Hermits vs Snails

Rufio808

Reefing newb
What are your opinions on stocking a clean up crew? I tend to keep mainly snails just because they clean my rocks spotless when they're not being lazy. Hermits just tend to eat my snails for no reason at times. They really lack the ability to determine a good shell size lol.
 
my hermits killed most of my nas snails but they leave my astraea and turbos alone since they cant climb the glass, but hermits seam to do a better job at cleaning my rocks then snails. imo i like a mix of both
 
my hermits killed most of my nas snails but they leave my astraea and turbos alone since they cant climb the glass, but hermits seam to do a better job at cleaning my rocks then snails. imo i like a mix of both


Agreed. Crabs can get in tight nooks. My crabs havent ever gone at my snails. THey have more than enough shells in the tank to choose from.
 
I have the small reef crabs, 1 turbo snail too large for them to eat and fit his shell, and 3 nass snails. My crabs have never gone after my snails. The larger crabs will but not the small ones.
 
Oh the vote is pretty close. I should have my aquarium license soon, so I could debate on fetching some hermits although I don't want a snail massacre.
 
So wait....you snail voters have 0 crabs? How does your tank stay clean? Its hard to believe that snails can do ALL the work. My snails are more of a PITA than anything. They knock over all my frags after already glued down....my hermits dont do that.
 
I'd like to see hermits that can clean the sides of my tank. They just don't clean the most visible spots. Sure they're great at scavenging but for any algae I like snails better.
 
I'd like to see hermits that can clean the sides of my tank. They just don't clean the most visible spots. Sure they're great at scavenging but for any algae I like snails better.

Well i basically thought everyone had them i guess idk....now that u mention it. Ima start banning a few to the mantis tank. Get it down to about 3 hermits. The reason being is i stopped over feeding now they fight for food and because my tank is pretty clean they have nothing to eat lol.
 
I don't like hermit's because they always seem to eat my snails. But, I think they're so cool that I keep 1 or 2 in each of my tanks. I just figure if I keep them in small numbers the damage done will be minimal.
 
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