Snails in the fuge

Aquaman_79 · Apr 11, 2022

Got a question and im not sure if it has been addressed here before, So I threw in some snails in my fuge and its been super clean since and was wondering would they eat my Chaeto as well since it too is considered an algae? Thanks in advance!

Lavey29 · Apr 11, 2022

Aquaman_79 said:
Got a question and im not sure if it has been addressed here before, So I threw in some snails in my fuge and its been super clean since and was wondering would they eat my Chaeto as well since it too is considered an algae? Thanks in advance!

Mine mainly stay on the glass but occasionally crawl across the chaeto too.

Aquaman_79 · Apr 11, 2022

Lavey29 said:
Mine mainly stay on the glass but occasionally crawl across the chaeto too.

ok but but does that mean they eat Chaeto too???

mindme · Apr 11, 2022

Do you worry about them getting in your pumps? I don't have any snails in my fuge for that reason, but it sure would be nice to have them.

I'm pretty sure your chaeto is safe.

Lavey29 · Apr 11, 2022

Aquaman_79 said:
ok but but does that mean they eat Chaeto too???

Can't really tell because chaeto grows so big but if they do it is just helping the monthly prune back anyway.

Spare time · Apr 11, 2022

Aquaman_79 said:
Got a question and im not sure if it has been addressed here before, So I threw in some snails in my fuge and its been super clean since and was wondering would they eat my Chaeto as well since it too is considered an algae? Thanks in advance!

Mine ignore the macroalgae as far as I can tell. I don't think their mouths are very well equipped to eat it. The only downside is the tremendous amount of snail poo in the sump lol

Aquaman_79 · Apr 11, 2022

mindme said:
Do you worry about them getting in your pumps? I don't have any snails in my fuge for that reason, but it sure would be nice to have them.

I'm pretty sure your chaeto is safe.

nah as mine is a HOB type fuge.

Pedal Dangit · Sep 11, 2022

I just thought I would bring this back up as I was wondering how many people keep snails in the refugium to trim down the macro algae. I have a snail that eats chaeto like a hungry cow at the pasture. I used to have to trim this 20G tall cube of chaeto down every few months, but now the snail is balancing out the growth rate.

https://youtube.com/shorts/IwZ_3cf8gGM?feature=share