Cerith Snail - Cerithium sp.
Picture taken August 2005, Nikon D70 Digital SLR, Sigma 105mm EX macro lens

Superfamily: Cerithiacea.

Family: Cerithiidae.

These snails are long lived and do well in reef aquaria. They typically stay on the glass and frequently rest buried in the sand bed.

Part of my daily routine is to look for these snails in the overflow chambers. For some reason I find a few every day that I have climbed over.

Cerith Snail - Cerithium sp.
Picture taken August 2005, Nikon D70 Digital SLR, Sigma 105mm EX macro lens

One of the nice features of this snail is that it has no problem righting itself if it falls off the glass. Many snails will die if they fall on there backs and do not get assistance.

I find cerith snails have no problem flipping over.

These are mainly diatom eaters and will eat little else.

These snails stay small, usually under an inch. I would not recommend that you keep hermit crabs with these snails. As you'll notice, most smaller hermits have cerith snail shells.