ReefBay data · Most popular invertebrates
What are the most popular invertebrates in reef tanks?
Updated November 2, 2026 · Sample: 4,433 tanks · Recomputed weekly
This ranking counts live tanks in the ReefBay app that list each invertebrate, not sales or search volume. A species counts once per tank.
Key findings
The most popular invertebrate in reef tanks is the Nassarius Snail, kept in 46.9% of the 4,433 ReefBay tanks that list invertebrates. The Blue Legged Hermit Crab (37.7%) and the Trochus Snail (32.2%) come next.
The median reef tank in ReefBay keeps 4 different invertebrates (mean 4.9), about 6 individuals in total.
In nano tanks (30 gallons or less) the top invertebrate is the Nassarius Snail (46% of nano tanks). In tanks of more than 100 gallons the top invertebrate is the Nassarius Snail (46.1% of large tanks).
Top 3 invertebrates
The 30 most popular invertebrates in reef tanks
Percent of the 4,433 saltwater tanks that list invertebrates and keep this species. Click a name for its care page.
- Nassarius Snail 46.9% (2,080)
- Blue Legged Hermit Crab 37.7% (1,670)
- Trochus Snail 32.2% (1,426)
- Turbo Snail 32% (1,417)
- Astrea Snail 23.9% (1,061)
- Cleaner Shrimp 20.2% (896)
- Emerald Crab 19.1% (848)
- Cerith Snail 16.8% (746)
- Bumble Bee Snail 15.2% (672)
- Peppermint Shrimp 15.2% (672)
- Mexican Turbo Snail 13.3% (588)
- Fire Shrimp 9.7% (431)
- Tiger Conch 8.8% (390)
- Hermit Crab 8.7% (385)
- Scarlet Hermit Crab 8.4% (371)
- Tuxedo Urchin 8.2% (362)
- Sand Sifting Sea Star 7.8% (345)
- Pistol Shrimp 7.2% (319)
- Halloween Hermit Crab 6.3% (279)
- Tiger Pistol Shrimp 6.2% (274)
- Brittle Starfish 5.9% (263)
- Red Tip Hermit Crab 5.9% (263)
- Red Leg Hermit Crab 5.8% (259)
- Nerite Snail 5.2% (230)
- Bubble Tip Anemone 5% (222)
- Coral Banded Shrimp 5% (220)
- Skunk Cleaner Shrimp 4.9% (218)
- Feather Duster Worm 4.5% (198)
- Copepods 4.2% (187)
- Fighting Conch 4.2% (185)
Top 10 in nano tanks (30 gallons or less)
1,810 tanks
- 1 Nassarius Snail 46%
- 2 Blue Legged Hermit Crab 38.8%
- 3 Trochus Snail 31.5%
- 4 Turbo Snail 25%
- 5 Astrea Snail 21.8%
- 6 Cerith Snail 16.4%
- 7 Cleaner Shrimp 15.2%
- 8 Emerald Crab 14.6%
- 9 Peppermint Shrimp 12.3%
- 10 Bumble Bee Snail 11.8%
Top 10 in large tanks (more than 100 gallons)
538 tanks
- 1 Nassarius Snail 46.1%
- 2 Turbo Snail 42.8%
- 3 Blue Legged Hermit Crab 35.3%
- 4 Trochus Snail 33.8%
- 5 Cleaner Shrimp 28.4%
- 6 Astrea Snail 24.3%
- 7 Emerald Crab 22.9%
- 8 Bumble Bee Snail 21%
- 9 Peppermint Shrimp 19.9%
- 10 Mexican Turbo Snail 19.7%
Full ranking
| # | Species | Tanks | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nassarius Snail | 2,080 | 46.9% |
| 2 | Blue Legged Hermit Crab | 1,670 | 37.7% |
| 3 | Trochus Snail | 1,426 | 32.2% |
| 4 | Turbo Snail | 1,417 | 32% |
| 5 | Astrea Snail | 1,061 | 23.9% |
| 6 | Cleaner Shrimp | 896 | 20.2% |
| 7 | Emerald Crab | 848 | 19.1% |
| 8 | Cerith Snail | 746 | 16.8% |
| 9 | Bumble Bee Snail | 672 | 15.2% |
| 10 | Peppermint Shrimp | 672 | 15.2% |
| 11 | Mexican Turbo Snail | 588 | 13.3% |
| 12 | Fire Shrimp | 431 | 9.7% |
| 13 | Tiger Conch | 390 | 8.8% |
| 14 | Hermit Crab | 385 | 8.7% |
| 15 | Scarlet Hermit Crab | 371 | 8.4% |
| 16 | Tuxedo Urchin | 362 | 8.2% |
| 17 | Sand Sifting Sea Star | 345 | 7.8% |
| 18 | Pistol Shrimp | 319 | 7.2% |
| 19 | Halloween Hermit Crab | 279 | 6.3% |
| 20 | Tiger Pistol Shrimp | 274 | 6.2% |
| 21 | Brittle Starfish | 263 | 5.9% |
| 22 | Red Tip Hermit Crab | 263 | 5.9% |
| 23 | Red Leg Hermit Crab | 259 | 5.8% |
| 24 | Nerite Snail | 230 | 5.2% |
| 25 | Bubble Tip Anemone | 222 | 5% |
| 26 | Coral Banded Shrimp | 220 | 5% |
| 27 | Skunk Cleaner Shrimp | 218 | 4.9% |
| 28 | Feather Duster Worm | 198 | 4.5% |
| 29 | Copepods | 187 | 4.2% |
| 30 | Fighting Conch | 185 | 4.2% |
Method
- Source: tank profiles and logs created by ReefBay app users. ReefBay is a reef aquarium app for iOS and Android.
- Excluded: deleted tanks, deleted accounts, ReefBay staff and test accounts.
- Counted: saltwater tanks that list at least one species of this kind. A species counts once per tank, whatever the quantity.
- Only library species count. Custom entries typed by users are excluded.
- Nano = 30 gallons or less. Large = more than 100 gallons.
Cite this page
You may reuse these numbers and charts with a link to this page (CC BY 4.0). Suggested citation:
ReefBay. "What are the most popular invertebrates in reef tanks?" November 2026. https://reefbay.com/stats/popular-inverts
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