The Number of Snails Needed for a Salt Water Tank

Snails are nature's cleanup crew and make a welcome addition to any saltwater aquarium. Snails assist in reducing algae levels as well as keeping walls, rocks and other surfaces clean. They also naturally sift the sand at the bottom of your tank. Different varieties of snail, as well as other natural cleaners such as shrimp and crabs, can help to maintain a healthy tank.

  1. Guidelines

    • The general rule of thumb for adding snails to your saltwater aquarium is that you can have one snail for every gallon of water the tank holds. The optimum number of snails for your tank depends on the type of snails you decide to use and the other inhabitants your tank holds.

    Types of Snails

    • Smaller species of snails such as Trochus and Nerite snails do fine with one snail per gallon of water. Turbo and Nassarius snails are larger and have more voracious appetites, therefore each individual snail needs a minimum of several gallons of water to provide it with an adequate food supply. Asterea snails can also be used in a saltwater tank, but you generally do not want a lot of these snails because they are fairly fragile and have a tendency to die if they are turned over in the tank.

    Food Sources

    • One snail for every gallon of water assumes that the tank is well stocked and fully established. If your tank is newly set up, has just been cleaned or cycled or otherwise does not have a high algae content, you will require less snails. If you do not have an adequate food source for your snails, such as algae, your snails will starve and die. When you are first getting started with snails, add specimens to your tank gradually.

    Other Considerations

    • If you have other algae-consuming animals in your aquarium, you need to take these animals into consideration. Crabs generally require four gallons of water apiece. That means that if you have a 12-gallon saltwater tank, you could hypothetically have two crabs and four snails. Assuming you believe your tank can support some additions, start small by adding only one or two snails, then gradually increase the population until you reach your desired numbers.