Let's Talk About ~Snails~

[CarlaW]

Steve, I have had the same experience with the little blue legs. I had them before I put about 100 nassarius in. They are great little scavengers, and yes, they had a buffet-like experience when I put the nassarius in. As far as the nassarius go, I really like them for cleaning the dsb. From what I have seen, they don't go to deep, but they will keep the top 3/4 to 1/2" sparkling clean. Plus the fact that they are a hoot to watch at feeding time. That reminds me, I think I need to restock,, my little crabs are hungry again!!

 

[Angelscrx]

NIkki, I don't know if they were on the rock when I got it? I hadn't noticed it but it has been awhile since I found them. So it could be dead eggs because I did have a change in salinity when I had some sick fish and lowered salinity in the tank to 1.022 from 1.024 but now it is stable at 1.023.

Charlie that is just wrong! Getting Nassarius snails to feed the hermits is funny but wrong!

 

[CarlaW]

I don't do it on purpose, it just happens. Heck, it happens in nature, just nobody says anything.

 

[wrightme43]

Thats what I told my moray, about eating my hermits, but he just looks at me like he doesnt care what I think.
LOL Steve

 

[CarlaW]

Steve,
They are as blind as bats, no wonder!! Oh by the way, willis made me say that.:lol:

 

[SaltwaterTeen]

Heres a pic of cerith snail eggs. Btw, what are good snails that CAN flip back over? I have lost 2 of my 20 astreas by it and ive only had them for a few days :evil:

 

[SaltwaterTeen]

I have almost mature babies in the sack, that move around within the sack, and they are fun to watch!

 

[SaltwaterTeen]

My ceriths usually make the cool swirley pattern that are found on those swiss cake rolls.

 

[wrightme43]

I like the ceriths but my larger scarlet hermits insist on killing every one in the tank and taking their shells, every scarlet in the tank is sporting a cerith shell and I dont think its very cool. LOL.
Charlie you tell Willis to be a good dog, dont tease the reef monkey. LOL
Have a great day man. That is such a good looking lab. Steve

 

[NaH2O]

SaltwaterTeen - what other snails do you have in your tank? Those look like they may be Strombus eggs.

Cerith snails do very well in my tank. I see them often on the rocks, and crawling over the tank walls. However, I have spoken to other hobbyists that have not been as successful. Here is an article called: The Grazing Snails, Part III: Conchs, Ceriths, Cowries, and Columbellids

The ceriths typically found in the aquarium hobby generally come from the genus Cerithium, Clypeomorus, or Batillaria, but really almost any tropical cerithiacean would do well in aquaria provided there is an appropriate substrate, and given the non-specific nature of the collectors in the field it is likely that many others will eventually show up in reef tanks. Most of these species are found in or on unconsolidated sediments, although many others, such as those in the genus Planaxis, are found on rock. In most cases, they have been shown to be sand-swallowing organisms. Such animals eat the sediment and digest its organic material, mostly encrusting bacteria and microalgae. Those found on hard substrata are generally grazers that feed similarly to the trochoideans. Individuals from several species are commonly found in aquaria as part of the sand bed fauna. They will also venture onto rocks and aquarium walls from time to time, and use these sites to lay their rather distinctive egg masses.

Here is a pic of a cerith:

and a cerith depositing eggs:

 

[SaltwaterTeen]

Yep, thats a cerith and thats the swirly pattern I was talking about. Strombus? I really only see cerith in my tank. But at night I see this other snail thats weird looking, it has a thing in the center of it, I always thought it was one of those elephant noses lol. I only see it at night, btw.

 

[Angelscrx]

Yep, thats a cerith and thats the swirly pattern I was talking about. Strombus? I really only see cerith in my tank. But at night I see this other snail thats weird looking, it has a thing in the center of it, I always thought it was one of those elephant noses lol. I only see it at night, btw.

Sounds like you have Nassarius in your tank. Does it come out at feeding times?

I have Cerith snails in my tank and I always thought it was just one but last night I found four of them hanging out together and one tiny one white version of them. Always something new to discover in my tank.

 

[SaltwaterTeen]

Nope, its at night when this snail comes out.

 

[Angelscrx]

Can you get a picture of the sanil so we can look at it and see what it is? Thanks SWT

 

[NaH2O]

Strombus maculatus vs. Columbellid

I learned something new while reading on the next snail, and I was quite surprised! Often, Strombus maculatus snails sold in the hobby are misidentified. They are actually a species of Columbellid snail, and not really a strombus. It is speculated that the Columbellid strombus maculatus is of the genus Euplics or Pyrene. This particular Columbellid is actually a good algae eater, however, most snails of the family Columbellidae are generally considered predators or scavengers. The difference is the true Strombus maculatus has eyes at the end of the stalks (think about how a fighting conch or queen conch look), where the Columbellid Strombus does not have as noticable eyes. I have a photo of a false Strombus maculatus attached below.

The true Strombus maculatus can be seen >>>Here<<<. It is a thread in Dr. Ron's forum. There was some talk on whether IPSF sells the true Strombus maculatus or the Columbellid snail.

This brings the discussion to Conchs/true conchs/Strombus snails. There are several genus in the Strombidae family. I would like to focus on Conchs. The shell shape is similar to that of carnivorous whelks, however, as mentioned above, a tell-tale characteristic (quote taken from link provided in previous post):

In all of the animals in this group, the eyes are large and evident, located at the end of a long stalk, and they possess an evident eyeball with a visible pupil. They are visually oriented animals and will watch you. In the predatory whelks the eyes are typically just a small black dot with no discernable structure and are located at the base of the tentacles coming off the top of the head.

Conchs have a long probiscus they use to bite at algae. Due to the size of their foot, they are unable to crawl on rocks. The conchs are better suited for sand substrates. Fighting conchs will disappear into the sand for quite sometime, and then one day reappear. Occasionally, you may see the eye pop out of the sand just enough for the snail to look around. Queen conchs do grow to large sizes - some 16" in length. How quickly? I suppose that depends on the food source.

What have your experiences been with any of the above? The false strombus maculatus sure has a lot of people fooled, but does it really matter? It seems as though they consume algae all the same. It would be nice if there was a definitive genus and species.

On the attached photos: the first is the false Strombus maculatus, the second is an egg, thought to be from the false Strombus maculatus.

 

[reedman]

When I had my DSB I had 2 fighting conchs and they were one of the best additions I made. They kept the sand clean, were entertaining when they hopped, and looked pretty cool too. I lost both when I removed the DSB and moved, but I think I would have needed to remove them anyway since they seem to feed out of the sand. I highly recommend these to anyone who has a system with sand in it. They did nothing bad in my tank.

 

[CarlaW]

I've had one since about April. I see it once every month whether I like it or not. He must be doin a good job, or I'd probably see it more. I think I'll probably pick up at least one more just cuz. No bad experiences at all.

 

[NaH2O]

Limpets and Cowries

I'd like to mention a little bit on Limpets and Cowries.

A lot of species of limpets that we find in aquariums arrive as hitchhikers on live rock. Most are hervibores, but some can be predatory - coral grazing Lucapina (Carribean Orange Limpet) and the fleshy mantled Black Limpet (Scutus). The information I found on the Scutus says they cannot be trusted, as it may also graze on live corals and other invertebrates.

Here is a pic of a Scutus spp.

The Keyhole Limpet (aka China Man's Hat), is often found as a hitchhiker. Their shell shape and strong broad foot are appropriate to withstand strong wave action. Care must be taken when trying to remove these guys because with the strong grip they can be torn or injured. My personal experience of a Keyhole Limpet was it didn't do anything bad that I could tell. It pretty much stuck to one rock and didn't venture to other rocks. Nothing was ever bothered by it, but I suppose it ate something on there. They are good grazers, and may remove coralline algae, as well. It has been suggested that limpets may eat sponges and soft corals, and "legend" says that their radula/teeth and strong rasping motion can abrade the surface of acrylic aquariums. I have not hear this first hand, however.

Here is an image of a common limpet:

Cowries are of the genus Cypraea with around 500 species. Some of these are great herbivores. The shells are polished and have bright coloration. When the Cowrie is mving, the mantle comes out and covers the shell. This sometimes has brighter coloration than the shell. The Money Cowrie (C. moneta), the Ring Cowrie (C. annulus), and Snakehead Cowrie (C. caputserpentis) are good grazers. The Tiger Cowrie (C. tigris) is also a good herbivore, but because of its size (~4 inches) they may knock things over in the tank (i.e. unstable live rock & corals). Anthony Calfo states in "Reef Invertebrates" page 198

Sometimes precarious to keep in captivity and generally is not recommended. It feeds without much discretion upon algae, ocean meats (dead matter), and various desirable reef invertebrates like corals and bivalves. They are too large for most home reef aquariums, however well-behaved they might be, at about 4" (10 cm).

The other Cowries whose feeding habits have been studied, eat tunicates, sponges, soft corals or colonial anemones.

Anyone have/had either of these in their tank?

 

[Angelscrx]

I have had two of those little things in my tank before and rarely ever see them (limpets). Didn't know some of them could be bad or I would have taken them out. Mine just stayed on the rock pretty much. Never saw on on anything but rock anyway.

 

[wrightme43]

I have the black scutus. I have had it for 3 years now. Two came with my first live rock. I gave one to the LFS and kept one. I have never seen or noticed mine to harm any corals or sponges. It does however eat algae, and coraline algae. Not a lot but when I see on a rock for a long time the coraline will be rasped off just like my spiny urchin does. It has as far as I can tell never caused me a problem of any kind. Unless it were to start causeing some kind of major problem I would be inclined to leave it alone. It is very beautiful. I love to watch it. The picture just doesnt do it justice at all. The split in its back is pearlecent white, and the jet black together is just a really neat combo, to me. Here are somemore photos of him/her. I will try to get a better one if I can. HTH Steve