Mobile Bay Reef Keepers

My take on Various Snails
This is my take on various snails. I would like to hear other's opinions and experiences too.

Astrea Snail-most common of all saltwater tank snails. They are excellent algae eaters and will forage all over the rock, sand, and glass. These guys fall very easily and can not right themselves up and die easily.

Banded Trochus Snail - Large snails that are excellent algae eaters although are very slow about it. These guys have a hard time picking themselves up as well if stranded in the middle of the sand. Mine seem to prefer rock more than glass.

Bumblebee snails- i have had two sets of these guys and i dont think they are hardy. I dont think they are very good algae eaters, but more of a detritus grazer. I also think these guys can prey on other snails and sand bed critters.

Cerith Snails (Cortez) - Good algae and detritus eaters that forage rock, glass, and sand. Some can pick themselves up and some cant.

Cerith Snails (White)- Good algae and detritus eaters that seem to stay in the sand more than the cortez, but can be found on the rock and glass. Once again, some can pick themselves up and others cant. These guys are good sand bed snails to shift the substrate around.

Conch Snails (Mine-Strombus Alatus) These are probably my second favorite snails. They are all about the sand bed and are very cool to watch. They usually dont get flipped over, but if they do, they can kick around and turn themselves back upright. I think these are very hardy too.

Mexican Turbo Snails - super fast grazer that will knock out some algae in no time. They mostly stay on rocks and glass, but will work the top of the sandbed too. I think these are cold water snails that dont do so well in a reef. I have had a couple of batches of these and only about 30% of them survive a week. But, once they are adjusted... they seem to be very hardy and active.

Nassarius Snails - These guys are my favorite snails... they mostly stay in the sand, but will sometimes make short trips up the glass. They are mainly detritus eaters and do an excellent job cleaning and shifting the sand. I think these are also some of the most hardy snails out there. These guys can flip themselves upright very easily and quickly.

Nerite Snails - Mostly a rock and glass snail that are all about the algae. The dont move very fast but the areas they have been in are clean as a bell. These guys like to crawl outta the water some, but i have never found one that "jumped ship." These are great snails, but also have trouble turning themselves back over. In fact this morning, one of my peppermint shrimp was having a little escargo for breakfast. I am sure the peppermint didnt attack the nerite, just found it laying there helplessly.

Stomatella Snails - my only experience with these was an extended stay at my post office where i believe they suffered enough that they died within hours after i tried to acclimate them. I am hopefull to have a better experience with them soon. They are supposed to reproduce very well.

Strombus Snails (Strombus maculatus (sp?))these are excellent snails that reproduce very well. They seem to be mostly sandbed snails and will occasionally make there way up to about the 1-3 inch line of my rock work. I assume they are mostly detritus eaters.

I may have missed some, but these are all the ones i have had experience with. Just thought i would post this for people wondering about snails.

Anyone else?

nice post Tb...very informative...

Now we need one on hermit crabs

I have to say I have had horrible luck with Nassarius snails, ordered two batches and within 6 months all 100 are gone. I had one surivivor that lasted in the 29 gallon for maybe a year and now he is gone. I think that alot of people add too many snails to the reef tank. If you go by what the stores say for "snail per gallon", i think they die off.

Unless your tank has a a lot of algae, Nassarius Snails, need to be given food. Nori or algae wafers.

Also they are very sensitive to salanity changes.

tbmoore wrote: Astrea Snail-most common of all saltwater tank snails. They are excellent algae eaters and will forage all over the rock, sand, and glass. These guys fall very easily and can not right themselves up and die easily.

I don't like these things at all.....all mine fall over and are then consumed by some fish or crab....

Banded Trochus Snail - Large snails that are excellent algae eaters although are very slow about it. These guys have a hard time picking themselves up as well if stranded in the middle of the sand. Mine seem to prefer rock more than glass.

I don't remember if I have these or not...probably do....I think I have one of everything....they aren't special enough that I pay any attention to them!

Bumblebee snails- i have had two sets of these guys and i dont think they are hardy. I dont think they are very good algae eaters, but more of a detritus grazer. I also think these guys can prey on other snails and sand bed critters.

I don't know about the preying on other snails part, but they are sooooo cute! The yellow stripes make them very difficult to see when they are in the rocks. I see mine more at night than day.

Cerith Snails (Cortez) - Good algae and detritus eaters that forage rock, glass, and sand. Some can pick themselves up and some cant.

Cerith Snails (White)- Good algae and detritus eaters that seem to stay in the sand more than the cortez, but can be found on the rock and glass. Once again, some can pick themselves up and others cant. These guys are good sand bed snails to shift the substrate around.

I have a variety of different types of cerith snails. Some of them are breeding like rabbits in my tank. Ask Mike and Les about the baby snails!

Conch Snails (Mine-Strombus Alatus) These are probably my second favorite snails. They are all about the sand bed and are very cool to watch. They usually dont get flipped over, but if they do, they can kick around and turn themselves back upright. I think these are very hardy too.

My conchs are so way cool and growing really fast. I have seen mine jump from one place to another. They do that sometimes if they get startled.

Mexican Turbo Snails - super fast grazer that will knock out some algae in no time. They mostly stay on rocks and glass, but will work the top of the sandbed too. I think these are cold water snails that dont do so well in a reef. I have had a couple of batches of these and only about 30% of them survive a week. But, once they are adjusted... they seem to be very hardy and active.

I LOVE these snails. They are the Muhamid Ali of algae grazers. Unfortunately they have little finesse as they move accross the rocks. Wait till your acros have encrusted before you introduce them or they will knock them down. I understand that the cold water Mexican Turbos are a different sub-species from the others. I have an entire batch (more than 40) that are still doing beautifully in my main tank after 8 months or so. I lost another ENTIRE batch in my sump. The sump snails came from a different supplier and lasted about 1 month. The only explanation for the losses are that the sump snails like colder water...everything between the tank and sump is the same except lighting.

Nassarius Snails - These guys are my favorite snails... they mostly stay in the sand, but will sometimes make short trips up the glass. They are mainly detritus eaters and do an excellent job cleaning and shifting the sand. I think these are also some of the most hardy snails out there. These guys can flip themselves upright very easily and quickly.

I have lots of these and they do a good job aerating the substrate and eating fish poo....they aren't great algae eaters.

Nerite Snails - Mostly a rock and glass snail that are all about the algae. The dont move very fast but the areas they have been in are clean as a bell. These guys like to crawl outta the water some, but i have never found one that "jumped ship." These are great snails, but also have trouble turning themselves back over. In fact this morning, one of my peppermint shrimp was having a little escargo for breakfast. I am sure the peppermint didnt attack the nerite, just found it laying there helplessly.

I have some of these....they are just part of the population!

Stomatella Snails - my only experience with these was an extended stay at my post office where i believe they suffered enough that they died within hours after i tried to acclimate them. I am hopefull to have a better experience with them soon. They are supposed to reproduce very well.

What are these... I would love to have a description of them!

Strombus Snails (Strombus maculatus (sp?))these are excellent snails that reproduce very well. They seem to be mostly sandbed snails and will occasionally make there way up to about the 1-3 inch line of my rock work. I assume they are mostly detritus eaters.

I think these are probably the longest lived snails I have. I have had some for nearly 2-3 years.

This was excellent.....see if you can find some decent pictures out there....

Thanks,

Elizabeth