snail for gravel?

[homegrowncichlid]

so my gravel sits, stagnant, as hair algae grows over it, do sand shifting snails solve that problem? Looking at cerith or conch to turn over the gravel.

 

[Spartanwarrior]

Gravel? As in like goldfish gravel? Or sand with large substrate pieces? Pics?

 

[SteveZz]

I like these guys. I keep relatively low nutrients in my tank so I don’t really have the issue of algae growth on my sand. That being said I think these guys would do a good job foraging through the sand bed and you have the added benefit of them coming out to grab any left over food that’s sitting on the sand bed. You may want to consider feeding less in general but I don’t think adding these snails would do any harm.

Nassarius Snail: Saltwater Aquarium Snails for Marine Reef Aquariums

m.liveaquaria.com

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[homegrowncichlid]

I'm using the standard 5 mm Floridian crush coral to hold onto my floating ricordia, however hair algae sweeps in from the main tank and is colonizing the gravel. My tang doesn't seem to be able to clean it like he does the glass and other fixed objects, I'm assuming that's because the gravel comes up, when he tries to bite off the algae, or he doesn't go for the tough hair algae balls that settle on the gravel as opposed to fresh shoots. I'm definitely looking for herbivores, not sure if sand shifting snails are effective for this situation. I believe hermit crabs would work, but they are so short lived, so I'm looking for a snail with a longer lifespan.