Cerith Snail
Works the areas other snails ignore — sand surface, rock crevices, and glass.
A small, hard-working snail that covers ground most cleanup crew never touch: it burrows through the top layer of sand (keeping it stirred and detritus-free), then climbs the rock and glass to graze film and diatoms. Nocturnal by habit but constantly active. Peaceful, reef safe, and safe with any livestock that won't eat it.
What it needs to thrive
- Lighting
- Any standard reef lighting — no special requirements.
- Flow
- Moderate reef flow with calm resting zones.
- Feeding
- Grazer and detritus eater — film algae, diatoms, and leftover food.
- Temperament
- Completely peaceful and reef safe.
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Ideal Tank Size
- 5 gallons and up, fully cycled.
- Water Parameters
- 76–80°F · salinity 1.024–1.026 SG · pH 8.1–8.4 · 0 ammonia / 0 nitrite · nitrate under 10 ppm
Sand bed, rock crevices, and glass. Combine with astraea snails for full coverage.
Completely peaceful and reef safe.
Quarantine, dip, and acclimation
Quarantine
Hold all new fish in a bare-bottom 10–20 gallon QT for a minimum of 4 weeks. Observe for flashing, clamped fins, white spots, or breathing changes. Treat preventatively with copper (1.75–2.5 ppm chelated) or tank-transfer method for ich, plus a praziquantel course for flukes. Invertebrates and corals skip QT but go through dip and observation instead.
Recommended coral dip
For every new coral: a 5–10 minute bath in your reef-safe dip of choice (Bayer Complete, CoralRx, or Reef Primer) following label dosage, followed by two clean saltwater rinses. Inspect plugs and bases for flatworms, pyramid snails, and eggs — remove or refrag onto clean plugs before placing in display.
Acclimation
Float sealed bags in your QT or display for 15 minutes to match temperature. Then drip acclimate at 2–4 drops per second for 45–60 minutes until volume has tripled. Net livestock into the tank — never pour shipping water in. Dim the lights for the first 24 hours to reduce stress.