Rimless Snails?

[Chuck Lawson]

So I'm back to reef tanks after taking a few years off to do planted FW. It's been fun to catch up on what's new and different after four years or so away, but I keep finding new surprises in places I wasn't expecting

This week's surprise has been cerith snails & dwarf ceriths and rimless tanks -- I'd had occasional escapees on conventional tanks before, but on my Red Sea Reefer 450, they're getting out at an amazing pace -- I end up having to toss anywhere from one to a half dozen back into the tank most every day.

Obviously, this is going to be a losing battle, so I'm wondering what snails everyone is having success with on rimless tanks. My gotos used to be astreas and trochus, plus the occasional turbo, but I've not found good sources for any of those in quantity (I'd rather find a good deal on a package of them then the $2 -$3 per each I've seen at a couple of places). I do have some nassarius working in the sand bed, but I need some good general algae handlers (this week, I could use some that really like diatoms, but that should be a short-lived issue).

 

[Bret Brinkmann]

It surprises me that a lfs wouldn't give you a deal if you are buying in bulk. I have a rimmed tank and currently am having similar issues with my new limpets. They climb past the rim and hang upside down on the glass under the light until I put them back in or they dry out or climb out completely. My astrea, ceriths, and dwarf ceriths don't go past the rim.

I heard about mesh screen covers that BRS sells. They have adaptors for rimless tanks. Not sure if this is a route you would be interested in but thought I would mention it.