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Anubis1

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Ok Snail people... for a 29 gallon tank (no critters in it yet) How many snails on average.. ballpark figure would you go with.. and any favorites?

I am still debating on what all we want in the tank.. hubby wants an anemone some day (BTA)...

Right now we don't have any livestock in it.. well.. unless it's a hitchhiker who is still hiding! So basically it's a tank with live rock.

So we are open to suggestions!

Thanks!
 
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Anonymous

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Can you buy them as needed? If there is nothing to eat, they will just die...I buy them 10 at a time and watch to see if their food is increasing or decreasing.

I think a mix is best, a few to eat hair algae, and few to stir up the sand....
 

Anubis1

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for me personally?.. no.. not unless I want to pay a minimum of 25.00 for shipping each time. The LFS only carries turbos (not sure which turbo since I haven't seen any when i went in.. they were sold out at the time).

Also I have read that turbos get pretty big and since it's only a 29 gallon.. I figured they would trash the tank.

I have chaeto coming.. and algae starting to grow on the glass of my tank... so by the time i get around to ordering snails they will have some food... I just hate going by the recommended clean up crew packages that most places offer because many people have said they were out of balance (too many hermits.. not enough snails. etc).

and as of this morning my ammonia was 0, nitrites were 0.25 and nitrates were at 5.. (which my understanding is that the nitrites are still too high for inverts).. so this is just an information gathering thread at the moment!
 

trido

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I have turbo snails and like them although thay are literal bull dozers. They are good workers. Otherwise, I would get a few cerith, a few nassarius and start from there if possible. Maybe five of each. Of course the more diverse the better. I would recommend to stay away from hermits if you dont want to replace some of your snail population every six months or so.
 

shavo

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I heard about the one snail per gallon ration and I don't exactly agree with it. what am I going to do if snails are 2.29 each at my lfs and if I need 125 of them? thats like 300 bucks in snails,

nah, for the 29 gallon, you have to tell us what kind of lighting, if it gets hit with direct sunlight? I wouldn't even buy one snail until i saw some algea growth, it won't take long but i would just wait until I saw something and I would probabbly start with 10 and see how it goes from there. Some tanks need more some tanks need less.

just watch it and get a algea scraper and maybe a lawnmower blenny if it gets outta control. and some hermits and a sally lightfoot and a emerald crab and if that doesn't do it get a UV sterilizer........ see how we all get started in this hobby?
 

cindre2000

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Normally I wait until the algae bloom. Then I add maybe 1 snail/5 gallons and probably some hermits. I then slowly add more over time, maybe half the original amount. I also try to keep them as diverse as possible.

Turbo, Astrea, Margerita
Cerith
Nassarius
Conchs
Bumblebee
Scutus
Cowries, etc.

I like a good mix. They each have their benifits, you just have to research them and know what they are good for.
 

dnorton1978

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trido":3nbkw9pq said:
cyro":3nbkw9pq said:
approximately 1 gallon / 1 snail
Thats insane.... I couldnt imagine putting 120 snails in my tank. I think I have about 30 or 35 tops.

Yeah, with that many snails they are sure to exhaust their food source quickly and perish.

In defense with cyro, the lfs had always told me the same thing, 1 per gallon.
 

shavo

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hey i have heard from two different LFS's that 1 per gallon is what your looking for, i totally disagree with it as well, just what some people are saying.
you guys know my LFS problems lol
 
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Anonymous

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The folks who sell cleaner crews have a vested interest in selling as many of the animals as they can to each customer, so you can't exactly trust their recommendations. Many go absolutely nuts with hermit crabs, suggesting 1-2 per gallon.

Anyway, for snails, I like to go either with turbos for a large tank (about one for every 4-5 gallons has generally seemed like a good amount for me) or for a small tank a mix of astreas and nerites (at about 1 snail per 2 gallons, half-and-half mix). I love me some nerites.
 

Anubis1

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cjdevito":2mfam2v9 said:
Anyway, for snails, I like to go either with turbos for a large tank (about one for every 4-5 gallons has generally seemed like a good amount for me) or for a small tank a mix of astreas and nerites (at about 1 snail per 2 gallons, half-and-half mix). I love me some nerites.
ok.. what are you calling a large tank?
I used to think a 50 was large.. until I heard people talking about 300+ gallons.. makes that 50 look pretty darn small in comparison!

I am starting to think it should be (on average) 1 snail or crab for each 3 gallons...
So if you have a 29 gallon tank (30 gallons for argument's sake) a total of 10 snails and or hermits... or is this too few? You want them to be able to keep things clean.. but also don't want them to starve...
 
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Anonymous

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When I say large, I mean 4' long or bigger usually :)

For a 29 gallon if it were me I'd probably be aiming for something like 10 astreas, 10 nerites and 3-4 hermits (the only ones I trust at all are scarlet legged, personally).
 

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