What do they mean by 10 inverts per gallon?

[yoki32]

Hey guys,

I was reading that you should get like 10 snails per gallon? Is that the species of snails or any kind of snails? Also, BRS suggest 1 invert per 10 gallon. I'm confused need some clarification here.

Thanks

[fairl80z]

I always do 1 snail per gallon And 1 hermit crab per 5 gallons .

[shermanator]

No matter what 10/gal is referring to, it's crazy talk (but I assume it's a mix of snails). BRS is closer to being correct, but it depends on what kind of system you are running.

For example, if you are running a ULNS then even 1 turbo per 10 gal is too many.

If you want to specifically feed your clean up crew and don't care about nitrates and phosphates, the more the merrier.

Per 100 gal, I usually do something like 2-3 turbo snails, 6-10 nassarius and that is it for snails. I like to watch shrimp, so I add a couple per 100g. That's what I do, opinions will vary. But I don't want to be feeding my CUC...

[kcinnick]

I do some cerith and astrea snails. No mexican turbo's. I also do some Scarlet reef hermits.

I might put 20 astrea, 20 cerinth and 6 hermits in my 315. If I make a Caribbean order, Ill grab some nassarius snails. I will grab some fancy snails for my kids to look at. No reason to put them in until after the tank is cycled, unless you like killing CUC members. The Cerith, astrea and nassarius all perform different functions with little overlap. Scarlet reef hermits are the only crab I trust.

[A.Astore]

Originally Posted by kcinnick

I do some cerith and astrea snails. No mexican turbo's. I also do some Scarlet reef hermits.

I might put 20 astrea, 20 cerinth and 6 hermits in my 315. If I make a Caribbean order, Ill grab some nassarius snails. I will grab some fancy snails for my kids to look at. No reason to put them in until after the tank is cycled, unless you like killing CUC members. The Cerith, astrea and nassarius all perform different functions with little overlap. Scarlet reef hermits are the only crab I trust.

Yep, those three snails do a great job when all placed in a tank!

I am thinking the person that wrote you need 10 snails per gallon of water in the system had stock in a company that sold snails because that is crazy talk! I am much in line with the above because I placed 10 total snails and about 9 hermits in my 150 gallon tank. I also have an urchin thanks to one of my kiddos. That being said, you will not have enough food in your system initially to support a full clean up crew and would suggest you start small and add as needed and as food becomes available.

The more I think about 10 snails per gallon, that would be 1500 SNAILS in my tank... there would be no fish! Even BRS suggestion of one per gallon is high and for some reason I was thinking they suggested 1 per 10 gallon. I might be completely wrong there but at some point I remember thinking they were really close to what I was putting in. Even 150 snails in my tank would result in a lot of death. I would start with a minimal amount, much closer to a snail per 10 gallon and still expect to monitor available food amount in case you need to supplement. Obviously, all of this after the cycle is complete.

[Dkuhlmann]

Originally Posted by kcinnick

I do some cerith and astrea snails. No mexican turbo's. I also do some Scarlet reef hermits.

I might put 20 astrea, 20 cerinth and 6 hermits in my 315. If I make a Caribbean order, Ill grab some nassarius snails. I will grab some fancy snails for my kids to look at. No reason to put them in until after the tank is cycled, unless you like killing CUC members. The Cerith, astrea and nassarius all perform different functions with little overlap. Scarlet reef hermits are the only crab I trust.

I also agree 100% with you... Especially on the scarlet hermits. But I do like to have one Mexican turbo snail per 20 gals, they are wonderful cleaners however they do have the tendency of knocking over frags.

[HammerLover]

My cuc before were one hermit, and 5 snails. Other inverts is a pistol although I don't think it does cleaning, but it keeps my sand free from detritus.

[kcinnick]

Originally Posted by Dkuhlmann

I also agree 100% with you... Especially on the scarlet hermits. But I do like to have one Mexican turbo snail per 20 gals, they are wonderful cleaners however they do have the tendency of knocking over frags.

My corals come before my snails.

.

[pyithar]

in my 150g tank, i have only two cucumbers for cleaning the sandbed. i didn't add any snail nor crabs. i had two black urchins but they got very large and i caught them eating sps so i took them out ( of the tank).

[oseymour]

I purchased some of those "packages" twice and learned the hard way. After a couple of weeks I had tons of empty shells all over my tank. There wasn't enough food to feed all of them and when they died, I got a huge nutrient spike.

I'll add 1 or 2 snails as needed.

[ruiny]

I love nassaeius snails. Otherwise no snails for me. They just end up doing a crappy job of the glass.
Small hermits, emerald crab and shrimp are fun and do a good job.
I will add that every time I'm at the Lfs people are lined up to buy more cuc. Algae is a problem most people have and the answer always seems to be a larger cuc.

[sde1500]

10 per gallon wow never heard that before. Idk if I'd want 650 snails in my tank lol that'd be a tad crowded. I think reefcleaners quick crews look pretty reasonable as far as a properly sized CUC for a tank. And they may be overdoing it even.