Cerith, Margarita and Astrea are the most common and a combination of all three seems to do the best job in my opinion. Within a month of setting up a reef aquarium it's recommended that one snail per gallon is added to ensure the prevention of algae problems.
Half as many Hermit Crabs of various kinds; red leg, blue leg, or scarlet, is my recommendation.
Hermits and Snails do pass away so it's a good idea to replenish their numbers every 3-6 months as needed. As a tank matures it may need less snails but be careful, because too few snails commonly leads to a bloom of nuisance algae.
Cerith Snails, a few Bumblebee Snails
Margarita Snails
Astrea Snails
This was "Fast Eddie"
A Red Leg Hermit getting a back rub from an Orange Linkia Sea Star
Here is a Scarlet Hermit Crab in a shell covered with old growth Coralline Algae.
Edited by Mark Peterson - December 31 2009 at 7:51am