1 snail for every gallon?

[xxmindgamesxx]

Ive watched some youtube videos about this and there was this video that suggested that 1 snail for every gallon is more than enough. Should i follow this rule? I want to add a clean up crew but im not sure if i should go with hermit crabs or snails and how many i should even get, any help is appreciated!Thanks.

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[Maggie321]

If you add that many, most will starve. If you plan on getting crabs of any kind some will be murdered whether it's to be eaten or for the use of the shell. My suggestion is get a couple at a time. Then stop when you have enough.

Maggie

[norfolkgarden]

1 snail per 5 gallon is far more realistic!
Or 7 gallons for that matter.

We have six 1" Turbo's,
5 astraea and 1 Nassarius, 5 dwarf zebra hermit crabs, 6 blue leg hermit crabs, 3 Scarlet hermit crabs, in a 75 gallon tank.

I am considering removing 2 or 3 of the Turbo's or even all of them in the next 6 months.
We have a flame angel,
we have added a butterfly and a lemon peel angel in the past month.
I can't keep enough algae in the tank using 3 clips and changing them out twice a day.

If you were only using dwarf cerith snails, maybe 1 per gallon would be more believable.
But the larger snails only need 1 per 5 gallon.

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[xxmindgamesxx]

Originally Posted by norfolkgarden

1 snail per 5 gallon is far more realistic!
Or 7 gallons for that matter.

We have six 1" Turbo's,
5 astraea and 1 Nassarius, 5 dwarf zebra hermit crabs, 6 blue leg hermit crabs, 3 Scarlet hermit crabs, in a 75 gallon tank.

I am considering removing 2 or 3 of the Turbo's or even all of them in the next 6 months.
We have a flame angel,
we have added a butterfly and a lemon peel angel in the past month.
I can't keep enough algae in the tank using 3 clips and changing them out twice a day.

If you were only using dwarf cerith snails, maybe 1 per gallon would be more believable.
But the larger snails only need 1 per 5 gallon.

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What about those tiny snails(1 to 3 cms) ? Would like 4 or 5 of those be good for a 20 g tank?

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[xxmindgamesxx]

Originally Posted by Maggie321

If you add that many, most will starve. If you plan on getting crabs of any kind some will be murdered whether it's to be eaten or for the use of the shell. My suggestion is get a couple at a time. Then stop when you have enough.

Maggie

So i should avoid hermits and crabs in general and stick with snails?

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[Maggie321]

Originally Posted by xxmindgamesxx

So i should avoid hermits and crabs in general and stick with snails?

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No, not necessarily. I like crabs and snails. I have 5 or 6 hermits and an emerald crab along with turbo snails and nasarus snails. Just be aware that an eco system in a box will sometimes eat an inhabitant. There is a balance.

Maggie

[xxmindgamesxx]

Originally Posted by norfolkgarden

1 snail per 5 gallon is far more realistic!
Or 7 gallons for that matter.

We have six 1" Turbo's,
5 astraea and 1 Nassarius, 5 dwarf zebra hermit crabs, 6 blue leg hermit crabs, 3 Scarlet hermit crabs, in a 75 gallon tank.

I am considering removing 2 or 3 of the Turbo's or even all of them in the next 6 months.
We have a flame angel,
we have added a butterfly and a lemon peel angel in the past month.
I can't keep enough algae in the tank using 3 clips and changing them out twice a day.

If you were only using dwarf cerith snails, maybe 1 per gallon would be more believable.
But the larger snails only need 1 per 5 gallon.

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And can you recommend what i should get from my 20g as a clean up crew please? would mean a lot. Thanks.

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[norfolkgarden]

Originally Posted by xxmindgamesxx

And can you recommend what i should get from my 20g as a clean up crew please? would mean a lot. Thanks.

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Glad to help! It is a shame to watch these creatures starve to death for no reason.

1 or 2 turbos for now should be plenty for algae.
Maybe 1 turbo and 1or 2 trochus snail if you can find them.

Dwarf cerith snails are awesome algae snails.
But our blue leg hermit crabs keep killing them for the shells, even when there are similar empty shells.

2 or 3 Nassarius snails for uneaten food. Maybe stick with 1 or 2 for now. They bury in the sand until it is time to eat.

Instead of a Nassarius, you could get a small harlequin serpent starfish for cleanup.
They are beautiful and don't count against your fish stocking limits.

No emerald crabs. Just personal preference. Some people love them.
You would get only 1 small one (1/2") if you got one.

Maybe 2-3 blue leg or dwarf zebra hermit crabs just to mix it up.
Make sure you get some empty shells similar to what they are in now so they can upgrade when they molt and grow.

The good news is every place you have green algae on the rocks the coralline algae should do well there once your tank start switching from one type of algae to the other.

What do you have now?


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[xxmindgamesxx]

Originally Posted by norfolkgarden

Glad to help! It is a shame to watch these creatures starve to death for no reason.

1 or 2 turbos for now should be plenty for algae.
Maybe 1 turbo and 1or 2 trochus snail if you can find them.

Dwarf cerith snails are awesome algae snails.
But our blue leg hermit crabs keep killing them for the shells, even when there are similar empty shells.

2 or 3 Nassarius snails for uneaten food. Maybe stick with 1 or 2 for now. They bury in the sand until it is time to eat.

Instead of a Nassarius, you could get a small harlequin serpent starfish for cleanup.
They are beautiful and don't count against your fish stocking limits.

No emerald crabs. Just personal preference. Some people love them.
You would get only 1 small one (1/2") if you got one.

Maybe 2-3 blue leg or dwarf zebra hermit crabs just to mix it up.
Make sure you get some empty shells similar to what they are in now so they can upgrade when they molt and grow.

The good news is every place you have green algae on the rocks the coralline algae should do well there once your tank start switching from one type of algae to the other.

What do you have now?


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Thats about 8 clean crew members for my 20g, wouldnt that be too much? And do snails also need empty shells because id rather avoid hermit crabs and crabs all together. Im not that experienced yet to keep a starfish due to their sensitivity to ph and salinity.



So lets say i get 6 small SNAILS as a clean up crew, is that good enough. Remember ill only have 2 clownfish and a bunch of coral as livestock.

And my tank is still empty im just tryna make a plan for when i start cycling and stocking it.

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[norfolkgarden]

Originally Posted by xxmindgamesxx

Thats about 8 clean crew members for my 20g, wouldnt that be too much? And do snails also need empty shells because id rather avoid hermit crabs and crabs all together. Im not that experienced yet to keep a starfish due to their sensitivity to ph and salinity.



So lets say i get 6 small SNAILS as a clean up crew, is that good enough. Remember ill only have 2 clownfish and a bunch of coral as livestock.

And my tank is still empty im just tryna make a plan for when i start cycling and stocking it.

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6 dwarf cerith and one Nassarius should be fine.

Snails keep the same shell and it gets growth rings as it grows.
Kinda sorta a little like tree rings.

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[AlSimmons]

Originally Posted by xxmindgamesxx

And can you recommend what i should get from my 20g as a clean up crew please? would mean a lot. Thanks.

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For that size tank 3-5 Trochus snails and One Scarlet Hermit crab should be plenty IMO. Use something like a Mag-Float to clean the glass and either stir up or vacuum your sand bed every now & then. Piece of cake.

[hijinks]

The old thing with 1lb of live rock isn't so much anymore and the same thing with snails. I do 1 per 10gal

We have better tools to clean the water these days then we ever did so the fighting it with live stock isn't such an issue anymore