Questions regarding saltwater cleaner snails?

Question

I used to have snails in my freshwater tank and they would lay lots of eggs and became a problem. Do saltwater snails differ.

Also having only crushed coral substrate in make tank, will that not want to make the snails sift threw it. It looks a bit sharp to me (trying to think like a snail). But its the normal cc like you see at petco in their tanks.

Answer 1

Saltwater snails are not the nuisance they are in freshwater tanks. I very rarely have any baby snails survive. Every now and then I will have a few show up in a sump and thats about it.

I hate crushed coral substrate for that very reason. Snails, crabs and starfish don't seem to keep it as clean as they do a sand substrate. I never have to clean the sand bed aquariums but it seems I always am cleaning the crushed coral ones.

Snails are great in saltwater tanks. Astraea are my favorite. Turbo snails are great but are kind of a pain as they seem to plow through corals, rocks etc. Stay away from margaritas as they are a colder water snail and don't live long in warmer tropical saltwater aquariums.

Answer 2

Brian's got it right - they might breed sometime, but not like the freshwater ones. The only snail that will really sift the substrate that much will be the nassarius - and it won't bother them one bit that the coral is larger pieces. These things are like tanks. A few minutes after you put them in the tank, all you'll see of them is a little "snorkel" above the substrate - what the use to sense food. Astreas, turbos, margaritas, nerites, ceriths, and others will stay above the gravel - on the rock and glass. These guys are herbivores (ceriths are omnivores) that munch the algae, and algae needs light. The nassarius is a detritivore, so he goes digging through the bottom.