snails and their reef importance.

[cilyjr]

so driving home from the store with yet another bag of snails for my reef i started debating in my mind the true benefit of having a snail population in my tank. i am mostly talking about the margertia and astria snails that should be keeping algea off the glass and rock work. i get how nassarius help by grabbing the junk out of the sand. in a pond in order to see any algae control you need thousands (depending on your pond size) at least hundreds. so in my 180 reef i have put in even put in 80 at once one time. anyway i am having a hard time justifying seeing the real benefit...../discuss :wink:

 

[harlequinreefer]

Snails benefit the reef aquarium by keeping the algae under control. Different types of algae can quickly take over an aquarium if left unchecked. Algae can smother rock, coraline algae, corals, powerheads, and overflow intakes. Having a wide variety of snails is a good rule of thumb. You're still going to get algae on the glass and different algae types on the rock, so don't expect the snails to do all the work. Tangs do a really good job on algae also, bristletooth types especially. I'm not to crazy about adding too many hermits, they can be very aggressive and eat the snails for their shells.

 

[rocko918]

i have a 210 mixed reef with about 4 snails in it. I dont think they are needed. I also have about 6 red scarlet crabs. thats it for my clean up crew. you dont NEED them. IMHO

 

[cilyjr]

Thanks for The responses. I should state that I have successfully kept a tank for over 6 years and I know why people say we should have the various algae grazing snails. I am more curious as to what people have seen.

 

[cilyjr]

My experience has been more along the lines of rocko. As my snails die back and I am left with 20 or 30 I don't see any difference in overall tank conditions

 

[harlequinreefer]

"seasoned" tanks are less susceptible to algae outbreaks of course. Everyone's setup is different. With my setup, I have a super heavy load with very heavy filtration and I do get your average algae. I just prefer a very immaculate look.

 

[cilyjr]

So you see a definite difference. I assume this is more film algae. I am a firm believer in having many hermit crab. I prefer having a million of he smaller ones rather then a few larger crabs

 

[SunnyX]

I have never had more than a couple snails in my systems, and all of my reef tanks have had success. I have one right now in my display tank. When adding a clean up crew you are treating the symptoms and not the cause of the issue. Reefers would be better served by concentrating on water quality instead of adding a clean up crew. Besides, in a larger system I have found that Tangs do a great job in keeping the rocks clean.

Just my thoughts on the matter.

Thanks,

Sonny

 

[harlequinreefer]

Yes I see a difference. I have a ton of fish, particularly anthias which I have to feed heavy twice a day. Even though I have a monster skimmer, carbon reactor, phos reactor, & huge refugium I still get algae film once in awhile in the main display. I do have a lot tangs which help out huge too. Everyone's system is different, I'm just sharing my opinions. My system is a little different, I have a ton of fish with strictly Acros.