Hermits vs. Snails: CUC showdown

The time has come for me to get a clean-up crew in my tank so I'm wondering what folks have had good experience with-- predominately hermit crab based CUC or snail based CUC? I'd like to hear pros and cons of each.

 

I like snail based. My crabs keep eating my snails for new homes. I have extra shells scattered around the tank but the crabs seem to like the recently lived in ones.

 

a mix of both has always been my preference

different species of snails for different areas , Nas snails like the sand, Turbos and Astras like the rocks and the glass
Hermits are able to reach into crevices and get things that the snails cant get at

there are sometimes eviction issues, with hermits taking over snail shells, but these can be reduced with one or 2 empty shells always available in the tank.

Reefcleaners will sort you a CUC , customised for your tank, so you would get coverage for all aspects as mentioned above

Steve

 

Steves right I believe a diversity of them will work better. My CUC is about equal between snails and hermits

 

Ditto on the "mobile real estate" problem. I've had one hermit crab who has adopted a live-and-let-live policy with my snails, but most want to kill the snails for their shells, even if I leave appropriately-sized shells around the tank. They get some sort of thrill out of lethal eviction.

I don't necessarily dislike hermit crabs altogether, I just find snails to be more peaceful, while still being effective.

 

I have about an even split of each right now. Haven't had any problems with them yet. Have you tried reefcleaners to see what they say?

 

I should clarify. I have both snails and crabs and plan to keep it that way. It does mean I kep replacing the snails but one of my LFS has some orange snails in that I'll pick up for next time if they are peacefull. Nass snails are soo cool during feeding time. Watching them come out of the sand all at once is neet and kind of creepy.

 

I would also recommend talking to John at reefcleaners.org to see what he suggests. Our first order with him included blue leg hermits, Florida cerinth snails, dwarf cerinth snails, limpets, nassarius snails, and a fuzzy chiton. Your tank is so much bigger and a totally different mix would probably be recommended. I haven't really had major issues with "shell stealing" hermit crabs. I had a ton of shells in various sizes from a few trips to Sanibel Island and just periodically toss in a handful.

 

First, I highly recommend following reefcleaners.org suggestions.


I think having mostly snails is better than mostly crabs. Crabs are limited in the areas they can reach.


I have around 200 snails and 12 hermit crabs in my 55 gallon. My snails consist of 6 different species (by far, the majority are dwarf ceriths that stay in the substrate (mostly) during the day and come out at night).

Hermits do eat snails, but IME this isn't like it's a constant thing... as long as you keep plenty of empty shells of various sizes, crabs eating snails is limited and not really a problem.

And they're only going to mess with the bigger snails. They don't touch my smaller snails.

I would avoid chitons until you're more established... IME these starve easily and need a good amount of available food.



I'm of the opinion a large CuC, large amount of LR, and a good skimmer is all you need to keep your tank balanced (as far as detritus, nitrates, etc.). I've had good success having maintained 0 nitrates and phosphates even though I used tap for the first year of this tank (we're on month 14 now).

So to get a large enough CuC for a tank your size, money wise, I think you'll be far better off getting them from reefcleaners.org from a price, variety, and quantity selection.


BTW, did I mention http://www.reefcleaners.org? ;D;D

 

Agreed! We call them "the zombies!"