# which snails



## ninjaturtle (Apr 12, 2011)

just wondering what cuc i should get for my 2 gallon tank.

trochus? cerith? margarita? tectus? west indian star snail?

any help would be appreciated thanks!


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## Will (Jul 24, 2008)

cerith, nerite, stomatella, margarita, dwarf-Nassarius, bumblebees ...

Avoid trochus, Astraea, turbos, they are clumsy and grow large-ish. 

Star Astraeas do eat Hair algae really well, but a snail with all those points is going to get in trouble in a teeny tank.


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## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

How about just get one of each and see what does well in you tank. People have different success with a variety of snails. I've had good results with tectus, cerith and nassarius; I had 2 turbos and they were retarded, always falling upside down and couldn't right themselves.


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## Will (Jul 24, 2008)

50seven said:


> How about just get one of each and see what does well in you tank. People have different success with a variety of snails. I've had good results with tectus, cerith and nassarius; I had 2 turbos and they were retarded, always falling upside down and couldn't right themselves.


The competition between them, could affect the results though right? The winner might not be the ideal snail for the tank, might just be the one that out ate the others.


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## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

Will said:


> The competition between them, could affect the results though right? The winner might not be the ideal snail for the tank, might just be the one that out ate the others.


I really don't know. I never really saw them competing per se with one another, nor with the hermits. I threw in about 15 snails and 15 hermits when I got my tank a year ago, I still have all 4 nassarius, my cerith, and 3 of my tectus, as well as about 75% of my hermits. I have never seen my hermits eat anything that wasn't already on the way out, but i did have about 4-5 tectus snails die for no apparent reason that I know of.


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

Stick to ceriths in a 2-gallon tank - they stay small and do a good job. You shouldn't need more than 1 or 2.


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## ninjaturtle (Apr 12, 2011)

so it seems everyone suggested ceriyh cuz it stays small.

so maybe ill get one or teo cerith depending on how much of an algae bloom ill get aftrr cycling.

i read cerith is mainly for the glass though. should i be worried aboutthe rocks and sand? should i get something for that too?


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## Will (Jul 24, 2008)

Cerith won't ignore the rocks. But some stomatellas would also be helpful.

You probably wont have enough sand for it to become too much of an issue. And you might not even have enough sand to support a nassarius snail without feeding it.


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## ninjaturtle (Apr 12, 2011)

Will said:


> Cerith won't ignore the rocks. But some stomatellas would also be helpful.
> 
> You probably wont have enough sand for it to become too much of an issue. And you might not even have enough sand to support a nassarius snail without feeding it.


you're right, i prob dont have enough sand. i added my rockwork first and the sand was just a filler for the openning, so theres not to much sand.

perhaps ill just try 2 ceriths first and add snails as i see algae problems occur.

would it help though if maybe i got those mini stars that people keep in their refugium? i was at big al's and their chaeto had like no pods or mini stars of any kind there... where would i be able to find some small clippings of chaeto that are critter infested in the markham area? SUM?


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## Will (Jul 24, 2008)

Asternia stars?


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## ninjaturtle (Apr 12, 2011)

Will said:


> Asternia stars?


um.. im not sure what theyre called, n ive never seen it. but for the while that i was reading up on refugiums the words "mini stars" always come up as being the only beneficial star? pls enlighten me


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## ninjaturtle (Apr 12, 2011)

do u guys think its better to have 2 ceriths? or 1 cerith and 1 of someting else for variety since not all snails eat the same things.

my choices now are cerith, margarita, trochus and tectus.

what are their pro and cons?


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## PACMAN (Mar 4, 2010)

In my tank, I have astrea and cerith snails. 29G biocube.

I like the astrea snails b/c they focus on the glass more-so than on the rocks. They are not as clumsy as people make them out to be. I have had my original 5 for about a year now, and i dont think i've ever had to right them. 

Cerith snails are winners because they sift sand, are small, and can right themselves when they fall over.

I did get a couple of trochus, and they are all dead. These guys would be falling left and right. Pretty crappy. Dont recommend at all!

My recommendation would be for cerith and astrea.


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

Avoid astreas and star astreas as they can't flip themselves back over if they fall over - and in a 2g tank, that's a problem.

Trochus are good as they don't get overly large (about 1"), crawl over the glass and rocks, and they can flip themselves over if they need to. Avoid turbos as they get big. Avoid margaritas as they're destined to die as they're temperate snails, not tropical.

Ceriths are good. I don't think you'll need nassarius as you souldn't have extra food to scavenge in a 2g.

I would get 1 - 2 trochus and 2 -3 ceriths. They really don't need much to be happy.


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## ninjaturtle (Apr 12, 2011)

oh i think earlier when i mentioned "mini stars" i meant "mini brittle stars." are these guys useful or bad for the tank?

the last time i started a tank, i kept the lights on during the cycle and got raped by algae.

this time, im cycling without any aquarium light. so hopefully the need for snails will be minimal.

im planning to get the snails from SUM, and these were the snails they offer.

so 1 or 2 ceriths + maybe 1 other snail to compliment whatever im missing.


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

If you're looking for brittle stars and other 'hitch hiker' CUC, someone close to you should be able to give you some. 

If not, I'm sure someone not so local can offer you some for free


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## ninjaturtle (Apr 12, 2011)

but are they beneficial to the system? my worry is that ill wake up one day and find missing bite marks off everything 

i figure with the mini brittle stars, theyll still give my sand some movement without the need of specific snails so i can get snails working on the glass walls.


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

ameekplec. said:


> Avoid margaritas as they're destined to die as they're temperate snails, not tropical.


Agreed. Astrea snails are collected from cooler water as well and have a lifespan of about 1-3 months in our tropical tanks. Most people who have Astrea snails actually have Tectus snails, bought at Big Al's as Astrea snails 



ninjaturtle said:


> but are they beneficial to the system? my worry is that ill wake up one day and find missing bite marks off everything
> 
> i figure with the mini brittle stars, theyll still give my sand some movement without the need of specific snails so i can get snails working on the glass walls.


If you ask anyone in the hobby, you will likely find that you will one day, out of the blue, have some of the small brittle stars.

In my opinion, 99.9% of them are safe and the rest are a pest. As for introducing them, don't bother they don't really have a huge positive impact on the tank.


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## ecoleshill (Jan 22, 2009)

50seven said:


> ... I have never seen my hermits eat anything that wasn't already on the way out...


Lucky....


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## tsam (Feb 13, 2009)

bumblebees are neat looking but i've heard that they will eat feathers dusters


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## Will (Jul 24, 2008)

tsam said:


> bumblebees are neat looking but i've heard that they will eat feathers dusters


Just the tiniest ones maybe. Bbees are like 1cm long shell usually.

They did not touch my ornamental feather dusters, and I did not _perceive _them to have eaten any of the common white species found on LR. If they did, it was the smaller ones that I wasn't even aware of.

They do prey on certain microfauna in the sand and shaded areas of the rocks.


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