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jcom 
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 Topic: Keeping Snails Alive
Posted: December 01 2009 at 6:10pm |
Hey Guys,
I have historically had lots of crabs and lots of snails in my 120 gallon, but the snails get wiped out pretty quickly. I assume this is because the crabs are getting hungry and eating the snails (I'm a notorious, lifelong underfeeder when it comes to tanks - salt and fresh). I probably have 20 or so crabs (hermits, red leg, blue leg) and only about 3 or 4 snails (astrea) at present. Should I remove some (or most) of the crabs and replenish with snails?
(I'm trying to upload a video of my tank on YouTube, but because it's long and in HD, it is taking forever and failing. I'll get it up asap)
Thanks in advance for replies.
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chk4tix
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Posted: December 01 2009 at 6:50pm |
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The best way is to get rid of the crabs, I hate those little buggers. I was crab free for a long time and never had a problem, but picked up a few when I was having a cyano problem and they have destroyed my snail population. With that said, you will always have snail die off while owning a tank.
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Adam Blundell
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Posted: December 01 2009 at 11:04pm |
I kind of agree with Keith on that. If you don't have the food for them, take them out.
Unfortunately some animals like snails are frequently replaced by hobbyists.
Adam
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Mike Savage
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Posted: December 01 2009 at 11:22pm |
I don't have any snails in my tank. Just two hermits and a peppermint.
Mike
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bfessler
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Posted: December 01 2009 at 11:57pm |
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Thats amazing Mike. How do you control the Algae? Snails is the first thing everyone seems to recommend when algae crops up
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Burt
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jcom
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Posted: December 02 2009 at 12:25am |
Thanks for the replies guys, but now I'm even more unsure. On one hand, you have snails, but due to the nature of snails, you will routinely be replacing them and spending $$$ that could otherwise go to coral, etc....and on the other hand, the crabs. My crabs are long lived and I haven't had to replace them. They do a good job of chomping algae on my LR and if it pops up on sand, but obviously not on the glass, overflows, etc. 
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Connie
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Posted: December 02 2009 at 6:11am |
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I have seem hermits eating my coral and I refuse to even keep them in the main display. Ditch the crabs and get snails... Chad has the best price on them.
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I have flying monkeys and I'm not afraid to use them.
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Mike Savage
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Posted: December 02 2009 at 6:22am |
 bfessler wrote:
Thats amazing Mike. How do you control the Algae? Snails is the first thing everyone seems to recommend when algae crops up |
Do Colonistas count? I don't have an algae problem.
Mike
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bfessler
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Posted: December 02 2009 at 7:51am |
I must be missing something here. I'm not sure what Colonistas are (maybe I am too much of a newb). I googled Colonistas and all I get is a bunch of sites about immigration. I'm sure you don't have an Algae problem. Every picture I have seen of your tanks is beautiful. How do you keep them so nice without many crabs and snails?
I would like to know the secret because I don't like crabs because they roll over my corals and rocks and while I like snails tons of them on the glass doesn't look that great either.
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Burt
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downhill_biker
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Posted: December 02 2009 at 8:42am |
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I personally like snails. I really like the black nassarius snails since they sift sand, eat algae on rocks, glass, overflows, ect. The only problem with them is they are more of a temperate water species and some people say that it is lots of stress on them to be in a tropical tank. I have found they do pretty well. I have had them breeding in captivity and living a fairly long time. They are also cheaper than the nassarius vibex, so that is a plus when replacing, but I agree with others, snails only, with some fish that eat algae such as bristletooth tangs, lawnmower blennys, ect. and you have to plan on replacing them every once in a while. That's the way it goes for all of us.
I have lots of the black nassarius if you want to buy some.
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sukie
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Posted: December 02 2009 at 10:57am |
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I agree with all the posts above - with my new nano, I just added 30 snails and I placed them right on where I want to to clean.
I don't plan to put any hermits in. . . if I do, I might just do 2 but I don't want my snail population to get depleted.
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jcom
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Posted: December 02 2009 at 1:45pm |
Snails it is....anyone in the market for some crabs?? 
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sukie
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Posted: December 02 2009 at 2:59pm |
Not if they see this thread!  Just post it on the buy/sell/trade someone will pick them up.
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Luckedout
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Posted: December 02 2009 at 3:05pm |
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I've had the opposite problem. I lose a few snails here or there. but I've lost almost all my hermits. Guess that's a good thing.
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Mike Savage
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Posted: December 02 2009 at 5:15pm |
bfessler wrote:
I must be missing something here. I'm not sure what Colonistas are (maybe I am too much of a newb). I googled Colonistas and all I get is a bunch of sites about immigration. I'm sure you don't have an Algae problem. Every picture I have seen of your tanks is beautiful. How do you keep them so nice without many crabs and snails?
I would like to know the secret because I don't like crabs because they roll over my corals and rocks and while I like snails tons of them on the glass doesn't look that great either. |
Sorry Burt. I should have spelled it with two ells: Collonista.
They are very small snails that come in as hitchhikers and can multiply in your tank. Most people probably think they are baby snails
Mike
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downhill_biker
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Posted: December 02 2009 at 5:22pm |
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I have physically watched mine nassarius make eggs and have seen them grow. Since I never added nassarius under 1/2", and then had a hundred that were 1/4", and then 1/2", then adults, I figured that they made babies. I guess it is isn't very common to see this in captivity, but I am pretty sure that is what I was seeing.
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: December 04 2009 at 2:13am |
An older tank like yours does not need the typical numbers of snails and hermits like a younger tank would.
Snails eat algae as their main food, whereas hermits are omnivores, choosing fish food over algae.
Hermits can smell a dieing snail and will attack it before the hobbyist has even suspected a problem. This is why most of us recommend a reef aquarium have twice as many snails as hermits.
The fact that your reef is underfed is one of the reasons your tank has stayed as stable as it has. But at the same time I would say it could have grown a lot more in the 3 years since I saw it last. To assist it's growth would require more food and more food would grow not only coral and invertebrates but algae as well. If you choose to continue on this path, the increased growth of algae will require more snails, possibly approaching more than one snail per two gallons.
An increase in feeding will not detract from your goal to keep SPS. SPS like the zooplankton that enter the water column at night. A better fed tank produces more zooplankton, such as the larvae of worms and pods.
Hope this helps.  |
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: December 04 2009 at 2:17am |
BTW, Mike's tank actually has a lot of snails 
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jcom
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Posted: December 05 2009 at 2:25am |
Thanks Mark, my hope is that with my new fuge and scrubber, I will be able to feed more and get a few more fish. I think tha part of the youthful look of the tank is because it had a ruthless cyano outbreak that the maintenance crew couldn't kick no matter what they tried (ozone, increased flow, etc). It lasted almost a year and I was pretty down on the whole thing for awhile. Finally, they ended up basically stripping the tank and replacing all of the LR. It was still coming back after that swap out so I finally just left the halides off for almost a month and that seemed to do the trick. Since then it's just been on cruise control in 2nd gear Hopefully I've helped it turn the corner with the latest TLC.
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: January 07 2010 at 2:19pm |
Just a note on this for anyone that has a similar problem as jcom, with Cyanobacteria/Red slime algae (also comes in blue-green, green, maroon and black). Cyano grows much better when the sand is vacumed frequently. The removal of the organic matter and critters from the sand, which may make it look white and attractive to most people, is the cause of a range of problems, such as unwanted algae growth, high Nitrates, coral problems and lack of coral growth. The answer is counter-intuitive.
The answer is to leave the sand alone, for the most part, so that all the myiad benefits of LS can be expressed in the improving health of the reef aquarium. Occassional stirring of the sand can feed the coral and prevent stagnant ares. If extra clean white sand is still desired, the Sand Sifting Cucumber is an excellent addition. It cleans the top layer and leaves the useful bugs alone. Stay away from Sand Sifting Sea Stars because they quickly eat the critters that make sand alive and useful.
Edited by Mark Peterson - January 07 2010 at 2:35pm
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