I Cant Find any Snails!

[Eb0la11]

Ok, so maybe the thread title didn't warrant an exclamation point. Just wanted to point out that it seems like all the fish stores in the city are lacking snails right now. Ive been to Gold's, Pisces, Riverfront, Elite Aquatics, Big Al's and all are having "issues" one way or another.

Elite seems to be closed for some unknown reason the last couple days.

Big Al's has some kind of sickness going through their tanks right now.

Gold's is good as usual but just out of stock

Pisces is in their massive move

Riverfront is also moving and things dont look super healthy there right now too, plus I dont really like the place.

Now I know Red Coral probably has some, but its a heck of a drive for me to get there.

I dont know where Ocean City is, I guess I could google it...

Either way I got a pretty big algea bloom occurring now that my system is up and running for a couple weeks now and I only have 2 nassarius snails in my tank, which were the last two Gold's had.

I managed to snag a lawnmower blenny that should help today, but would love some more snails. Anyone in the SE that wouldnt mind selling me a few?

Also, I don't really know what kind I want. Theres so many to choose from. I also dont really know how many I'm going to need for my 165G DT. Im thinking at least like 6-8 but do you guys think I need more?

Thanks!

[whatcaneyedo]

Why not get some hitch hiker snails off of some fellow hobbiests in the area? There are several varieties that reproduce well like stomatella and Collonista. I personally find urchins and tangs to be much better at algae control anyways.

[Eb0la11]

Are urchins reef safe? Also, when can I introduce them into the tank? Im planning on getting a Blue Tang soon-ish at least.

Id love if I could get some snails from some hobbyists. Thats what I asked for at the end of my post above.

[whatcaneyedo]

Sorry I guess I skimmed through your post too quickly.

What kind of algae are you having a bloom of? There are so many different types and each has its own predators.

Tuxedo urchins are a popular choice and work well for me to control hair algaes. Aside from carrying small items around your tank they typically dont cause any problems. Just like snails they can be introduced if your tank has cycled and has clean stable water parameters.

[Flucker]

I will sell you 4 snails for 40$.... supply and demand

[kien]

As mentioned above, it depends what type of algae you are blooming. At this stage in your setup it almost sounds like diatoms which is a natural part of the cycle and will die off once they run out of food.

Something else to combat algae in the DT tank is the refugium and perhaps a phosphate reactor. I have lots of snails that graze all over but I wouldn't say that they ever made a huge difference. My urchin does a lot of grazing too but also not a huge difference. In the end, my Tangs and lawnmower blenny are the true algae champs. Tangs go after anything green, blenny goes after anything not attached to the rock. Whenever I add a new rock that has any sort of algae on it the tangs and blenny polish the rock in a matter of minutes.

I realize that it is too soon for you to add fish so personally I would hold off on adding them until you figure out what type of bloom you've got. Again, if it is a diatom bloom it will pass, don't worry about it.

K.

[MMAX]

4 snails for $40? They better be big for that price. Don't mean to hijack your thread EbOla11, but where are Pisces and Riverfront moving to?

[karazy]

hey E,

just to clear things up a lil elite aquatics was closed on monday because of the holiday, we closed early sunday because of lack of customers,
and colby just got back form a brief trip so everything is a little hectic with are service customers and all.
sorry we missed you, but we should be back up to par as soon as possible

[Flucker]

No they are small snails, but very rare. Also the price is so high becasue no one has them but me MUHAHAHHAHAH

[Eb0la11]

hey E,

just to clear things up a lil elite aquatics was closed on monday because of the holiday, we closed early sunday because of lack of customers,
and colby just got back form a brief trip so everything is a little hectic with are service customers and all.
sorry we missed you, but we should be back up to par as soon as possible

No worries Karazy, I thought it was something like this. Looks like I missed you, was there on Sunday and came again today. I'm sure I'll be back soon.

Riverfront is moving onto meridian road I believe and Pisces just down the street on McKnight East instead of West if coming from Deer foot. You can probably see the new building from Deer Foot. I think they are set to open the new store real soon here but I probably wont buy any livestock from them until at least after September...

Back on topic...

Ok, so what exactly do Diatoms look like? I definitely have some hair algae. Seems like its growing only on rocks that arent inhabited by a snail.

I have a pretty gross green going over my glass too, Im sure its relatively normal, but is this diatoms?

Also, I've already added 3 fish. I had my tank cycle with no ammonia or nitrite for a week with nitrates ever so slowly climbing before adding my snails, a couple pep shrimp and 4 hermits, then it had stable parameters for another week so I bought 2 clownfish and today got a lawnmower blenny to help with the algae. Ive tested after the clowns, still great readings. Salinity is 1.025 as well if you all wanna know.

Perhaps I jumped the gun, but it was because I used all cured live rock to begin with and so I figured I was ahead of schedule as my readings suggested. All fish are very healthy, have been eating since being introduced to the tank. I can see all three right now nipping at algae, swimming well, no markings or anything - they look great and Im watching parameters. I think my tank is ok for fish now but Im not going to add anymore until after this algae bloom is figured out.

Anyways, what do I do next then? Im planning on about a 25-30G water change likely tomorrow. Mixing it up right now as my poll in the polls thread suggests :)

[Eb0la11]

I will sell you 4 snails for 40$.... supply and demand

I'll flip you a Toonie for em? I hear supply is going way up on Friday when Gold's gets there shipment in :lol:

[intarsiabox]

Diatoms look like a light brown dust that covers everything.

[Eb0la11]

Hmmm, what about a neon green dust that covers everything? Cause thats what I got - anywhere light hits.

[naesco]

Are urchins reef safe? Also, when can I introduce them into the tank? Im planning on getting a Blue Tang soon-ish at least.

Id love if I could get some snails from some hobbyists. Thats what I asked for at the end of my post above.

If by Blue tang you mean regal tang, it will do nothing if you have an algae problem as the blue tang is a carnivore.

If you decide on a tang ensure that you have a sufficient sized tank to accommodate them
(a 6 foot tank).
If you have a serious algae problem see if you can find another reefer who has a sea hare you can borrow for a while.
You can also order one in from a LFS.

[Eb0la11]

Ya I got a 6 fott 165G, tangs should be fine.

Which ones eat a lot of algae then? Would I be better served just letting the algae bloom die off on its own? My tank's only been running 2 weeks.

[naesco]

[QUOTE=Eb0la11;446972]Ya I got a 6 fott 165G, tangs should be fine.

Which ones eat a lot of algae then? Would I be better served just letting the algae bloom die off on its own? My tank's only been running 2 weeks.[/QUO

All of them with the exception of the blue eat and need algae
The initial new bloom algae will probably go away.
Here is a thread on the best reef tank tangs for those that have tanks large enough to accommodate them.

http://wetwebmedia.com/besttgsreefs.htm

Take it slow and you will avoid most of the problems you read about here.
Good luck

[findingnemo1]

Why do you say the blue tang doesn't eat algae?