Whats a good cleaning snail to get?

[hawk82]

Whats a good snail that will clean on the rocks. Ive tried astraea but they cant flip themselves and always end up getting eating by my wrasse, and I tried nerite but I always find them under the stand and on the floor where they have crawled out. Whats a good snail that will stay put and will clean the rocks? Ive got two zebra turbo snails, but they always just stay on the glass. And a tiger conch that stays in the sand.

 

[JoJosReef]

Whats a good snail that will clean on the rocks. Ive tried astraea but they cant flip themselves and always end up getting eating by my wrasse, and I tried nerite but I always find them under the stand and on the floor where they have crawled out. Whats a good snail that will stay put and will clean the rocks? Ive got two zebra turbo snails, but they always just stay on the glass. And a tiger conch that stays in the sand.

Could try trochus. I'd have a look at what ReefCleaners has and see if there's a good mix of snails that do well on rocks. My mix of ceriths spend a surprising amount of time on the rocks.

 

[flyingscampi]

Trochus can right itself, fend off hermits by spinning its shell, and is happy on any surface in the aquarium. It won't climb out either.

 

[MD51]

Was going to say Zebra’s but see that you mentioned em already. Mine clean everything - my absolute fav.

 

[IKD]

Trochus can right itself, fend off hermits by spinning its shell, and is happy on any surface in the aquarium. It won't climb out either.

And they readily breed. I haven’t re-stocked since the start and have several generations of them after 1.5 years

 

[Lyss]

Trochus and Ceriths are my faves. The Ceriths go on the rocks, glass, and bury in the substrate — they do it all. Trochus are workhorses all over the rocks and glass.

 

[Ricox]

Trochus and Ceriths are my faves. The Ceriths go on the rocks, glass, and bury in the substrate — they do it all. Trochus are workhorses all over the rocks and glass.

Yes, definitely go for some trochus. Great work snails!

 

[Doctorgori]

the different types definitely have preferences: by “cleaning” do you mean just surface algae or detritus or uneaten food?
narcissus & babylons are more for non algae/cleanup use
nerites are ok but can climb out, and IMO aren’t the hardest workers
big turbos have some flexibility in diet, the can eat certain macros but I haven’t seen any touch caulerpra, or some of the harder glass clinging algae
ceriths are good but can become hermit homes
trochus are the best all around IMO

I’d avoid the type that can’t flip over, name escapes me as I simply never buy them

 

[LeftyReefer]

My big turbo snails go on my rocks all the time, not sure why your's don't....

astrea snails and ceriths also hang out on my rocks cleaning them.

my banded trochus snails hang out on rocks too, but they sleep all day in caves and only come out an night.

but in my opinion, the best rock cleaner of them all is an urchin.

A small tux urchin can do wonders.

 

[SlugSnorter]

Whats a good snail that will clean on the rocks. Ive tried astraea but they cant flip themselves and always end up getting eating by my wrasse, and I tried nerite but I always find them under the stand and on the floor where they have crawled out. Whats a good snail that will stay put and will clean the rocks? Ive got two zebra turbo snails, but they always just stay on the glass. And a tiger conch that stays in the sand.

if your wrasse is a snail eater then its hard to say. Florida Ceriths might be good

 

[The_Skrimp]

Trochus have a strong enough foot that my mellenurus wrasse can’t flip them. They tend to last longer than other snails in my tank too. Another option is an urchin. Way better at eating algae and wrasses generally won’t mess with them.

 

[SlugSnorter]

Trochus have a strong enough foot that my mellenurus wrasse can’t flip them. They tend to last longer than other snails in my tank too. Another option is an urchin. Way better at eating algae and wrasses generally won’t mess with them.

Florida ceriths are great, their shape makes em hard to attack, and they also are hidden during the day

 

[SlugSnorter]

Chitons will eat down to the rock, but cannot be flipped and are super strong

 

[Labridaedicted]

Florida ceriths are one of my go to algae snails and they can flip themselves as well as get into smaller crevices since they're not as bulky as astreas and turbos.

 

[SlugSnorter]

Florida ceriths are one of my go to algae snails and they can flip themselves as well as get into smaller crevices since they're not as bulky as astreas and turbos.

also they are like tanks, and can pull themselves away from their openings.

 

[blaxsun]

Ring cowries are great for rocks.

 

[jkcoral]

+1 for trochus snails. They are a great “multipurpose” cleaner.

Dwarf ceriths are also awesome. They are smaller and really good at getting into crevices that other snails can’t.

Outside of snails, my tuxedo urchin is hands down the best cleaner in the tank. There isn’t another clean up crew member I’ve had that cleans as thoroughly as this little urchin.

And yes, trochus snails reproduce! I started with 5 or 6, and they recently deployed reinforcements. Sorry for the bad picture, they are tiny and hard to photograph.