Snails that don't topple!

[jamiep]

I used to have some Astera snails for my clean up crew but they always fell in awkward places so eventually they all died. Im wanting to know what sort of snails you lot recommend? My algae problem at the minute is mainly cyano but I have some diatoms if I neglect things for a while and film algae now and again.

Snails I'm looking at are...

Cherith
Nerite (any particular ones?)
And maybe some Stomatella if I can get my hands on them!

My tank consists of...

3 Zoa's colonies
1 Blue mushroom
1 Cleaner shrimp
4 Scarlet Hermit Crabs
1 Firefish
And very soon 1 Maroon clown

Thanks! Jp

[zma21]

I haven't encountered a snail that hasn't tipped over at some point in time.

[mg426]

Try some Turbos.

[steven_dean17]

Asteras are well known for this, look for snails with round shells to help avoid the predisposition for suicide. Makes you wonder how their kind kept from going extinct.

[reefergeorge]

Stomatella and narssarius (sp) snails are the only snail I use that can right themselves.

[jadeguppy]

Stomatella Stomatella Stomatella Stomatella Stomatella

Narssarius also work for that, but Stomatella have the added bonus of reproducing in your fuge or in my case, my nano tank that had macro algae in it. :) Moved some algae to my new 40g and I am already finding babies that hitched a ride. Gotta love it!

[m2434]

Cerith snails usually can turn themselves back over.

[pagojoe]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11392140#post11392140 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by steven_dean17
Asteras are well known for this, look for snails with round shells to help avoid the predisposition for suicide. Makes you wonder how their kind kept from going extinct.

I think the main reason Astraea aren't extinct is the fact that they live on the reef itself, and if they topple over, they land on a hard surface, or a crack between rocks, and can extend their feet to right themselves. If you stick them on the glass and they fall into your sand bed, they can't get enough grip on the sand to turn over, and they die.

As for nerites, most of them spend a lot of time above the water line. Nerita polita may bury themselves, then come out as the tide rises or drops and crawl to higher "ground." They would probably be a better choice than most nerites, as they'd likely cover more territory. I'm not sure how lack of a tide would affect them.

Turbo species may be a better choice. I'd opt for a tropical species rather than the "Mexican Turbos" if I had the choice. They get pretty large, but Turbo argyrostomus or T. chrysostomus are fairly common in reef tanks, and both are hardy species and may eat a wide variety of algae types.

Ceriths are fine, although they won't cover as much territory as the Turbos, and Stomatellas are great if you can get them. They are common hitchhikers, but hard to collect in the ocean. That's probably why you almost never see them for sale.

Cheers,



Don