snails and my water change

[cdcmt]

Hello, I recently purchased 2 turbo snails. Usually when I clean my tank I take out my fish. Does everyone else do that? It seems to be less stress for them that way. So my question is, do I take the snails out with the fish or just leave them in the tank while I clean?
thanks for any advise.

 

[sprang]

No way friend,...leave your fish and inverts in the tank when changing water. They will be fine.

 

[cdcmt]

Really, my fish seem so small i'm afaid i'll hit them while i'm moving things about. you just leave every thing and work around them. thank you for any advise. i'm a beginner.

 

[earlybird]

What stuff are you cleaning? I always leave my fish in my tank during water changes. If you have sand you should not vacuum it. To clean my rocks I usually just blast them with a powerhead about 30 minutes before my water change.

 

[dallas612]

other than water changes or scraping the glass i let my clean up crew do the rest. thats all you need to do right?

 

[earlybird]

don't forget to occasionally clean your powerheads, heaters, skimmers etc.

 

[dallas612]

Originally Posted by earlybird
http:///forum/post/2493410
don't forget to occasionally clean your powerheads, heaters, skimmers etc.
other than just cleaning the collection cup i should take the whole skimmer apart for a whole clean??? i guess im about due.

 

[cdcmt]

i'm glad i talked to you guys. the petstore where i bought all my stuff didn't even mention a cleaning crew. i only bought the snails after reading some of the posts on here. so i have a 55 gallon tank with crushed coral, about ten pounds of live rock, a couple of decorations, and 5 fish. 2 clowns, 2 green chromis, 1 mandarin, and 1 snail. the little tiny one they sold me i found ---- up today. No one ever said anything about blasting my rock? how often do i do that, just during routine water changes? And my crushed coral, do i vaccum that? one of the million books i read said to, true or false? how many snails do i need for that sized tank?
thanks for your help everyone.

 

[dallas612]

Originally Posted by cdcmt
http:///forum/post/2494235
how many snails do i need for that sized tank?

i hear one snail and one crab for every 2 gallons. that might still be low. also black brittle stars are supposed to be great but dont get a green one, they eat corals i have heard.

 

[matt2364]

make sure you have plenty of cope pods for your mandarin...how old is your tank? No one should have a mandarin until the tank is well established and stocked with cope pods. I think 6 months is what everyone recommends. Employees at a LFS might have sold him to you without mentioning that...

 

[air_putih]

Originally Posted by dallas612
http:///forum/post/2494309
i hear one snail and one crab for every 2 gallons. that might still be low. also black brittle stars are supposed to be great but dont get a green one, they eat corals i have heard.
is it one snail AND one crab for every 2g or one snail OR one crab every 2g ???
i have about 5 turbo snails in my 29g

 

[sprang]

First I would recommend using astreas instead of turbo snails, as turbos can't right themselves and die. Whoever said the piece about the brittles is right. The black brittles are awesome scavengers but avoid the greens as the will eat your coral. Also I would highly advise you to replace tha c.c with live sand especially for the mandarin, that c.c. will cause high nirtates! I have a 29 gal. with 30 pounds l.s., 40 pounds live rock and 2 maxijet 1200 powerheads, and a prizm pro it's been pretty bulletproof for a 29 gallon for my l.p.s and softies. Also whoever said clean your equipment is right on...it will improve the flow in your tank and help the longitivity of your equip. remember to do frequent r.o. water changes. hope this may help you!

 

[earlybird]

The general consensus on mandarins is that they need a mature tank that has at least 50lbs of LR but that might be considered low. It's rare but some have mandarins that will accept other foods but their main diet is copepods which live and reproduce in/on LR. Crushed coral will be a headache it's just a matter of time.
I don't think that there is a set number or that anyone can really help to determine exactly what your clean up crew numbers should be. Every system is different. Currently I have a 29g tank and I've re-upped my cleaners several times over the last year. I don't have much algae and my tank can not sustain a large number of cleaners but at the same time my blue legs like to eat some of my snails. I started with 10 astraea, 1 mex turbo, 10 nassarius, and 10 mixed hermits about a year ago. Most of the snails have died and have been replaced but currently I have 4 astraea, a few nassarius, a few cerith, and 7 hermits.
FYI- Astraea's can not right themselves when they fall on their "back."

 

[cdcmt]

Hello guys, my tank was about a yr old before I got my mandarin. I will have had him for 1 yr in another month. I did read about them alot before I just couldn't resist anymore. I also read an article one guy had one that ate stuff they use in sushi, don't remember now. Anyway he still is nice and fat just like when I bought him. So, I guess what I need to do is gradually replace my crushed coral with sand, get a bunch of cleaning animals, and add more live rock. Is there anything else I should do right away? I really am greatful for the advise, thanks.!

 

[sprang]

well your off to a great start. don't worry too much about the clean up crew as the often hated bristle worms will eat most of the left over food. I also use scarlet hermits they are less aggressive. And yes astreas can flip back over!

 

[earlybird]

Originally Posted by sprang
http:///forum/post/2496084
well your off to a great start. don't worry too much about the clean up crew as the often hated bristle worms will eat most of the left over food. I also use scarlet hermits they are less aggressive. And yes astreas can flip back over!
All due respect I have to agree with you on the astraea snail. I have never seen one right itself when they aren't near anything they can grab onto. Everything I've read reveals the same.

 

[abethedog]

The reef packages that this site offers are very well priced and I find appropriate. I've had really good luck with serpent star fish. I have two greens in my 125 gal.