Does this sound right for a CUC? Options

[thirdchild]

So from what I've read sounds like 1 snail/1g or 1 snail/2-3g is best. And hermits crabs can be troublemakers so I ought to wait and see if I need them.

The recommendation I got was:
20 Dwarf Ceriths, 17 Nassarius, 9 Florida Ceriths, 6 Nerites

Which is like 52 total or 3 snails/gallon

Would this be right for a 24g nanocube?
Is it safe to add all 52 at once?

In the end, I'm planning for about 4 fish and 3 sexy shrimp.

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Hmm according to the big faq, the 1snail/gallon rule is dumb. hmm.

This post has been edited by thirdchild: Nov 3 2009, 02:47 PM

[streetsong]

Yea, I think 52 snails is too many. Remember, you don't want to have to feed your clean-up crew because there is no algae or detritus for them. I would cut it down to 10-15 max. (unless you really love snails).

[LogansRunRx]

i agree...
that sounds a bit heavy for a 14g.

i've got a BC29 with very little bio load right now.
i've got 1norrisia (mex red foot), 4 trochus (red band), 2 nas, 1 conch, and 2 scarlet reef hermits.
i only have to mag float about once a week.
my sand bed is clean.
and their's no detritus on the rocks.

once the bio load goes up (more fish, more coral, more feeding)... i imagine i'll have to scale up.

[mikedege]

It may be fine if you lose about 3/4 of the nassarius snails. IMO, theyre kinda useless to have more than 1 per 5gallons of those. And actually in my Solana, I use 1 small tiger conch, and he is way better than a bunch of nassarius, imo... Its always beetter to start with less, and add, than to have too many!

good luck, Mike

[cptbjorn]

Sounds good to me, that's a lot of nassarius which don't eat algae so make sure some food gets past your fish. Also if this is from reefcleaners you'll be getting like 100 of the dwarf ceriths, don't worry they are tiny. I have like 25 dwarf ceriths in each of my 3g picos, they barely eat anything and when they all spread out it doesn't seem like too many.

[lakshwadeep]

You don't have to get what's recommended. Start off small, and add more if you feel what you have aren't doing enough.

[johnmaloney]

how many fish are you planning? 5 or more? or some medium ones?

[thirdchild]

how many fish are you planning? 5 or more? or some medium ones?

4 medium ones, like clownfish for example. Maybe I filled out the form wrong?

Thanks folks. Yeah, maybe the best idea is to split the planned crew into 2 groups and add the 2nd group when I actually have fish.

I *think* i have a lot of algae but maybe it's the normal amount for a new tank.

This post has been edited by thirdchild: Nov 3 2009, 08:12 PM

[nor_cal_nano]

Sounds okay to me minus about 1/2 the nass, but I'm no expert.

The dwarf ceriths are TINY so don't take them into account TOO much.

This post has been edited by nor_cal_nano: Nov 3 2009, 08:28 PM

[johnmaloney]

with four 4-6inch fish that would probably be the crew you would want to end up with, (adult clowns?) the nassarius are based solely on the fish count, pure scavengers. Dwarf ceriths are tiny, 20 of them is about the size of a turbo snail. so think of it as 1 turbo and 15 medium snails for algae, and the scavenger crew. It is a .75 medium sized snail per gallon about, with a scavenger crew based on bioload. Start with less, wait on the scavenger portion until the fish come in and go from there.

This post has been edited by johnmaloney: Nov 3 2009, 08:31 PM

[ajmckay]

+1 to john & others

Don't add too many right away or you'll end up with a starving CUC. Especially the scavenging snails like your nassarius. Actually if there's not enough food the nassarius snails could become fairly predatory. I had 2 of them gang up on my peppermint shrimp. I like having 2 in my 29g.

[thirdchild]

Ah this makes more sense now. So the timeline I'm looking at ought is like..

Cycle finishes / Water Change
+16 dwarf ceriths, 4 dwarf planaxis, 3 florida ceriths, 3 nerites, 1 chiton
+1 YWG or Jawfish, <time passes>
+1 fish, 3 cerith, 1 nerite <time passes>
+2 clownfish <time passes>
+coral/shrimp <time passes>

Then nassarius/cerith/nerite snails as the fish grow and poo more :-)

[ajmckay]

thirdchild,

In my opinion you're off to a great start with that stocking plan. The only thing I would change is to add some good glass cleaning snails. Some Astrea and maybe a turbo snail would also be good to add. They get quite a bit bigger so they'll take on the stuff that the small ceriths would probably avoid.

Good luck and take your time.

This post has been edited by ajmckay: Nov 3 2009, 11:10 PM

[thirdchild]

Thanks for all the support. Haha, part of the fun of having a tank is talking about it :-)

I do find the feedback in this forum really helpful in understanding what's going on in the tank.

[johnmaloney]

if you decide to get a turbo, just make sure to glue all the rocks and frags down tightly as they can be bulldozers. you can supplement their feeding with soft algae. Ulva, gracilaria is a good choice. They have narrow diets and are likely to starve in a nano after some time, unless it is pretty dirty. The astreas do a good job on the glass, you would want to sub them for one smaller nerite. They have to be righted though when they flip over, as they cannot right themselves in aquaria, they need true wave action.

[nor_cal_nano]

Turbos and astreas are annoying IMO. I was happy when my last astrea died... I was getting really sick of flipping those little bastards over.

[thirdchild]

if you decide to get a turbo, just make sure to glue all the rocks and frags down tightly as they can be bulldozers. you can supplement their feeding with soft algae. Ulva, gracilaria is a good choice. They have narrow diets and are likely to starve in a nano after some time, unless it is pretty dirty. The astreas do a good job on the glass, you would want to sub them for one smaller nerite. They have to be righted though when they flip over, as they cannot right themselves in aquaria, they need true wave action.

By the way, thanks for all the explanations, and I'm amazed you work so late!

I think you should add that note about the 20 dwarfs equaling a turbo snail to your site. As a newbie, I see more notes about turbo snails than the dwarf cerith snails.

I'll have decide if I need to swap in astreas in the second round. My live rocks are pretty vertical so they might have a tough time in my tank.

[ajmckay]

Yeah astreas can be kind of annoying... I probably have one die every few months or so from flipping over. I have a dowel sitting under my tank so I can right them if I see one flipped.
Also, +1 to what John said about turbos. In my opinion they're awesome snails (because they can go after the bigger stuff), but due to their size (well, you buy them small, but they'll get pretty big eventually) they knock stuff over sometimes. I have an urchin as well, so I make sure to stick my rocks together well anyways.

[mikedege]

Turbos and astreas are annoying IMO. I was happy when my last astrea died... I was getting really sick of flipping those little bastards over.

haha, Ya I prefer the Margaritas for that reason, and also because Bulldozers, errr, ummm, i mean turbo knock too much stuff over, even if its glued down! lol...

best mix imo, for your tank is....

10 Margaritas
15 Cerith(not dwarfs)
3 Scarlet reef hermits(only hermits I will use)
1 Tiger Conch.


add more as needed.... (if needed)

with good tank maintenance, you shouldn't need more.

-Mike

[ajmckay]

haha, Ya I prefer the Margaritas for that reason, and also because Bulldozers, errr, ummm, i mean turbo knock too much stuff over, even if its glued down! lol...

Except Margarita's don't typically do well in tropical temperatures. They're more of a temperate snail and do best in a tank in the low 70's. A lot of our tropical tanks are steadily over 80. I bought 2 before I realized this (even picking out a CUC for a saltwater tank isn't so simple!) and they lived for probably 4 months or so and died.