How do you know if a clam has pyramid snails?

[Jan]

I recently got an eyelash blenny in my 120, and shortly afterwards I noticed that my crocea clam was retracting a lot and the blenny was usually nearby at the time. I ended up moving the crocea into my 30 gallon cube to protect it from the blenny.

For the first 2 days this seemed fine but this evening the clam is retracted again, and now I see some ragged edging on one side of the clam. When I look closely, I see a few tiny, tiny, snails near the edge of the clam shell (near the mantle). How do I know if these are pyramid snails? They are only 1-2 mm.

Plus, I've had a larger maxima clam in that cube for months and it is perfectly healthy, nothing nibbling on the mantle. I have these tiny snails living in the cube I know, as I see them all over the sides after nightfall. I've never thought anything of them.

What do you think I should do? If I put the crocea back in the 120, the blenny will start bothering it again.

 

[edwing206]

What fish do you have in the cube? A sixline will help with the snails.
Do they look like this?
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/MolluscPIX/Gastropods/Prosobranch PIX/DSCF1323.jpg

 

[Jan]

Hi Louis.

They look very similar to that, maybe just a tad bit shorter in the relative length of the cone. I've had tiny snails in this cube for so long that I've stopped paying attention to them. If they are pyramid snails, and considering I have lots of them in this cube, is it a death sentence to put clams in here?

It's still puzzles me that the larger maxima clam hasn't been bothered by them...

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Pure luck. ou need to brush each and every inch of shell clean of snails and eggs. Watch, then do it again. Can take work getting rid of them. Email James Fatheree for specifics or do a search. They will suck your clam dead!

 

[Barry N.]

A juvenile coris wrasse also does a good job.

Normally you will find the snail around the byssal. Hope it has not hatched eggs or you will have several dozens in your tank.

Also do what Herefishyfishy suggested by cleaning shell and examine at least every week.

 

[Jan]

Hi Barry.

I just held a magnifying glass up to the sides of the tank and tried to confirm that these are pyramid snails. It seems like some of these are baby stomatellas, and some a dark grey baby snails of some kind, and then there are the white cone shaped snails that look similar but I'm not certain they are pyramids--never having seen them before.

In any case, there are certainly dozens and dozens of baby snails in this tank as they came in on this live rock I bought. I think I am going to have to add some kind of snail predator to reduce the population.

In this cube I also have an african flameback pigmy angel, a blind clownfish living in an RBTA, and two neon gobies. Would a juvenile coris wrasse be less of a threat to these other fish than a six-line? Or are there other wrasses that will do the job as well?

 

[chris&barb]

Jan, if your seeing snails that look like this on the clam(especially around where the mantle and shell meet) then they are most likely pyrams

some wrasses can be effective at controlling pyrams but unfortunately they will not eradicate them. pyrams feed at night and wrasses sleep at night , so wrasses may be able to pick some off but if you rely on a wrasse to take care of them its not going to happen. the best way to get rid of them is to remove the clam an hour or 2 ofter lights out and brush the shell. repeat this every other night for at least a month, even if you dont see any snails. after a month you can slow down to once a week for another 2 month.

 

[Jan]

wow,

that's a scary looking photo, Chris & barb. I can see the texture of the shell better here, and I'm still not convinced that these are the snails I have. I will pay close attention though especially at night.

Last night I picked off a couple of tiny black snails from near the mantle which I believe to be scavengers, and a couple of small white snails. Interestingly, my mondo nasarius snail also made a play for this clam last night. I saw him coming and I watched him...when he eventually touched the clam with his proboscus or whatever that thing is called, he reared up on his tail and lunged for the clam! I brushed him off and he buried himself. It definitely recalled to mind all those threads by people who swore up and down that their clams were attacked and killed by nasarius snails (and the opposite argument, that the clam "must already have been dying.")

Clam is still alive this morning, but I think I may have injured it when I moved it from it's previous home to this tank. I had to pull for a while to get it to release its grip....I tried not to rip but I must have still injured it.

 

[chris&barb]

just an FYI, if you ever need to remove a clam thats attached to a rock, tip it to one side and take a sharp knife and cut the byssal threads as far away from the clam as you can. the threads are pretty much like our hair or finger nails, it wont hurt the clam at all

 

[Jan]

thanks! I was wondering what the right way to do that.