Cerith Snails eventually die?

So i got a ton of these guys from Reef Cleaners about six months ago. Now they are all just about gone? Do they eventually starve? Do people just replace them when they disappear or what? Do you have to replace your clean up crew once in a while?

 

like you're seeing a bunch of empty shells? If you're seeing a bunch of empty shells, I'd be concerned something was happening to them. If you're not seeing the shells either, I'd expect they're all buried in the substrate doing their job...

Are you referring to dwarfs or regulars?


I add a little addition of CuC snails to my tank about every 18 months it works out to.

 

they can just be hinding in the rock work. Also remember that hermits LOVE snails

 

This reminds me..if hermits like snails so much, do you only use snails for your CUC(this one's for P mainly, but anybody can answer it.)?

 

I use both because they consume different algae and you need to have a complete crew. So that means replacing snails more often.

 

I don't replace my clean up crew completely but of course I have to supplement it about every 6 month or so with new snails and such. I would not imagine that snails have a very long life span a year or 2 at the very most.

I do know that most of the snails available to the hobby are cold water snails and do not live long in the warm water that we keep our tanks at. I have had the same snails in my Seahorse tank for the last 2 years with very little death which I attribute to the lower temperatures that I keep that tank at.

 

+1 and the hermits will move a little of that top sand as they drag their shells behind them. As long as the snails do hit and the sand or turn themselves over before the hermits get to them, they will live

 

Thanks.

 

I use both, mainly becasue I get hours of enjoyment out of watching the crabs and feel that they do a much better job than the snails when it comes to cleaning up. And I really do not mind the ocasional snail dinner, its not like they cost a ton of money.