snail selection?

[naesco]

If your tests are accurate and show no phosphate or nitrates it is because your algae are consuming them.
Stop the nitrate and phosphate introduction (food and dead stuff) and your algae will decline. Maybe less light for a while will help.

Snails
-----bumblebee snails are predatory and should not be placed in any reef aquarium (who gave you the info that they eat algae?)
-----astraea eat algae but fall on their shell backs and cannot right themselves and die and pollute the tank
-----trochus are excellent algae eaters
-----nerita are probably OK
-----ceriths add one to your tank
-----cowries get a few ring (money) cowries
-----nassarius are scavengers. They eat meat not detritus.
-----margarita are cool water snails; not for our tanks

You need to acclimate snails for hours otherwise they die for no apparent reason.

All the above courtesy Ron Smimek: A pocket guide to Marine Invertebrates: a must have for thirty bucks.

[shotzee]

C'mon, I have a bunch of astreas and I have never seen one die because it couldn't right itself. They do sometimes struggle, but I love them. They are great snails.

[Willow]

Originally Posted by shotzee

C'mon, I have a bunch of astreas and I have never seen one die because it couldn't right itself. They do sometimes struggle, but I love them. They are great snails.

my hermits set traps for them and pick them out when they are on their backs.

[shotzee]

Hahaha, those damn hermits.

[untamed]

I've been quite happy with my bumblebees...If they are eating something they shouldn't, I've never noticed.

Mostly, I'm a fan of the ceriths.

Any snail that lives for any length of time is a good snail in my books.

[niloc16]

to reduce my lighting will also effect my corals,no? also i thought stopping feeding of the fish but how long can they go without food. i was thinking feeding every third day for awhile to see if it helps but i dont the fish to suffer. any suggestions for detritus cleaners? i thought bumble bee and nassarius would do the trick but not by the sound of the response, by the way thanks for the info everyone

[shotzee]

I wouldn't reduce the feeding of your fish too much. Everyone goes through stages of algae outbreaks (I have some red slime in my tank right now), but as long as you take the obvious steps to reduce the nutient and waste load in your tank, you will eventaully bring an end to the outbreak.

As for any bubble algae, I find its pretty easy to remove manually. If you want to get something to add to your tank that will take care of it though, you could add a emerald crab.