If you want to go with snails these are some of the best.
Astrea Snail (astrea sp.)
Astrea snails are a good all around cleaner with large appetites. They prefer hair algae, but also consume green film, diatoms, and Cyano. They won’t eat long strings or big tufts of hair algae, but if you cut it back to a “lawn” on live rock they will voraciously eat it. These guys require extra time in acclimation. However once acclimated, they can tolerate higher water temperatures than most snails. Astreas are good all around herbivores and are a good addition to any tank, especially those that suffer from hair algae outbreaks. If they fall off the glass or live rock into the sand they cannot right themselves and will eventually die. Their soft underparts will also get picked at by hermit crabs and fish furthering their demise. For this reason, buy larger Astreas so they won’t fall into small crevices. Keep an eye on them. If they fall, be ready to move them from the sand bed to a place on your rock.
Cerith Snail (Cerithium sp.)
Despite not being very popular, The Cerith snail is a great all around snail because it will feed on so many things. It is an omnivore so it will eat detritus, uneaten fish food, film algae, diatoms, hair algae and Cyano. It is also an excellent sand sifter as it will bury itself in the sand. They can grow to about 2-3 inches but they are very slow growers. They will lay eggs but reproduction in aquariums seem to be limited. Most aquarists don’t like them because they don’t appear very active. They are in fact true nocturnal creatures and will do all their work at night. These snails are perfect for established tanks to handle routine cleaning, and for new setups to keep various algae issues in check.
Margarita Snail (Margarites sp.)
Margarita snails are the best hair algae eaters. They have big appetites and can really clean up a tank fast. While they will also go after film algae, they prefer hair algae and will often starve if not enough is present. This is one snail I would not buy in large quantities because they will run out of food quickly. They tend to move up the glass often staying half-in / half-out of the water. They do not like warm temperatures. 76F is their max temperature for long term survival.
Nassarius Snail (Nassarius sp.)
Nassarius snails won’t eat any algae- they are carnivores. They need fine sand and will bury themselves and move around keeping your sand bed clean. They will eat detritus and uneated food. Unlike the Bumble Bee snail, they don’t appear to eat the microfauna in the sand bed. They are small in size and can get into live rock crevices and keep it clean.
Nerite Snail (Nerita sp.)
There are actually more species of Nerites that live in freshwater than salt. Nerites are the diatom eaters. They also consume film, hair, and Cyano. They are small in size (maximum size is 1 inch) so they can get into hard to reach places. However, being small they do not consume algae as fast as other snails. Of all the snails listed here, they are the most long lived and will survive 3-5 years under good conditions. When stocked together with the Cerith, they make a great team in controlling algae in established tanks.
Trochus Snails (Trochus sp.)
Trochus snails are large in size and big eaters. They are big on film and diatoms, but do not readily eat hair algae. They seem to be short-lived, but do spawn every few weeks in most aquariums. If your corals or rock work is not secured, they will act as a bulldozer and knock things down. Because of their size, do not overstock these as film and diatom algae may be in short supply down the road.
Turbo Snails (Turbo sp.)
Turbos are large snails that eat massive amounts of algae. They prefer film algae, but will eat all forms of algae including macro algae. Due to their size and weight they can knock over a significant piece of live rock or larger corals with ease. Avoid the “Mexican Turbo” variety as they are subtropical and won’t live very long in most reef tanks. It is important to watch for dead or dying Turbos as their large size can pollute a tank quickly. They eat so much algae so quickly, that I wouldn’t go with more than 1 per 25 lbs. of live rock. If you have any specialty macro algae, these guys will eat it.
Though they are my favorite snail I would hold off on the Nassarius until your tank is well established.
So what’s the best snail?
It really depends on what your major concern is:
Problem Best Snails
Film Algae Trochus, Nerite
Diatoms Nerite, Trochus
Hair Algae Margarita, Astrea
Cyano Turbo, Astrea
Detritus Nassarius, Cerith
Macro Algae Turbo, Trochus
Here’s a nice summary to use in choosing the snails for your tank:
Snail Film Diatom Macro Cyano Hair Detritus Right Themselves
Abalone x x No
Astrea x x x x No
Bumble Bee x Yes
Cerith x x x x x x Yes
Cowrie x No
Margarita x x x Yes
Nassarius x Yes
Nerite x x Yes
Trochus x x x x Yes
Turbo x x x Yes
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