Nassarius snail question

[daplatapus]

I was at my LFS last week looking to add my CUC and he said my tank was too new to add Nassarius snails. He suggested adding 10 red legged hermits and 10 turbo's to help deal with the algae that's growing in the tank, and slowly add more as the weeks go by, but not to add the Nassarius until I've got some fish in there getting the sand really dirty or they'll probably starve to death. What are your thoughts? I was under the impression they were good for beginner tanks.

[Sugar Magnolia]

Nonsense. As long as your tank is cycled you can add nassarius snails.

[WetShepherd]

It sounds like your LFS guy was assuming the Nassarius would only eat detritus under the surface of the sand because they burrow. They will in fact travel on almost any surface inside the tank, including the walls. Mostly you only see them work at night, or when you are feeding the fish (mine burst up out of the sand like something from dune as soon as food enters the water column).

I don't know why LFSs are so wild about pushing hermits, but you'll find no shortage of people here who run clean up crews without them. Turbos on the other hand are great - IMO anyway

[kory1006]

I wouldn't add them to a newly cycled tank. I would wait week or two after adding fish to the tank for there to be some accumulation of detritus. As WetShepherd said they will eat fish food.

[izzy123]

IMO it can't hurt much if you put them in there.....

But to be honest, other then being cool "zombie snails" who come out of the ground at feeding time, I don't see them doing anything for keeping my sand clean.....at least not the part I can see

Ivan

[WetShepherd]

They will go to work on any detritus sitting on the bottom. Specifically I've spotted a couple of fantastic fish poop 'logs' sitting on my sand bed and gone for the hose in the other room to syphon them out (because why the hell not) and returned to find the poop gone and a tonga (larger version) or two sitting on top of the sand where it was less than a minute ago.

On the topic of snails, I'll also mention that when I moved my temp range from 79-80 down to 78-79 I noticed all of my snails become much more active. I'm curious if anyone else has had any similar experiences?

edit: +1 on the zombie snail reference - in that context they might be worth it even if they did nothing else it would be such a great naming framework if i could only tell them apart lol

[ski7575]

Originally Posted by izzy123

IMO it can't hurt much if you put them in there.....

But to be honest, other then being cool "zombie snails" who come out of the ground at feeding time, I don't see them doing anything for keeping my sand clean.....at least not the part I can see

Ivan

Zombie snails... love it

[kory1006]

They are rather fast movers for snails too.

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by Sugar Magnolia

Nonsense. As long as your tank is cycled you can add nassarius snails.

What she said. Also I do not recommend hermits or most other crabs; snails work much better.

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by WetShepherd

On the topic of snails, I'll also mention that when I moved my temp range from 79-80 down to 78-79 I noticed all of my snails become much more active. I'm curious if anyone else has had any similar experiences?

I keep tanks at 77F. Snails are active but I cannot say they are more active.

[Sanveann]

Our LFS, which is very well-regarded and hasn't steered us wrong yet (all their advice matches up with the info I find here, at least!) recommended adding trochus and nassarius about a week after we set up. (We had to bring in a water sample for them to test first.) We waited three more weeks before getting our first fish, and all snails seem to be present and accounted for still

[cloak]

I wouldn't add nassarius snails right off the bat. You don't want them to be cleaning up anything when you really think about it. "You" are the first defence when it comes down to a CUC. Nassarius snails are pretty much going to prey on your mistakes IMO. Algae on the glass/rocks, trochus. Leftover food, nassarius. Not good.

[daplatapus]

Thanks for all the responses. The Turbo's have been munching their way around the tank for a few days now. They've cleaned some of the rock up real nice but have left others totally alone. I assume they'll get around to them as time goes by. I can't really say I've seen any of the hermits doing much. I've even tossed in a couple small frozen Mysis but they just seem to sit on the bottom of the tank.

Does anyone else have TONS of little air bubbles all over their LR and sand? Sometimes I swear at any given moment there's a couple air bubbles rising to the surface that have broken loose from the rock and sand. There's literally 1000's of them all over. A couple of my rocks a completely covered and when a snail or crab walks across it, it looks like an air stone as they dislodge the bubbles.

[Sanveann]

Daplatapus, we did for awhile -- maybe 2-4 weeks after we set up the tank. Seem to have gone away for the most part now.

[lordofthereef]

He is likely afraid your snails will starve. Mist new tanks will not have the detritus buildup to feed very many of these snails. Even established tanks should only have about 1 per 20 or so gallons. They have a ravenous appetite and they will starve. I, for one, so not feel the lfs worker was giving you bad advice.


Sent from my iPhone (please excuse the typos)

[Reefing Newbie]

I may have more than my limit of nassarius snails then!! I have maybe 75 with the way reefcleaners packs more snails than orders for my 125. I would recommend adding a few nerites and 2 turbos for a new tank. Both of these snails work wonders for me, nerites doing the best job in my tank!! BTW the hermits will love to steal your nertite's shells, at least two of my nerites are gone because of hermits...

[cloak]

Originally Posted by daplatapus

Thanks for all the responses. The Turbo's have been munching their way around the tank for a few days now. They've cleaned some of the rock up real nice but have left others totally alone. I assume they'll get around to them as time goes by. I can't really say I've seen any of the hermits doing much. I've even tossed in a couple small frozen Mysis but they just seem to sit on the bottom of the tank.

Does anyone else have TONS of little air bubbles all over their LR and sand? Sometimes I swear at any given moment there's a couple air bubbles rising to the surface that have broken loose from the rock and sand. There's literally 1000's of them all over. A couple of my rocks a completely covered and when a snail or crab walks across it, it looks like an air stone as they dislodge the bubbles.

Those little bubbles your seeing is probably oxygen being produced through photosynthesis. (algae growth) "Pearling" is another name for this.

[xCry0x]

Nassarius are carniverious snails from what I have read.. ceriths & nerites are the algae eater of choice. Turbos are usually from temperate water and tend to die in tropical tanks.

That being said I got 2 nassarius with my initial cuc because they are probably the most interesting snail. They move fast, are funny looking with their snorkel and they are fun to watch when you feed the tank.