How many Nassarius snails for 210 gallon tank

crazyfishmom

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I want to get some Nassarius snails to keep my sand bed clean and possibly put some in the sump to deal with detritus build up… how many should I get????
 

FernBluffReef

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I think it depends on how many fish you have, how heavy you feed/what you feed, along with what other cleaning crew you have Also keep in mind, there are lots of Nassarius species of various sizes out there so your mileage may vary.

In my 112 gallon I have around 20. A few I believe are the common Nassarius Vibex which when full size are less than an inch in length (my LFS calls these small Nassarius). Most of my Nassarius are what my LFS calls Large Nassarius which are 1.5” - 2” long (I don’t know the actual species) but they are something I closely monitored for a while to conclude they were not actually whelks. I do like the looks of the Vibex by far, but the large Nassarius I have are a much much better clean up crew - they are fast and efficient.

I did not start with 20 large. I believe I started with 7 and then built up to the 20. Now that the tank is fully stocked I think 20 is about right…. Noting I’m mostly snail only CUC as I don’t like hermit crabs hunting all my snails LoL. So for a 210 I’d probably personally end up with 30 or so of the larger Nassarius That’s my thoughts, hope it helps
 
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crazyfishmom

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I think it depends on how many fish you have, how heavy you feed/what you feed, along with what other cleaning crew you have Also keep in mind, there are lots of Nassarius species of various sizes out there so your mileage may vary.

In my 112 gallon I have around 20. A few I believe are the common Nassarius Vibex which when full size are less than an inch in length (my LFS calls these small Nassarius). Most of my Nassarius are what my LFS calls Large Nassarius which are 1.5” - 2” long (I don’t know the actual species) but they are something I closely monitored for a while to conclude they were not actually whelks. I do like the looks of the Vibex by far, but the large Nassarius I have are a much much better clean up crew - they are fast and efficient.

I did not start with 20 large. I believe I started with 7 and then built up to the 20. Now that the tank is fully stocked I think 20 is about right…. Noting I’m mostly snail only CUC as I don’t like hermit crabs hunting all my snails LoL. So for a 210 I’d probably personally end up with 30 or so. That’s my thoughts
Thank you for the thoughtful answer!
 

Cell

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I'd recommend the Tongan nassarius. They are much larger and seem to love longer, at least in my tank.
 

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