Best Kind of Snails

Godbert · 02-21-2008, 10:56 AM

What are the best kind of snails to keep? i have a 50 gallon tank and so far i have about 40 margaritas.

amcarrig · 02-21-2008, 10:58 AM

I like to mix them up. I have astrea, margarita, cerith, nerites, nassarius.

coral reefer · 02-21-2008, 10:58 AM

They are good as they can right themselves if they fall over or land in the sand!!!
I personally like Astrea and Conch snails!!!!

Godbert · 02-21-2008, 11:00 AM

the main thing i was worried about was sand sifting the margaritas are also kinda lazy

amcarrig · 02-21-2008, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Godbert

the main thing i was worried about was sand sifting the margaritas are also kinda lazy

That's because they're not sand sifting snails

Ceriths are algae eaters that burrow in the sand during the day. Nassarius are carnivores that stay buried until you feed your fish. Both will do a great job keeping your sand stirred (assuming you get enough of them).

Godbert · 02-21-2008, 11:04 AM

what types of algae will the ceriths eat? ive got a bit of a hair algae problem

totter0817 · 02-21-2008, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coral reefer

They are good as they can right themselves if they fall over or land in the sand!!!
I personally like Astrea and Conch snails!!!!

My astrea's have a really hard time correcting themselves if they fall over. I have actually had two die because they couldn't flip back over.

amcarrig · 02-21-2008, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Godbert

what types of algae will the ceriths eat? ive got a bit of a hair algae problem

They eat hair algae but no algae eating snail will touch hair algae if it's too long. So, that being said, manually remove as much of the long stuff as possible then add some snails to mow down the shorter stuff

Godbert · 02-21-2008, 11:06 AM

ive also had snails die from falling over, i actually had to clean all the shells out of the bottom of my tank last week

amcarrig · 02-21-2008, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by totter0817

My astrea's have a really hard time correcting themselves if they fall over. I have actually had two die because they couldn't flip back over.

Survival of the fittest

I'm able to overlook the extra work that is required to keep astreas alive (flipping them back over if they fall on their backs) because they're such great algae eaters