Astrea vs Margarita vs Nerite Snails... which is better?

[new reefer 03]

ok, well i am putting an order in at bluezoo, and they are out of the snail i really wanted the nerites. the seem like all 3 of these do the same thing, but the nerites lay eggs. which one is better long term? the rush is there is an awesome coral that they rarely get in that i want in my tank. lol

 

[Dentoid]

I would say go with Astrea and Nerite, heavier on the Astrea 2:1. Stay away from the Margarita snails as they are a cold water species and will not do well long term in tropical conditions.

I once bought 10 Margarita snails and over the course of about 3 months they all crawled out of the tank, dried-up and died. Not only that, they tend to fall on their backs a lot and can not right themselves, making them prime targets for predation.

I saw my LFS selling Margarita snails as Black Astreas. What a crock! Don't fall into that one!

 

[new reefer 03]

they dont have nerite in stock right now, and my coral is rarely there. do you think astreas would be okay? i would love the nerites to lay eggs and all, but this is a killer coral

 

[Dentoid]

All Astreas are fine! When starting up my tank the CUC consisted of 45 Astreas.

Get as many Astreas as you need then get other species of snails at another time.

 

[new reefer 03]

alright cool. thank dentoid ! no more LFS purchasses for a long time now lol