for the conch info. The two I bought are about 2 inchs long at the most. By the way I saw an 37 oceanic cube and I have to say that is by far the nicest tank I have ever laid my eyes on in the size range. I would love to get one in the future.

Steve

[EdKruzel]

I love the cube for the ease of cleaning and when it comes time to move.
In my next home (early 2004) I plan on a near cube 336 gallon.
6'x3'x30'' tall.

Here is a link to some of my tank shots.
http://www.elpmas.com/Gallery/indexgallery.htm

Goodnight,
Ed