clean up crew for algea

addicted

addicted

Member
I have added a new light to my 10 gallon tank and I'm guessing since it's so much better and brighter it has grown a huge amount of brown algea on the rocks and glass.

I went to the LFS and asked for turbo snails or any algea cleaning animals and they sold me Nassarius Snails. Now I'm reading the Nassarius Snails don't really clean the algea and just sift the sand. I am scraping the algea off the glass but what do I do about it on the rocks? What should I get?

There are 2 LFS I can go with but both seem to only have the Nassarius Snails that they try to sell you as algea cleaning snails. Will they clean my algea eventually?
 
addicted

addicted

Member
stupid LFS! The only other thing I could find was something called an algea eating shrimp but I didn't see any in the tanks. They were like $10 too so I couldn't get those today anyways. The stores though look at me like I'm crazy when I ask for turbo snails and say they never heard of them:bugout: .

I guess I'll have to order something online if I want any algea eaters.
 
framerguy

framerguy

Well-Known Member
No, they eat left over food stuff. Not even detritus really. Ciriths feed on detritus and algae, and they plow the substrate, Wholly herbivorous animals include Astrea snails, Turbo snails, Trochus (turban) snails, Tectus (also pyramids), and sea hares ( I really love these guys). Stay away from margarita snails as they aren't long lived in typical reef aquarium temperatures and will slowly "cook", but they are herbivors. HTH
 
prow

prow

Well-Known Member
man, i am geussing those LFS are no where near a ocean. well at least you know not to listen to them, so you will not get screwed. LFS like that really suck. just think how many tanks they distroyed if they dont know the dif between a carnivore and a herbivore:smck: .
 
prow

prow

Well-Known Member
i like cerith, trochus, nerite, turbos and conch snails. a good mix of various herbivore snails is what you want. each likes different types algea.
 
Rcpilot

Rcpilot

Has been struck by the ban stick
Read this article about snails. The biggest point of this article--to me anyway--is that they need a LONG acclimation period.

I constantly hear reefers complaining about snails that only live a few days or a few weeks. When asked if they acclimated the snails, the typical response is, "No, I just tossed them in the tank." :smck:

They are soft tissue animals. Water (saltwater) pulses in and out of their cell membranes constantly. They have blood and kidneys and a heart--everything we humans have. But the problem with their physiology is they they can't handle sudden changes in water quality or SALINITY. It causes their blood vessels to burst. Causes their kidneys to fail. Dead snail in short order.

The Grazing Snails, Part I - Turbo, Trochus, Astraea, and Kin by Ronald L. Shimek, Ph.D. - Reefkeeping.com

Here is a paragraph from the article:

Acclimation Problems, Or Why Do They Die?

The complexity of internal anatomy in snails is one major reason why some of the Trochoideans seem to die easily, or otherwise not live through their full life spans in our tanks. Although most folks probably never give it a second thought, snails have a complex internal morphology. In many ways, the internal structures that the snails possess have allowed them to be very successful. It is not, however, a particularly "rugged" morphology when subjected to some specific stresses. Snail tissues often seem to be composed of thin layers of tissue that are very filmy and diaphanous. Consequently, they often suffer significant damage during water changes or during transport from a dealer's to an aquarist's tank. The circulatory system of snails may be very complex (Figure 5), and many of its vessels and channels can rupture under stresses caused by changes in salinity. The vessels in the kidney are numerous and delicate, and may rupture if the animal is not slowly acclimated when being moved from one set of water conditions to another. If the acclimation is too fast, the animal will die in a few minutes to a few weeks. If the snails are drip acclimated, the acclimation time may need to be on the order of five to ten hours for maximal survival.

I personally have 3 Margarite snails in my reef tank. They have been in there almost 3 months. I keep my temps around 78--80F. That would normally be considered "cooking" temps for a Margarite snail. I truly believe that since I spent 5+hrs acclimating them--it gave them a better chance at survival than if I had just spent 20 minutes and then chucked them into the tank.
 
addicted

addicted

Member
well I will definetely have to order online there are only a few LFS around and all of them have the same livestock. I asked about special ordering and they won't even do that for me :(!

The snails are doing ok though. I noticed they aren't burrowing in the sand though and are always out doing something. I tried to acclimate but they climbed out of the bag and basically fell into the tank themselves halfway through the acclimation process (they climbed right out of the bag).
 
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