snail

Whats the best snail to add to a tank to help control algae?

 

A good mix is usually desirable. Check with John at Reef Cleaners| Clean up Crews and Macroalgae he is the clean up crew king.

 

What kind of algae?

 

none yet.

 

Then as Thatgrimguy mentioned, get a quick crew from John @ reefcleaners. I personally went with a crab free crew. Get a smaller size then your actual tank (maybe half the size), as you will receive more than he lists! Plus if it is a new tank, there will not be much to eat yet anyways. You can always add more later when needed. Since I only have the CUC in my tank right now, I have been feeding the nassarius snails every 2-3 days or so since they are carnivores and there is not much if anything for them to eat yet.

 

Olive Nerite Snail is best for putting in brackish or saltwater as they do not reproduce in fresh water. Apple snail is also good, you can put any of these algae in the tank.

 

How large is your tank, and what do you plan on keeping in it? This will help determine your CUC.

Give this article a read, and it should help you out with the basics:

Choosing Common Cleanup Crew Critters

 

My personal preference is to wait until I have algae, then add a CuC in small numbers until I have what I need to keep my tank clean.

Some may encourage you to buy a certain CuC and just keep replacing them as they die off on the pretense that they're cheap; my problem with that mentality is that they are still living creatures that suffer as they starve. A true reef enthusiast cares about all of their pets.