|
11/09/2017, 07:39 PM | #1 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 736
|
Can I run a reef without snails?
Hi,
I've always had snails in my CUC. Unfortunately the only snails I'm able to buy where I live are the "turban" variety. They do OK at clean-up but tend to reproduce a lot, and when they die/fall over my sandbed gets littered with old shells and shell pieces which can get ugly quite quickly. Are there other good options for CUC I could consider? My new build is a 120g clown harem. Tank has just finished cycling but I used dry rock and sand to start, so the CUC will need to be introduced gradually so they don't starve. -droog |
11/09/2017, 08:06 PM | #2 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: St. Augustine, FL
Posts: 1,857
|
Absolutely you can skip snails.
__________________
90g Mixed Reef |
11/09/2017, 09:08 PM | #3 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Medina oh
Posts: 1,782
|
Yes you can and if you the wrong fish you might have a choice in the matter
|
11/09/2017, 09:10 PM | #4 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 14,655
|
You can go w/out though of course a CUC is usually beneficial, perhaps your tank is still new enough it does not need so much or sustain them on tank waste alone.
I would also consider reefcleaners dot org or a similar online supplier.
__________________
There's a fine line between owning your tank and your tank owning you! Current Tank Info: SCA 120g RR Starfire, Tunze silence 1073.02 return, 40g sump w/ fuge, SWC Extreme 160 cone skimmer,Geismann reflexx 4xT5, 2x Panorama Pro LED strips, Vortech MP40QD |
11/09/2017, 11:07 PM | #5 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 736
|
I'm based in Shanghai, so the US online suppliers don't work for me unfortunately. The hobby is quite niche here which means few online suppliers. I can find sand sifting stars, but they won't clean rocks.
Maybe a sand-sifting goby and tailspot blenny would work for now. What workers do non-snail employers like to use? -droog |
11/09/2017, 11:08 PM | #6 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 736
|
|
11/10/2017, 02:06 AM | #7 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Kenmore, WA
Posts: 1,542
|
__________________
375g DT 125g sump acrylic, Mixed SPS/LPS tank with anemones and fish. Current Tank Info: 375g Build thread http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2608197 |
11/10/2017, 06:01 AM | #8 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Medina oh
Posts: 1,782
|
Yes some fish will eat the snails. So will crabs.
|
11/10/2017, 06:12 AM | #9 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Austin, Tx
Posts: 1,882
|
Hermits eat snails.
Frog, Before you add fish, introduce pods to your system. They are excellent part of CUC. A serpent star would be a good omnivore component to clean up crew, eating food missed by Clowns. Allow pods to become mature populations before introducing fish. Also add any other invertebrates during the time you are allowing pop densities to increases. Located in Singapore. How far from tidepools? You could collect your own janitors. Pods love hiding under rocks. Go get you some.
__________________
Laissez les bons temps rouler, Patrick Castille Current Tank Info: 10,000G. Greenhouse Macro Growout |
11/10/2017, 08:27 AM | #10 |
Team RC Member
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: NY
Posts: 17,749
|
I've slowly reduced my dependence on snails, although I do still keep them.
I like an emerald crab for algae on rocks. Hermit crabs for general detritus and uneaten food. Something to move the sand around (usually a shrimp goby or similar) to keep the sand looking fresh. That's about it, nature takes care of the rest (pods, fan worms, etc). That only really leaves the glass unclean, and IME snails are way over-rated at cleaning glass. They just leave random paths across the glass, and you have to clean it yourself anyways. I like having snails, but more for diversity and visual interest than anything else. Also, they make a really great live food source for a pistol shrimp - especially the tiny cheap snails places like reefcleaners sell. If I start with the snail population they recommend in a tank with a pistol, I find I need to restock after maybe a year or two.
__________________
Inconveniencing marine life since 1992 "It is my personal belief that reef aquaria should be thriving communities of biodiversity, representative of their wild counterparts, and not merely collections of pretty specimens growing on tidy clean rock shelves covered in purple coralline algae." (Eric Borneman) |
11/10/2017, 08:56 AM | #11 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 1,985
|
I avoid snails. Urchins actually scour the "holdfast" algae uses to attach to substrates making it much harder for it to grow back. My preffered choices are Royal and Tuxedo.
__________________
"Our crystal clear aquaria come nowhere close to the nutrient loads that swirl around natural reefs" Charles Delbeek |
11/10/2017, 09:50 AM | #12 | |
Registered Member
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 871
|
Quote:
That one urchin cleared out half the overflow and return valves in one day. And followed on to clear the right side the next day. I don't see snails doing that much work in a day. |
|
11/11/2017, 06:29 AM | #13 | |
Registered Member
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 736
|
Quote:
Sound like Tuxedo's are more well behaved. I'll try that if it becomes necessary. By Royal you mean Royal Gramma? -droog |
|
11/11/2017, 07:56 AM | #14 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Glocester, RI
Posts: 3,336
|
My tank no longer has any snails I've physically added to it. I know some hitchhiker snails exist and have bred but the ones I added never seemed to do much real work.
__________________
My build thread: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2548422 Current Tank Info: 65 gallon mixed reef, Eshopps sump and HOB overflow, RO-110int skimmer, Reefbreeder 32" photons V1. |
11/11/2017, 08:13 PM | #15 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: Stockton, CA
Posts: 109
|
Manual labor in the form of elbow grease and hooking up a RO/DI unit can only go so far IME. Some snails do seem to fill in the gaps so to say. They're definitely not a cure, but they do serve a purpose. I would much rather give them a chance first before I do something drastic. JMO, GL.
On a side note; if you want a pet then their you go... They come in lots of forms...
__________________
"Your off the edge of the map mate. Here there be monsters..." |
11/11/2017, 10:04 PM | #16 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 736
|
|
|
|