drfu Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Hi Fellow Reefers, Newbie on saltwater here, have a few FW, and have a couple of questions about snails. 1st and simple: Nassarius, since I just cycled my IM Nuvo 8 I have added a clean up crew of the following; 5 Ceriths, 1 Trochus, 4 Nassarius. My question is since it’s a newly cycled tank with no fish or coral in if as of yet, do any of these critters need any supplemental food as of yet? My Trochus has mowed down all of the green algae on the rock and I cleaned the glass when I did my 1st 50% water change before adding my CUC. 2nd and more confusing: My LFS told me that Nerites are brackish snails even though they keep them in FW, how do I acclimate these? My plan is to keep two in my tank and one in the back water column of my AIO tank. 3rd and last question is for advice, are these enough snails for an 8 gallon, and is this too many? Going back to my first question, should I feed these guys before they starve as I don’t need a crash on a new tank set up already! Thanks in advance! Link to comment
Chadf Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Since you used live rock they should be fine on food. Looks like a decent stock for your tank as well. Link to comment
Nocturnal Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 I would guess to acclimate them to have the salinity increase over a few days. That may not even be necessary based on how they live in the wild but I don't have any direct experience. Link to comment
drfu Posted January 5, 2014 Author Share Posted January 5, 2014 Update, So i kept the bag in my tank for 18 hours, did a drip every 3 seconds and out of three, only 1 survived the process. I am going to find a LFS that keeps Nerites in SW as i'm sure i need them for my tank and back area to keep algae in check. Thanks for the insight. Link to comment
Chadf Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Update, So i kept the bag in my tank for 18 hours, did a drip every 3 seconds and out of three, only 1 survived the process. I am going to find a LFS that keeps Nerites in SW as i'm sure i need them for my tank and back area to keep algae in check. Thanks for the insight. Forget about the nerites, they aren't good for much anyway. Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 My Nerites all ran away. They keep hiding behind my book cupboard rather than mowing down algae. So Chad's right - there's no use in hiring those lazy bums as part of your CUC. They're useless. Link to comment
Nocturnal Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 I like them personally. Nice looking shells and interesting behavior. It is crazy how at first they will try and leave the tank but after a couple carpet sessions they learn where not to go. They are mostly nocturnal also so keep in mind that they are the night shift Turbos work harder but are ugly as sin. BTW $50 bucks at reef cleaners gives you free shipping for several snail species. I find that LFS are a pain to get a solid CUC from. Link to comment
ndrobey Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Turbos look much better if you take a ScotchBrite pad and scrub the shell to remove the outer dingy layer. Link to comment
drfu Posted January 6, 2014 Author Share Posted January 6, 2014 I like them personally. Nice looking shells and interesting behavior. It is crazy how at first they will try and leave the tank but after a couple carpet sessions they learn where not to go. They are mostly nocturnal also so keep in mind that they are the night shift Turbos work harder but are ugly as sin. BTW $50 bucks at reef cleaners gives you free shipping for several snail species. I find that LFS are a pain to get a solid CUC from. great advice, thanks to all of you. Since im up in the Great White North, none of these sites deliver to Canada, too bad! Link to comment
Nocturnal Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Turbos look much better if you take a ScotchBrite pad and scrub the shell to remove the outer dingy layer. I think most of it is how big some are. Just way too much snail goo slithering around. I did get a couple of banded Trochus the other day. One of them is actually quite pretty. Link to comment
drfu Posted January 14, 2014 Author Share Posted January 14, 2014 I agree about thr trocus, i have 1 banded one, purple & white, looks like my rockwork & a great eater! Added a couple of bumble bees, don't see them much! Link to comment
printerdown01 Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 The Nass snails will need a bit of feeding. Not a ton just a bit of meat to hunt down a couple of times a week. Get nerites, but not fresh water ones! And also avoid margarita snails. I don't know why these are both so common in the hobby. FW nerites will not handle ful blown salt well forever and margaritas do not tolerate our high tank temps for long either. Ceriths, dwarf ceriths, spiny astreas, and nerites all make great additions. The key is not finding an amazing cleaning snail it is finding a diverse crew. Link to comment
drfu Posted February 8, 2014 Author Share Posted February 8, 2014 Ya the nerites didn't last in full sw, i underfeed my clowns i got to keep my water chem good but I'm sure they find something to feed on as my Kooky clowns are fussy eaters, only seem to like brine shrimp! Mysis are too big for them & they wont touch flakes so far The Nass snails will need a bit of feeding. Not a ton just a bit of meat to hunt down a couple of times a week. Get nerites, but not fresh water ones! And also avoid margarita snails. I don't know why these are both so common in the hobby. FW nerites will not handle ful blown salt well forever and margaritas do not tolerate our high tank temps for long either. Ceriths, dwarf ceriths, spiny astreas, and nerites all make great additions. The key is not finding an amazing cleaning snail it is finding a diverse crew. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.