Reeftopia or Keyscritters for cleanup crew?

[falconut]

I previously ordered my cleanup crew from www.reeftopia.com about 1-1/2 years ago. They were excellent.

Now I'm looking to order more Astrea & Cerith snails. If I get the special at keyscritters, it would be $30 less than from reeftopia. I have heard good things about both places, so the service isn't the question here.

On reeftopia, they specify that their Ceriths are the "good kind". Supposedly they go out and get the more difficult to collect ones which are more hardy. Now, in my last order I only got 10 Ceriths and I still have at least 8 left. That's pretty good for 1-1/2 years. Especially since I have about 30 BL Hermits, which sometimes are reported to kill snails for their shells.

I'm trying to find out if the Ceriths supplied by www.keyscritters.com are as hardy. I really don't want to get 100 snails and wind up with 10 in a year. So, has anybody bought their cleanup crews from keyscritters and ordered Ceriths? If so, how many did you order? How many are still left in your tank? And how long has it been?

I know it's not that easy to tell since mine seam to only come out at night. So, for now I'm leaning towards spending extra and getting the "good ones". But any experience with the keyscritters Ceriths would be a big help, since they are less expensive.

Thanks.

[jeffbrig]

I was happy with my order from keyscritters - 100 astreas and 300 ceriths. They gave me prices lower than quoted on the website, and included 10% more than the numbers I purchased.

However, I would NOT recommend buying cerith snails. The ones I got like to climb out of the water (picture snails on a rock jetty). That's fine in the wild, but in an aquarium, they crawl out to their salt creep filled deaths. My numbers steadily declined, and the remainder were picked off by a mantis shrimp (they make lovely snacks, apparently). A little over a year later, I doubt you could find one in the tank.

This isn't a knock against keys critters...I think their stuff is top notch, I'm just not convinced that ceriths are a good choice for clean up crews. I would use them again, but have no need so far. My astrea population has held steady, and they do a great job keeping the tank clean.

[falconut]

Anybody else buy the Ceriths?

[NoSchwag]

I did and they were the right kind. The good kind refer to Caribbean Ceriths. The "good ones" are > 1.5 in.

[falconut]

NoSchwag - Where did you buy your Ceriths from? keyscritters or reeftopia?

[Ah64av8tor]

I have gotten the same ceriths my self from the keys and thay have reproduced in my tank.

[NoSchwag]

keyscritters.

[Galloyien]

I got my Ceriths from Liveaquaria 2 months ago... and they are doing great. I believe mine are Caribbean. They are 1 1/2" to 2" long. They travel through the sand, on the glass, and on the rocks at night.