Please visit our Sponsors
FAQs about Marine Snails
Related Articles: , ,& ,& ,&
Related FAQs: , , , , , , , , , & ,& , , , , , , , , , , ,& ,& ,&
Turbos for sale.
When is a Welk a Whelk? (Not Lawrence) - 10/24/05 What is a
Welk &sp&? &It's &Whelk&,
mollusk/snail.&& I've heard that they look similar to
Conchs and are from the Sea of Cortez, &Many different species of
whelks that range all over the world, mostly in tropical waters
though.& but since I cannot seem to figure out how to correctly
spell the name, I can't find information on them. &Now that you
have the name just Google WWM or just Google period. In short they are
mostly carnivorous animals that can make interesting displays and good
detritivores in fish only tanks but most aren't the best mixed reef
citizens, Adam J.&&
Re: A mysterious end Hi gentlemen, &cheers& Thanks so
much for your help with this. In fact, I did add about 12 Astrea snails
to the tank over a week ago without quarantine. That's probably the
answer.& &Ahhh... yes. There is a much higher incidence of
parasitic disease with Atlantic livestock in aquaria (in this case
carried in the water with the snails)&& Unfortunately I'm
not sure how to go about quarantining snails.& &all things wet
should be quarantined...live rock, plants, corals, snails, fishes,
etc). In many cases (most) no medication is necessary... just a 4 week
period where most pathogens will be expressed, die and/or wane without
a viable host& What would they eat to stay alive in a quarantine
tank?& &the same thing they in in the other glass aquarium
(your display): diatoms off the glass, Nori seaweed from you... grazing
on a small piece of live rock added. Think of QT as more of an
observation period than anything.& My main tank has plenty of algae
to munch but pickings are pretty slim in quarantine. &algae wafers,
Spirulina tablets, etc. Many options here my friend& Thanks again,
Andy &best regards, Anthony&
Re: Strange thing growing on clam shell I just sent the image
earlier and I'm attaching it right now. Thanks. &no worries at
all... your hitchhiker is a harmless Vermetid snail. They are sessile
(non-moving) filter feeders... and you may notice that they secrete a
mucus web which they issue to collect microorganisms before sucking the
web back in for digestion. A fascinating creature. Enjoy. Anthony
Fish eating Turbo snails Dear Mr. Fenner et. al., &Steven
Pro here this evening.& How do you do? &Ok, but awfully hot here
now.& I have a question regarding Turbo snails. Are they scavengers?
&No, more algae/diatom eaters.& I was away for a 3-day vacation
and noticed that my bicolor Pseudochromis went missing. I removed all
my 25 lbs. of live rock, flushed it, ran my fingers throughout the
substrate but still no Chromis. Could he have died and eventually
consumed by the snails? &They are many other creatures in your tank
that could have worked on consu copepods,
amphipods, worms, etc.& I have 7 Turbos and 1 Astrea in my 20G.
Thanks in advance. Best, Mimi Eliza &And you too! -Steven
Snail problems Good afternoon guys, I am having a problem
keeping snails in my tank. F at last test yesterday,
temp 80, salinity 1.024, ph 8.4, zero amm., nitrates and phosphates,
calc at 400, Alk at 5.5meq/l. It is a 37 gallon with a Remora skimmer,
CPR hang on refugium and about sixty pounds of live rock.& &all
sounds very fine& I have only a Banggai cardinal in it right now.
Last time I thought maybe I didn't acclimate them properly, so this
time I took four hours adding a couple of tablespoons of water every
ten minutes.& &wow... impressive!& They were active in the
bag then when I put them in they go completely inactive leaving their
foot outside the shell and not moving at all. Is there something I am
not testing for that could be the cause?& &notorious magnesium
sensitivity... what brand of salt do you use. I have heard many
aquarists complain anecdotally for years about a certain company that
has changed their name a couple of times. If not using a mainstream
brand like Instant Ocean, do consider& I have purchased snails from
a variety of sources to no avail. As far as supplements, I add two part
calcium, essential elements and Iodine all from Kent. Any help would be
greatly appreciated as I am growing more discouraged. As always thanks,
Lowe &do consider a Poly Filter with consideration for the
possibility of another metal contamination... indeed a common snail.
starfish killer. Best regards, Anthony&
Snail Deaths Dear Mr. Fenner, &Steven Pro in this
morning.& I have a problem that I can't figure out so I thought
I'd consult your expert advice. My problem is that my turbo snails
die within a month of introduction. Tank is a 75 gal. approx a year
old. Overflow to a TF1000 in a 20 gal sump. 299 watts pc lighting ( 2
full/1 blue), 90 lbs of LR, 1 inch of arg. sand, 2 Rio powerheads for
circulation. Temp: 78-79 Salinity: 1.023 PH: 8.4 Nitrite:0 Amon:0
Nitrate: 20ppm CA: 350 (trying to get it up w/Kent 2 part solution)
ALK: 7meq/L &Calcium and alkalinity are a both a little low. It is
going to be expensive to raise and maintain both using two-part
solutions. You should investigate the use of calcium reactors and
Kalkwasser on the
page. Not related to your problem
with snails, however.& Copper: 0 Phosphate: ? (buying this weekend,
but I assume low b/c I use RO water). Activated Carbon in sump. Weekly
8 gal water changes with aerated (24 hours) RO water (Not RO, DI) and
Instant Ocean mix, heated to tank temp - but can't get the ph to
same level as tank, only 8.1 - 8.2. &All sounds good.& Current
tank inhabitants are 1 maroon clown, 1 blue damsel, 1 bar goby, 1
Banggai cardinal, and an oddly well behaved domino damsel that I cycled
the tank with. All fish are doing great and even found a small colony
of polyps (green centers with brown tentacles tipped green - I.D?)
&Sounds like Zoanthus.& growing on the backside of a piece of LR.
I acclimate the snails according to your book, and they seem to do
really well the first few weeks. Then slowly, the snails fall off the
rocks, and lay still upside down for days (I assume they're dead
and not admiring the lights above). I started with 3 snails, then
another 3 - all dead. I thought it was copper from some
&unknown& source and had it tested for a second opinion at
the LFS - not a trace of copper. I've never treated my main tank
w/copper, but have it on reserve for my QT in case I need it. My second
purchase of 3 snails came from a completely different store because I
wanted to make sure they were healthy, if the original 3 were not. Same
results. Other problems included green hair algae which has diminished
with an adjustment to my skimmer (more flow), manually picking and
siphoning, and reduced feeding. I plan to add some Caulerpa into tank
soon. I don't think the snails are starving because I can see a
&cleaned trail& on the LR as they graze. &Neither do
I.& They just seem to suddenly slow down after 1 week, slow down
after 2 weeks, and by the third or forth - they fall off and lay still
(upside down). I've even banned smoking in the entire house 2 weeks
ago because I thought the skimmer was sucking in 2nd hand smoke from
the air and injecting it into my water (do you think they have a
nicotine fix?). &No& I'd like to add more snails and maybe a
cleaner shrimp, but want to figure out this problem before adding
anything. I have a feeling that it has something to do with my water
changes. &Not likely. Salinity shock is a concern, but does not seem
to be your problem.& Any ideas? &Yes, actually a rather simple
one. I am guessing you have Astrea species snails. This is what most
&turbo& snails sold in the trade are. Astrea, for whatever
reason, are incapable of righting themselves after falling off of the
rock and landing on sand. They lay there for a while until they die.
The next time you get some snails, try to find some &Turban&
snails. They are larger and their shell spirals sideways versus the
Astrea snails shell that rises up to form a cone.& Thank you for
your time and apologize for the long email, but I wanted to give you
the &full picture&. &No apology necessary.& PS. I think
I glanced somewhere that you have another book out. If so, what is the
title? Need to add to the library. -Bob. &Bob has written &The
Conscientious Marine Aquarist& and &A Fishwatcher's Guide
to the Tropical Marine Aquarium Fishes&. Bob, Anthony, and I are
currently working on another book with a working title of &The
Best Reef Fishes for the Modern Marine Aquarium.& -Steven
Astrea snails and coralline algae Greeting and Salutations
Bob or Anthony, &I'll take the salutation, and raise you a
&whassup?&, Anthony& Quick question for the experts: I
just added some nice cured LR to my system with some beautiful purple
coralline algae growth. This morning I noticed one of my Astrea snails
&sitting& on top of the coralline on the rock. Will these
little guys eat the good (translate: pretty) algae or will they
restrict themselves to the green stuff?& &they will only eat
microalgae and they favor diatoms (brown algae)& Thanks so much for
all the time and quality you guys put into WWM. I hope you're
raking in crazy loot with the advertisers otherwise I'm sure there
would be many willing to pay a small subscription fee! &actually the
wine, roman parties and dancing girls nightly are payment enough&
PS-Anthony--didn't realize you were from the 'burgh, me too!
Any recs. as to places for good quality live stock/LR around here? take
care my friend. &Adam...too cool. Yes, reasonably good stores...
what part of the city are you from? Perhaps your best networking might
be through our local marine society. We take frequent road trips
(subsidized by the club) to the best regional stores within a 6 hr
drive! We also have great speakers like Bob Fenner and Eric Borneman
annually just to name a few. Do look us up at www.pmas.org or contact
me if you'd like more info. I hope to meet you someday, bud.
Kindly, Anthony&
HELP???? Jelly naming, color seashells by the seashore Hi
Bob!! &Hello Drew& Can you help with 2 questions for my class?
&I will try& 1) Why are Jelly Fish called fish? &A
&generic& term that folks used to apply to most any/all
animals in the sea. Even marine mammals like dolphins used to be
called, considered &fish&... and eaten on
&non-meat& days by Catholics!& 2) Why are shells in
tropical areas so much more colorful and fancy? &Some investigators
speculate that many bright colors, patterns are &warnings& or
false warnings for would-be predators to steer clear... lest they be
envenom zed, poisoned... Other times these and odd-body shapes may
serve as disruptive camouflage to hide these animals... perhaps at
times to attract mates, identify them as members of the same
species.& Thank you so much! Drew Morgan &You are welcome. Bob
Question about limpets HI Robert, I found your article on
Mollusks: An overview on the internet and decided you would know the
answer to my questions. We watched two limpets in a display last night
in our tank that we think might have been their reproduction process
but we are unsure. Both key hole limpets were on the glass, the smaller
one ( 1 1/4 in long) was releasing from the key hole an almost clear
liquid that would disperse into the tank. It looked almost like smoke.
The other, larger one ( 1.5 in long) was higher up on the glass and the
release from this limpet was whiter, thicker and dispersed slower. They
did this back and forth for at least 30 minutes that we were aware of.
Were we watching the release of eggs and sperm? &Likely so& If
so, how long will it be before we will see tiny limpets in the tanks?
Is this common? If not, what were we watching? &... probably
won't see limpet young... the products here will probably be
collected by your filtration... removed by skimming... pelagic larval
stages have tough times in captive systems. Bob Fenner& Please email
your answers to XXXX. Thanks! Carol Griffith
Snail Population Bob, and/or Crew I have enjoyed both this
site and the book CMA. It has made the setup and maintenance of our 55g
salt water reef tank enjoyable. I have two questions for you. First, I
have a plethora of small snails in my salt water tank. The snails are
pearl color and some of the shells are white with brown stripes (kind
of reminds me of a zebra). I would not mind them, in fact I would have
thought of them beneficial except there are so many of them throughout
the tank. When I turn off the light in the tank they really come out in
full force. The snails look like the turbo snails that I currently
have. What are these snails? &Can't tell definitively by your
description& And with there so many how do I get rid of some of
them. &A wrasse species would be my first choice here... of a type
that will get along with your other livestock, system& Currently in
the tank is 1-coral banded shrimp, 1-cleaner shrimp, royal , Gramma,
ocellaris clown, 3-scissor tails and a variety of hermit crabs. I also
have some button polyps, White clove polyp, colt coral, and a Derasa
Clam currently in the tank. Is there something I could add to help with
population control of the snails (fish, or invertebrates)? &Perhaps
a Cirrhilabrus, Paracheilinus species... these are detailed & My second question is my LFS has some Signal gobies
(Signigobius biocellatus). I was wondering how hard are these little
guys to keep and ultimately to feed? They have two but they are not a
mated pair. Should I get two or just try one? &Should only be kept
in pairs or more in a large-enough system... Not a really hardy
species... easily lost by the less than diligent& Thanks for all
your help that you guys have done in upkeeping a great site full of
information. I realize I still have a lot to learn. Thanks again. Sean
H. &We all do my friend. Bob Fenner&
Possible I.D.? I found this 1.5 inch creature in my FOWLR
tank. The tank is approximately eight months old, however, I did add
some new live rock approximately two months ago. The picture is rough,
but the object in question is a plum colored soft bodied animal. Any
ideas? I looked through the material on your site, Nudibranchs and
flatworms, but found nothing exact. Any dangers? &Mmm, bizarre...
sort of like those old UFO pix. Maybe a type of Opistobranch snail... I
would remove it. Bob Fenner& -ed
Marine Snail Reproduction This morning I noticed about 8 tiny
snails (head of a pin size) around one of the front corners of my 300
gallon reef tank. I have 12 adult Astrea snails in the tank, added
about three months ago. I assume that somehow they are breeding ?
&although Astraea snails have been regularly observed spawning in
captivity, it is rare if at all possible for it to be successful in the
confines of aquaria& Due to the proximity to an adult, it seems to
me that maybe they were &born&. Can you give me some info on
the reproduction of this type of snail. Many thanks ! Steven C.
Youngblood Houston, TX. &Steve, more than a few species of snail
imported with rock and sand commonly reproduce asexually in aquaria.
Most likely, what you have is a non-Astraea species. Describe them as
they get larger and we'll get a scientific name for you. kind
regards, Anthony&
Aquarium question (marine snail behavior) Hi, thank you for
your time. I was just wondering why my snails seem to spend all their
time at the top of the tank. Is this normal or is this some indication
of poor water quality? &Could be part of a given species,
populations natural behavior (many are amphibious) or could be
&water quality& as in low oxygen... even &low
food&... or even just adventitious behavior... a quality of living
things.& They are turbo snails in a new (2 months old) 45 gallon
reef tank. Thanks. &Oh... maybe lack of oxygen, food, water quality.
Bob Fenner&
WTB: Good Hello... not much time to write, three week old
baby demands all of my time! So, to be brief, just two nights ago I
lost a Naso tang. Found her in the morning. :( Can't figure the
cause, either- she was swimming and eating like usual when I went to
sleep. Anyway, today I saw the most disgusting thing on my tank glass.
It took me a few minutes to realize it was a snail... with no shell.
No, I don't mean one of those critters that aren't SUPPOSED to
have shells. This is one of my old snails, just one of three. And he
used to have a shell, I assure you. &Hmm& My first thought was to
get rid of it- it must be dying. But, it seems to be fine. Well, not
FINE, but okay. He's moving and eating. So then I thought, move it
to the refugium so none of the fish eat him. But... if he dies down
there, I'd never know it and he'll just pollute the water.
&Maybe...& Taking longer than I thought... okay- any thoughts on
my suddenly shell-less snail? &I wouldn't be overly concerned if
the snail is &small&, the system &large&. Not that
much chance of pollution... This maybe a new snail/Opistobranch, not
one of your old ones sans shell... still no problem. Bob Fenner&
What eats acrylic? Dear Bob, A quick thank you for all
you've done for us &salts& out there. I reference WWM
frequently and often and thank you and Lorenzo for all the time,
effort, and sage advice you've devoted to people's better
understanding of the life forms and biotopes they keep. &A pleasure
and honor my friend& I have a question regarding what I believe to
be radula marks etched into the surface of an acrylic tank. I recently
helped a friend break down his 40 gal. tank (SeaClear or Truvu, I'm
not sure which). He had (sadly) neglected any maintenance on the system
since his last specimen died some two years ago, only adding top off
water. Needless to say it was a huge mess, but somewhat of an
interesting study from a scientific perspective. As I began to scrape
of the thick filamentous algae covering all sides of the tank, I
noticed a haze on the front panel. Upon closer inspection, this haze
was a pattern of etchings in the acrylic surface! The pattern matches
that which I have seen snails (esp. turbo) leave as they graze through
a patch of Cyano. Is it possible for snail's radulas to be so hard
as to etch into the acrylic?& &Yes... for browsers, many
gastropod mollusks have a rasping mechanism... a &tongue&
called a radula (important in its characteristic make up for species
identifications at times) that is constantly being regenerated in the
back of the mouth, worked by a muscular device, the odontophore... that
these various &snails& use to scrape away micro/macro algae
et al. from hard surfaces as food... Some have modifications, additions
of specialized salivas, bore into shells, melt rock...& I am
wondering if you have ever encountered this, and if so, what species of
snails you have associated it with. I am sure this info would be quite
interesting to everyone out there with an acrylic reef tank. &I have
seen this sort of marking... and simple &stress fracturing&
that looks similar... in acrylic tanks. Don't know which specific
species might be involved though. Bob Fenner& Sincere Thanks,
Blue-Green Algae and Snail Deaths I have read through your
site and found a lot of helpful information. I have also looked through
FFExpress for info but my problem is still persistent. I have tried
large 20% water changes, I even tried 50% once and killed a starfish. I
use R/O water a 24GPD Kent Marine TFC to fill the tank, for top off,
and water changes. Let me describe my tank: 90 Gallon 10 Gallon Sump
rated for a 125, Balls removed CAP 2200 Return Pump 50 Pounds Rubble
Manano Rock 50 Pounds Fiji Walt Smith 50 Pounds Mixed Course/Fine
Atlantic Crushed Shell Aqua-C In Sump Skimmer Rio 1700 for Skimmer Rio
1100 In Tank for Movement 2 Air Stones for movement 6 4'
Fluorescent Tubes 2 Actinic, 1 50/50, 3 20,000 Lux - 13 Hour Timer 0
Ammonia, 0 Nitrite, 0 Nitrate, 0.5 or less Phosphate, &I'd shoot
for zero percent...& 350+ Calcium, 8.4 Ph 78 degrees F The tank has
been up for 5 months Kalkwasser,& &Drop the Kalkwasser habit,
and get on to using two part supplements here& Strontium, Iodine
added every 3 days 1 Yellow Tang, 1 Huma Huma, 1 Green Chromis, 1
Striped Damsel, 2 False Percula 2 Green Brittle Star, 1 Chocolate Chip
Star, 1 Cleaner Shrimp, 4 Green or Mithrax Crabs, 3 Snails down from 12
I know I need additional movement and I am going to add 1-3 move Rio
powerheads ? My big question is when I do a weekly water
change I remove 80%+ of the algae with gravel backing but a day or so
later it is back and still as unattractive as before. I have been
hoping the tank would grow out of this ugly stage soon as my other
previous tank had but it only had a diatom problem due to my
overfeeding.( Porcupine Puffers are so cute and always hungry, I could
not resist) The Holidays are fast approaching and I have the honor ( or
at least the largest house ) of hosting Thanksgiving. I would like to
solve this problem by then. &You need to undertake a few approaches
here, maybe chemical filtrants, in addition to enhanced circulation,
competition by macro-algae...& As a backup plan I was going to do a
water change that morning. This tank is my pride and joy and I want it
to look as good as I know it can. After a water change when the tank
settles it is truly a live piece of art. I care nearly as deeply for my
pets as do I care for my family. Please offer any advice you can.&
&My advice on algae control is posted on our site,
, have you read the sections on it there?& I also
have been losing Turbo Snails, I suspect the Chocolate Star. I have
watched him crawl over an overturned snail before it can right itself
and sit there for hours, not moving. The trigger has also picked at the
lest than healthy ones. If you can offer any advice I would greatly
appreciate it. &Read my friend. Bob Fenner& Sincerely, Joseph M
Dying snails Hello Bob, I wrote to you not so long ago. You
were a great help to me! I wonder if you could help me again. Two days
ago I was inspired by a post I read on your daily Q&A and decided
to rearrange my LR. I did so and it looks wonderful. I changed the
water yesterday and though my corals showed some stress they are back
to their original glory. &Ah good& My problem is that I have
found three snails dead today. I checked my water Ammonia & Nitrite
0, Nitrate 5ppm, Alk 2.8milq, Ca 425, those are my normal tests. My
skimmer is bringing out more then normal but I thought that was because
of the mess I made. &Yes... and the transient chemical changes
likely the cause/demise of the snails& Do you have an idea of how I
can find out why my snails are dying? I pulled them out as quickly as I
could. Would it be a good idea for now to run some activated
carbon?& &Yes, a good idea& I'm not sure what else to
do. I though maybe because I rearranged the LR added some dead rock
(cycled & cleaned well) 10lbs, and 20lbs of new LS I messed up the
food chain. Thank you for your time! Libby &Not likely a long term
challenge. Your system is likely re-stabilized now, but I would run the
carbon. Be chatting. Bob Fenner&
Cowries Bob, I have kept a cowry in a 10 gallon tank for 4
months, along with live rock and a Domino damsel, and I recently
purchased a 55 gallon tank and is currently in the process of cycling.
To accelerate the process I have added my live sand from the old tank
to the new, and added the domino damsel as well as a velvet damsel.
Both seem to be doing fine, however when I moved the cowry (Cypraea
mauritiana) to the new tank, she has stayed retracted in her shell.
This morning I moved her back in the old 10 gallon tank, waiting to see
if she will move at all well that usually takes place at night). I have
tested the water in the new tank and it was PH 8.2, Nitrite 0, Ammonia
0.25-0.50, Nitrates 0ppm(I think,...I'm new to this). &Mmm, the
Cypraeids are sensitive to &new tank& conditions... the
ammonia was likely harsh here... and a good idea to not lift these
mollusks into the air (better to move on their rock in a bag, plastic
jar...& Do you think I should have waited longer to introduce the
cowry to the new tank? &Yes my friend& She usually feeds on algae
(scraping rocks or the glass). Also, I haven't been able to find
any info on cowries. Would you suggest a particular web page? Please
advise.. Thank you, D. &Please insert the name of the family
&Cypraeidae& into your search engines. Not much of
&practical husbandry& on these shellfish on the net... but
some. Perhaps you will write a definitive piece on their captive care.
Bob Fenner&
Snails Hey Bob, Lately I have noticed several little snails
in my tank, about 30 to 50, maybe more that I haven't seen yet. Are
they safe? Should I get rid of them? &Time for you to get a couple
of good reference works my friend, and read through them. Who can tell
from your description what these snails are? Or if they're
deleterious? I would leave them be... Bob Fenner& Thanks Jason P.S.
The Rena canister filter is working great in the tank, I also added a
Rio 600 powerhead with dual wave arms.
Re: snails Bob, Hey I know I need some good books, what do
you recommend? Title/Author? Thanks Jason &Please read through the
reviews posted on our site (WWM). Bob Fenner&
Small spiral worms? Bob, You are so awesome. I have been
trying to get various people to answer me on the filter questions for
about a month, and you answered in one day. &Hmm, why not?&
Thanks you, thank you, thank you. I have one more question. When I came
home today I noticed a small (1/4&) transparent flat worm with a
forked tail on my glass. I was reading on your worm section and noticed
that the flat worm that is related to the black spot disease with Tangs
are related. I recently had a tang die in my tank. He had these black
spots and I did freshwater dips, the black spots would leave, but I
woke up one morning to see both of his sides eaten away. Needless to
say, he did not survive. Is this worm responsible for this?&
&Doubtful... but perhaps... more likely the Tang died from whatever
cause and the sides were being eaten away by opportunistic
organisms& I also very recently began to see small white spirals on
the glass and shells in my tank. Are they related? Do I need to get rid
of the white spirals? &Likely either encrusting snails or Polychaete
worms of some sort... not a problem... just scrape them from the
viewing panels... they too shall pass& I can not seem to find any
info on what this might be. &Read through the marine invertebrate
sections on our site:
and ask your queries of the
excellent folks on our Chatforum: /&
Again, thanks for the answer to my previous question. I know that I
will only have success in the future with my tank, with you on my side.
Julie &Looking forward to it. Bob Fenner&
Mystery critter Hey Bob , do you know what this is ? thanks
,Robert McNinch &Nice pix. This looks to me to be a Cowry, family
Cypraeidae of some sort. Time to scan the Net. Bob Fenner&
Crab Control Bob, I discovered a crab in my 75g reef tank a
couple of months ago which I assumed to have been a hitchhiker on my
live rock. I didn't give it much thought at the time but I did some
reading which indicated that some types of crabs can be detrimental to
the tank including corals, hermit crabs, small fish, and snails. Well -
this weekend I saw him again for the first time in about a month and he
is now about the width of a quarter, light brown (almost beige) color,
and has a hairy appearance. I noticed that he has taken refuge on the
bottom of the tank under a large piece of live rock. I monitored him
for while and much to my chagrin observed him sneaking out from his
refuge and capturing small Nassarius snails which he then transports
back to his hideaway and assume he then consumes their meat if he can.
Given the obvious difficulty in trying to capture this nuisance -
I'm writing you to ask for any insight you may have in trapping and
removing this crab short of removing all my live rock to find him. Your
thoughts would be appreciated.. &Bait, trap this crab out and remove
it. Some instructions on how to do this under &Crabs& on the
WWM site. Bob Fenner& Thanks, Rocky Phillips
Die-off dear bob, I wrote you several weeks ago re: snails
going &dormant& when introduced to the tank. then they die of
starvation. In addition, my coral, one at a time, are dying. all my
water test numbers are good. you suggested adding magnesium. this has
not worked. could it be possible that a bacterium has invaded the tank
and is causing the damage?& &Very unlikely... much more common
are chemical, physical anomalies... please do read through the
&Toxic Tank FAQs& part of the Marine Index on our site:
for accounts of others& I also have a large
growth of hair algae growing on live rock and decorative (non-live)
coral. any suggestions, I am almost ready to dismantle tank and give up
( after 10 years). awaiting your response to help me. &Perhaps the
best idea is to tear down the system and re-set it up... with new
substrate, at least some new live rock... this is what I would do. Bob
Fenner, who apologizes for late replies... am visiting in Asia.&
thank you, Lowell Halpern
Milky Way of Snails!!! Bob, &Lorenzo here standing in for
Bob-in-Asia.& I have a 125 reef that is really doing well, been up
since September of 2000 and everything is really thriving. &Sure
sounds like it!& I added 25 Margarita snails in September of 2000
and another 25 in December. Noticed the other evening with the lights
off that their are literally 100s and I mean 100s!!!!! of little snails
all over the place. They only come out at night and are shaped like the
Margarita but their coloring (on the ones that are big enough to see)
is similar to a Nautilus. &Yikes, wowsers, etc!& Anything to be
worried about here? &You don't have any fish that would eat the
planktonic stages of the snails? I'm kind of surprised you'd
get so many. If you don't have a predator, most population
explosions like this will work themselves out, when they grossly
imbalance and exhaust the natural resources available in a closed
system. The problem then is all the die-off. Your skimmer will go
crazy, and you'll need to do frequent water changes to counter-act
the over-driven nitrogen cycle. I'd say, get a predator to balance
that whole system out. A small wrasse, like a Coris or Six-line might
be nice, and probably effective. Banggai cardinals seem to eat anything
that floats by as well, though the wrasses will eat most tiny snails,
shell and all. -Lorenzo&
SNAILS Bob, I recently noticed a proliferation of baby snails
in my 300g tank. It is a tank that I filled with about 200lbs of
homemade &Aragocrete& (aragonite gravel/Portland white
cement) that I recently (2months ago) added approx 80lbs of LR. The
original clean-up crew (100 Astrea snails, {I think} & 100 hermits)
were added about 6 months ago. The strange thing is the new snails have
a completely different shell than the cleanup ones have. Is it possible
that the new snails came in on the rock, or do you think my existing
snails reproduced, and switched shells mid-life? &Do like the way
you put this... but, no, these new snails likely came/are another
species from the new LR& I thought snail larvae were planktonic, and
thus would be chewed up by my pumps.& &Hmm, no, not all... some
are &livebearers&, others have demersal eggs with more or
less direct development...& I have witnessed the snails squirting
what I presume to be eggs and sperm into the water, but I am amazed
that reproduction took place here. &Don't be too amazed... when
conditions are good or bad... reproduction is a high priority& There
are hundreds of the little guys. (I counted 120+ on the glass just now)
Should I be concerned? Should I try to control the population?&
&No to being overly concerned... There will likely be
&checks& coming along... predators, competitors, a change in
the availability of foods, minerals, that will limit this animals
population. In the meanwhile no problems.& Thanks once again for
your help & info provided. &Be chatting my friend.&
&Indeed! Bob Fenner&
Snails and hermit crabs Hello, I have a couple of questions
about bottom feeders.... Do I need to quarantine snails and hermit
crabs when I get them?& &Only if you suspect they may die
easily, polluting your main/display system... if there are DOA's,
the water smells badly... I would& How about dips, do they need that
too? (I have read your book from cover to cover so I know about
quarantine and dips :-) &I don't generally dip/bath snails or
hermits& Also, I was wondering if cleaner shrimp and crabs get along
alright (I'm thinking your book says &NO&)? &Most
species, most cases, no... many crabs will consume the Cleaner Shrimp,
particularly at molting time& Thanks, Jana p.s. I am putting
together my own, homemade protein skimmer right now and I tell you what
- even if the dang thang don't work, I sure had fun doing it !
Everyone should make their own simply for the self-satisfaction. &I
agree with your go-getter spirit. Good for you. Bob Fenner&
Snails Hi Bob, I love your website and find it very
useful.& &Ah, good& I keep a 110g saltwater tank that has a
variety of fish, a lot of live rock and some crustaceans, anemones,
etc. My question is that about two years ago I purchased two
&turbo snails& that have grown a lot and recently they have
been doing something strange. They perch high up on a rock, lean way
back and simultaneously discharge what looks like smoke from a tube
that comes out of their body. It clouds up the tank a little and then
goes away. I'm wondering what it is and if its poisonous or not.
It's happened about four times now . Hoping you could
help......Thank you in advance. Dave from New York &This does sound
like a reproductive activity. And no problem given good filtration,
aeration, circulation... Bob Fenner&
Species id Dear Mr. Fenner: I have a very curious tank
inhabitant that I cannot seem to identify- maybe you could help. It is
a gastropod-like creature that appears to be embedded in a rock. As
such, it is stationary. In order to eat, it secretes a web-like
material that extends for 8-10 inches and is very sticky (it has even
hung up a little mandarin fish for a few seconds). After secreting the
web for a period of time, the organism then re-draws the web back
through its mouth, consuming the web and along with its contents. It is
very interesting, but I have no idea what this animal is. Do you have
any ideas? Thank you Samantha &Hmm, good description... and there
are a few &commonly encountered& sessile invertebrate groups
with feeders as you describe. Likely in this case a Sedentariate
Polychaete worm of some sort (often called &Spaghetti Worms&
in the aquarium interest... though could be many other organisms. Have
an image of this on the &Worms& pages of the
site on the Marine Index. Bob Fenner&
Re: species id Hello: Thanks for the reply and info. However,
I am fairly certain that my unknown creature is not a worm. It has a
long snout (I'm not certain of the correct anatomical term for this
feature) with a structure similar to a radula on the end of it.&
&And an odontophore to &power& it? Maybe a mollusk of some
sort then... but there are &worms& of this general
description as well... If your LFS has a copy of the newest (3d)
English ed. of &The Modern Coral Reef Aquarium) by Fossa and
Nilsen... take a look at the diversity of Vermes offered there...&
Also, it has a hard covering (again I'm at a loss for the
anatomical designation) that can be closed/retracted in order to
protect its mantle. Overall, it really just resembles a snail stuck in
a rock. &It could well be... there are tubiculous snails... some are
net-filter feeders...& For future reference, I'll try to send a
photo of my unknown guest (I just got a new macro lens for my camera).
I will also try to study up on mollusk anatomy in order to make an
adequate description of the creature easier. (As an aside, I once had
to memorize the 6 mouth parts of a grasshopper. You'd think that
they would teach something useful, like snail body parts, instead. Oh
well.) &I spent many nights memorizing HAM's attributes
(Hypothetical Ancestral Mollusk) for LOL... for various marine
invertebrate zoology courses... and still have at least four editions
of Robert and no more Betty Barnes (and the myomeres from toting them
about) to show for my pains...& Thanks for your interest. Sam
&Chat with you soon. Bob Fenner&
Snails My snails were excreting what looked like a milky
liquid tonight--lots of them were doing it. Is this reproductive
activity? &Perhaps... could also be evidence of some sort of
negative reaction to a stimulus... Did you &do something&
immediately before observing this phenomenon? Like adding a chemical
&supplement&? Bob Fenner&
Re: Snails I did add a third powerhead in one end of the tank
where it was a little &dead,& which did result in some
stirring-up of the substrate in that area. Possible release of
ammonia/other toxins from the disrupted LS? &Perhaps... Bob
Astrea snails Hi! I have recently set up a 55 gal. Marine
tank with 50 lbs. Live rock. The tank is pretty much cycled and I'm
getting ready to start stocking fish. About 10 days ago I added 25
Astrea snails to control the brown algae that was going crazy on the
rock. The snails did an amazing job of cleaning it off. Anyways,
I've noticed that many of the snails like to hang out at the water
line at the top of the tank. Is this healthy/normal?& &Not
necessarily unhealthy or abnormal... but there may be a low oxygen
situation, some other chemical, physical factor at play here... & If
not, what should I do? The water quality parameters are all perfect, pH
8.2, and I've just started adding calcium & alkalinity
supplements to help out my coralline algae. Thanks for your advice,
Suzanne. &Be careful on the supplements... this may be the root
cause... I suggest adding these to your pre-made &water
change& water container, and supplementing along with this new
water. Please see the section titled &Seawater& on the
site for particulars about pre-mixing and storing
synthetic seawater, and the numerous &Supplement& pieces and
FAQs about precautions and use of these materials. Bob Fenner&
Queen Conch Bob, Thanks very much for your previous help. It
was so good that I'm going to ask for more. In your text on tank
maintenance you seem to strongly advocate the Queen Conch. Below is
your quote. &Tank cultured queen conchs, Strombus gigas are
available for use suitably sized individuals
scrounge around and through the substrate (and sides to a lesser
extent), removing epiphytic green algae and diatom scums. Unlike their
freshwater brethren, conchs will not &reproduce like rabbits&
but can reach a prodigious size of ten inches in the
wild.& My question is where? Where can I buy a Strombus Gigas. I
have searched the web diligently and found one site that carries these
animals. It sounds ok but there's a problem. The Conch is $6.00.
Then there is the box charge and heat pad charge and probably a packing
charge for all I know. But the thing that's a deal breaker is a
minimum $48 shipping charge. No way at all! &Mail order?... I would
contact the folks listed on the website:
Links Pages there... they have email... and ask what price they would
charge... they're available but must be bought in &box
lots& to make sense economically...& Can you point me to some
other sources? &Frank Hoff, C-Quest, ORA... but don't think they
sell to the &end-user& at all... once again, a matter of
volume/cost/expedients... If you have a large volume retailer nearby,
they might be able to combine an order with other livestock from one of
these sources/breeders... Clownfishes, Gobiosoma, Pseudochromids...&
Thanks... Jim Griffin &Bob Fenner&
Accidental mollusk& Hi Bob,& Thanks for the answers
to my previous questions.& Today during my weekly maintenance I
noticed somebody new and was&wondering if he's bad news. It is
some sort of brown slug, 23 mm long,&with a 12 mm shell on his
head. It is the kind of shell I've seen&thousands of times on
Southern California beaches but always thought it was&one half of
a little clam. It is a shallow (almost flat) triangular
shape&shell. He was chewing around the base of some Halimeda and
squirting out&clouds of white from his mouth area several times
for no apparent reason.& I have him sequestered in my quarantine
tank until I hear from you. Should&he stay or should he go? I am
planning to add one or two &beginner& soft&corals in the
near future if that matters.& Thanks,& Brian Battles &I
say &stay&... almost feel like a latter day Caesar with my
thumb up! This is likely some sort of Limpet (as in the Incredible
Mr.), and I know what you mean re the many Acmaea along the coast (I
live in San Diego)... these are very beneficial creatures to have in a
reef tank... are microphagous herbivores that greatly aid in
filamentous/pest algae control. Count yourself lucky and enjoy
it/hopefully &them&. Bob Fenner, By Bob Fenner,
Strombids, Culture, Contacts Bob, just curious, could you
forward any contacts involved in/knowledgeable about the aquaculture of
Queen Conch (Strombus gigas) from reproduction through larval
metamorphosis to adult. Thanks, Chris &Nothing current in my files
at home, but someone from the Philippines wrote me recently re Strombid
use and his email addr. is attached to the corr. on the WWM site...
current FAQs or posted to marine gastropods... and Frank Hoff should be
contacted for the best folks to find NOW in the field.... You can find
his firm's contact information in a recent issue of FAMA... and
maybe ORA/Harbor Marine, Bill Addison/Dave Palmer... If it were me...
I'd get on down to the college library, do a quick computer search
and send out a few emails asking this same question to folks who've
recently written (ha, recently) in the field. Bob Fenner&
Strombus species? Hello Mr. Fenner, I have read most of your
articles and am a great fan of yours. I have a question regarding these
algae eating snails which is abundant in our country (Philippines) as
food! &Yes, have eaten them there& I have obtained a book about
Philippine shells and the family Strombidae is said to be a herbivorous
group.& &Principally, yes& I have seen on the
market...Lambis truncata sebae, Lambis wheelwrighti, scorpius,
millepeda and so on. also Strombus lengtiginosus, aurisdianae, aratrum
and so on. my sand is turning brown, my question is, will they be fine
for cleaning algae in my sandbed?& &As young, yes...& wont
they eat the worms too? &Some, not too many& will they produce
lots of slime on the tank? &Not a concern in adequately circulated,
filtered systems& am going to purchase these from the wet market,
will they be able to survive long hours without water? &In dark
containers with material to keep them moist, yes, for a few to several
hours. Better shipped this way than underwater in sealed containers&
pls send email to:& thanks, Jonathan &Strombids are
occasionally used as marine scavengers in a few markets
internationally. Mainly as small(2-5 cm.) individuals. Most species can
get too big for small marine aquarium use. Bob Fenner&
Re: Strombus species? Hello again Bob, from your previous
reply, you said these are used only when small. I have about 3 inches
from head to foot Lambis specie, is this not good for my sandbed? what
other options do I have or what other inverts will stir sand and not
sift? thanks, hope to hear from you soon. &Useful size is a
&relative term&... as to the size, layout of your systems...
larger Strombids can knock over rocks, corals... all are good for their
&scavenging& sand sifting action. Many other animals (fish,
non-fish are good sand stirrers/sifters as well) see the review on
. For larger systems the smaller species of Mullids
are my favorite choices (Goatfishes). Bob Fenner&
Snails Hello again. A few months ago I purchased a 100lbs of
aquacultured Florida rock. This has turned out to be a major haul of
neat critters. I even found a 1 inch pink Chiton!!! I had always wanted
to see one but thought I never would. Anyway the rock also came with 20
- 30 snails that were about a half inch or less. The snails looked like
Nassarius snails with a long proboscis. They also only seem to eat dead
stuff. I added a small clam for fish food and they swarmed it. Anyway
now a couple of them are an inch long and the fold of their shell is
starting to grow flatter and curve around their proboscis. I have
looked in the Marine Atlas vol. 2. and these snails while small look
like the Nassarius snails. The big ones shells look like the Atlantic
tritons shell. Do any tritons have this long proboscis?&
&Yes& The size limit Marine Atlas says for Nassarius snails is 3
cm. If these guys get much bigger &They do get a bit bigger& I
guess they aren't Nassarius species. Do you know of any Florida
Nassarius species that get bigger than an inch? &Rats! Like these
mystery hunts, but am out the door to Australia... No time to look up.
Do know there are snails of this sort that get a good inch and a half
in overall dimension& Well thanks for your help, Everett. &Be
chatting soon, Bob Fenner&
Spawning Snails Hi, I was wondering if I would be correct in
assuming that if/when Cerithidae deposit eggs that the eggs appear as a
whitish squiggly scroll no&bigger than maybe .5 square inches?
&Many, yes... some a bit larger, different colors... largely
depending on what the individuals have been feeding on.& I found
these at the surface of my reef almost out of the water) where I often
see the snails.& I've also found them attached to fronds of
Caulerpa algae, which brought to&mind the thought of possibly
harvesting, and rearing. The Ceriths in my tank&where a lucky
bonus with my live rock, and their numbers are
naturally&increasing slowly), which is fine for my tank. I, guess
that my question&would be... Is there a way/system for increasing
yields. I would like to be&able to raise enough of these snails to
maturity to stock other tanks. &Possibly... food items, lack of
predators, competitors... Trial and error I think are what I'd
attempt.& I included a picture of my reef, that I'm proud to say
is&stocked inverts) solely with cuttings from other tanks. a big
advantage to&being a member of the local aquarium society!) the
only wild stuff other than the&live rock, is the little exotic
blue/yellow Pomacentridae I &rescued& from&the store.
&Very nice, and good to hear.& Thanks for your time, any
information is greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Cleve R. Burd Pgh, Pa.
&Take a look through the WWM site: Home Page re doing computerized
bibliographic searches, and get thee to a large college library...
There are, little doubt, recorded observations of others that can/will
aid you in your culture work. Bob Fenner&
Re: 7th grade science report. && Dear Mr. Fenner:
I'm doing a report for my seventh grade science class. I found some
gastropods off Topanga Canyon in Southern California. I found Ocenebra
topangensis, Turritella tentlorensis and Turbo topangensis. Do you have
any information about them, such as evolution background or
classification details? Do you know of any publications that would be
helpful to me about these gastropods? My report is due Oct. 16 and
I'm having a hard time with it. I sure appreciate your input.
Scotty && &Hmm, as luck would have it, no information on me,
and am visiting in the Cook Islands for a few weeks. Do have someone
take you to a college library nearby and ask a reference librarian to
show you how to do a computer search bibliography... much known on
these organisms no doubt, and this is the place, and that is the person
to help you ferret it out. Be chatting, Bob Fenner&
Nerites Hey Bob, I figured that you'd be the person to
ask about contacts for getting a collection of a variety of marine
Nerites. We're doing a project to look at the taxonomy of the
marine Nerites and trying to get as many of the species as possible.
We're having trouble locating people who can supply us with a few
animals from different areas around the world. Do you have any
suggestions for who to contact in regards to buying about a half dozen
to 10 (preferably live, but EtOH preserved would be OK) snails of every
damn species of N) Thanks a million! Rob &&
&Hmm, think I do have just the person to contact (next)... Marty
Beals of Tideline (Los Angeles), he and his partner Dennis Mok mainly
deal in skeletons... but do have the most, best contacts for
opisthobranchs, live or no. 310-641-9106, fax 649-1131 And you're
welcome to say I these are old friends... Hey, not that
old! Bob Fenner
Snails! Bob, About 1/2 of the snails I put in the tank (part
of the clean-up crew) have died...that is, their shells end up empty
and the little discs that cover them when they go into their shells end
up on the gravel. I remove the shells...some stink and some do not. I
think the crabs go after the remains of the snails. &Maybe the
&befores& as well...& Anyway, this morning before the
lights came on I noticed a couple of dozen small snails on the glass! I
suppose the snails could have multiplied, right? Later, after the
lights came on, most of them &disappeared.& Of course, they
have not left, but they are small enough they can blend into the rocks
quite easily. &Maybe... perhaps these are others that were on your
live rock...& Is it normal to have snails reproduce like this? How
long before they get bigger? I am curious because I'd like to have
more snails, but am reluctant to buy more if there are so many little
ones about. &Depends on species... and the real net causes of the
others mortality... May be a predator or two in your system...Alpheid
shrimps, mantis... many possibilities... Or, a chemical
&imbalance&... most likely a lack of biomineral and/or
alkalinity... very common causes of loss.& John && &And
you. Bob Fenner&
Snails Hi Bob, Where have you been? I haven't been able
to find you in the usual places (FFX).& &Still here, on the
planet... traveling quite a bit, and answering queries for the new
masters: ...& I hope all is well. I've got a couple
questions about snails imported on my live Fiji rock. I have at least
two snails in my tank. They are about 1/4& long. Their shells are
a white and brown checker-board pattern. They seem to be eating the
algae on the glass. Here's the questions.... 1 - Are they any
threat to any type of invert? &Not likely& 2 - If yes, do they
reproduce rapidly? &Probably not... considering rate limiting
factors... food, substrate, competition, possible predation& 3 - Can
I remove them with a reef safe predator (preferably
colorful/interesting if possible) or do I have to remove them by hand?
&Leave them be IMO... likely self-limiting, maybe even
helpful&& I've looked through al of my books and
couldn't find any info/ID on these snails. I just brought the rock
into my show tank, and if these guys are a problem, I'd like to
take care of them now. Thanks and hope all is well, Tony Revinski
&& &No worries mate... be chatting. Bob Fenner&
Re: Snails Bob, Thanks for your quick reply. I'm unsure
of your answer to #3. Do you mean not necessarily any snails and
hermits, or you would use something other than the Astrea? And you
don't like stars for cleanup or not at all? Thanks again, Steve
&Hmm, let's see if I can be a little clearer here. I mean/meant
not necessarily any snails or hermits (some folks use other types of
cleaner-upper organisms)... and I sometimes do use Astrea snails, in
addition to other species (like Margarites)... and I don't like
BRITTLE Stars in general, but other species can be of great utility...
Some of the Brittles are fish eaters, other trouble-makers. Bob
Snails I have a couple of different types of snails and was
recently encountered with hundreds of this little black and some
blotched with white snails. They have long pointed shells. Are these a
harmful snail and if they are how should I rid them. I was also
wondering what information you could give me about the 6 line wrasse. I
have many hard and soft corals and don't want to enter anything
damaging into my system.& thank you for your time.& &&
Hmm, these snails may well be Pyramidellids... and if so, you'll be
more than glad to have the excellent Six Line (Pseudocheilinus
hexataenia) in your tank... this little dynamo eats these possibly
pesky snails (esp. problematical for folks with Tridacnid clams)...
What's more, this wrasse species eats many types of
&commensal& flatworms. About their only downside is being
ultra-shy. Bob Fenner
Too many snails? Hi Bob! I have some new snails that seem to
have come in on my last piece of live rock...they have a conical shape,
white shell with black spots in rows around the shell. I first noticed
1 or 2 when they were really small. Now I have 18 to 24 and it seems I
see more every day! They start out about the size of a grain of sugar,
but seem to grow rapidly. The largest one is now about the size of a
pencil eraser... They seem to thrive on algae and there is plenty to go
around. I have a half dozen Mexican Turbo Snails, about 6 Trochus, and
10 Bumble Bee snails... do you think these new guys will equal out like
you have mentioned about other inverts? &Hmm, well, sounds like some
sort of Trochid... &Wavy top snail& species... I would keep
my eyes on them... just in case this is some sort of soft coral, giant
clam chewer... But not go so far as to try and eradicate them at this
point... may well be commensal, to beneficial& I really get a lot
out of reading your Daily Q & A's and your book &The
Conscientious Marine Aquarist& is awesome! So much to absorb!
&Yes indeed& This month is my first anniversary of owning a salt
water system and everything is going great thanks to the great wealth
of knowledge that's available from people like yourself! Thank YOU!
Greg Warner &And thank you for your participation in the hobby, this
forum and engagement with the living world. Bob Fenner&
& Hello Bob, & Still have 4-5 weeks before my main tank is
delivered, but as usual I have a few questions. & 130
gallon(68x18x24). && 1. What is your opinion on the use of
Polydiscs in the inline canister instead of carbon. & &I'd
use both... two different purposes... the former just leave in place,
cycle a unit of carbon in/out once a month& & 2. Do you know
anything about the Neptune Controller II and do you recommend it? &
&Yes, am familiar with the product. No specific recommendations...
there are & other competing lines, in particular the Octopus by
Aquadyne... take a look about, there are sites that compare, contrast
controllers... Detail what features you're looking for, seek out
users' opinions on the functionality of probes...& & 3. 130
gal. reef with 120 lbs. of LR. How many Astrea snails, hermit crabs,
and brittle stars? & &Not necessarily any... if I were going the
Astrea snail route, about fifty, & hermits about the same... No to
brittle stars for my systems...& & Any reason to quarantine any
of these in a new tank with no plans for & fish before first part
& of July? Quarantine tank is up and running. & &Maybe just a
day or two to make sure everyone's alive... move them in as &
they move...& & 4. Wet dry in main tank will be 30x12x18. What %
of this should be LR and how & many watts light & is needed? &
&A third to half on the live rock, twenty to forty watts& &
Thanks again for being there. It's nice to have someone that not
only can & get you through tough & spots, but comes across as not
just a person doing their job but a friend. & Best, Steve &
Indeed, it's because I am,& Bob Fenner
Algae How much algae will two turbo snails graze from a 37
gallon aquarium? Should I buy more? Also, how can bubble algae become a
nuisance? && Hmm, you need a bunch more... depending on how much
of what types of algae they might eat you have.... (some syntax now!).
And what other &algae eaters...&. You could place another
dozen easy. Bubble algae can be a problem as being unsightly, crowding
out desirable forms of life, some of its physiological byproducts are
toxic... some's no problem... Bob Fenner
Nassarius snails and brittle stars& I recently purchased
some brittle stars and I was wondering if they will&get along with
Nassarius snails or will the stars try to eat the Nassarius&since
they are so small.& && Wowzah, there's a genus of
gastropod mollusks I haven't heard in a while... It's a
possibility... some of the brittle stars are really ravenous
predators... Bob Fenner
What do Tiger Cowry's eat? Is there a resource where I
can look up things like this? && Of the two hundred or so
mollusks that are cowries (family Cypraeidae)... most feeding habits
are unknown... For Cypraea tigris, small ones don't need to be
specifically fed... larger specimens are predators and detritivores...
and readily accept bits of fish flesh, mussel, pelleted dried-prepared
foods (placed near them)... You might start with the Baensch Marine
Atlases as a good, solid invertebrate reference. Bob Fenner, who has
hunted for Cypraeids a few places in the world.
Dead Snails I recently moved. Both houses are on wells. In
the new house snails die almost instantly. Standard water tests have
not revealed any insights. Other fish and inverts have done fine. Do
you have any suggestions. && Yes I do... get/use a Reverse
Osmosis unit for cleaning up your source water... for fish and your
own/drinking, cooking use... Could be &just& saturated gasses
in the well-water, or somethings' more permanent... If I
&lived there& I would have my water checked by an independent
lab... to ascertain what's in it... And definitely, I would/do use
an RO myself... Bob Fenner
Hitchhiking invertebrates Dear Mr. Fenner, First of all,
thanks to your previous advice my 29 gallon aquarium is
now&running smoothly. It is turning into a source of great
pleasure. I have stocked it with 45 lbs. of live rock, aquacultured in
the Gulf of&Mexico. There is an array of life on the rocks,
including barnacles, blue&legged hermit crabs, and some I can not
identify. These are what concern me. I have some gastropods, with
cone-shaped shells and necks about the thickness&of pencil lead
that can protrude as much as half an inch. The necks are&dark,
sometimes with white spots. In trying to identify them, I have
read&(including from your book) that cone snails are to be
avoided. As they are&already in the tank, should I attempt to
remove them or just leave them&alone? There appears to be a number
of them, and I have seen several minute&ones as well.& Also,
is there such a critter as a brown Mithrax crab? I have seen,
only& recently, some small brown crabs with hairy legs.& The
only livestock I have purposefully added to the tank are a cherubfish
(C.&argi) and a Sally lightfoot crab. So far, none of the
hitchhiking& invertebrates seem to bother them, but the crabs are
still very small. As always, thanks in advance for your time and
advice. && Hmm, do like these mystery &what is this&
questions... but don't know what &they& are specifically
very often... I wouldn't sweat the apparent snails or crabs (likely
not Mithrax), lest the latter start getting really big... and
&into things&. Stay on your stocking path as if these
&recruits& didn't exist... Amazing the stuff that comes
out of liverock eh? What a planet! Bob Fenner
Response to readers question today QUESTION: I have a 55
gallon saltwater tank in which I placed rock about 2.5 months ago. I
noticed a black snail like-creature a couple of days later and thought
that it was cool. It was eating algae and I liked that. Then about a
month later I noticed another that was tan and didn't think much
about it. Then about a week ago I was looking closely at the fish
feeding and noticed a bunch of little creatures similar to the big ones
and I became concerned.& These things are reproducing at an
enormous rate. I don't want them anymore and I certainly cannot
remove them all by hand. (I have removed the two large ones.) I really
don't want them to overpopulate my tank and kill off all the stuff
I do want.& These creatures have a flat oval shell, and are hard
to remove from rock and mostly come out at night. Is there anything
that will eat them?& Bob's Answer: Hmm, hard to define exactly
what you have... some sort of snail or a species of one of several worm
groups. Yes, there are a number of celebrated potential consumers to
try. In order, I would place one or two Peppermint Shrimp (Lysmata
wurdemanni) or a Six-Lined Wrasse, (Pseudocheilinus hexataenia).&
I too have these ? shell snails. They breed quickly when there is
plenty to eat. Over time they will level out once the food is gone.
I've had them for about 2 years now and they don't seem to be
doing much except keeping the rock clean and aiding with the glass. I
do notice a slight rise in population when I add new live rock, but it
usually doesn't last too long. Very rarely do I ever see them
during the day either. Actually they are like little elves who come out
and clean the house at night and leave it for my enjoyment during the
day, unlike my other snails that park themselves on the front of my
glass when company comes. My corals are doing great so I wouldn't
say the snails are bothering them at all.& Thanks, Jeff Phillips
&& And thank you, Jeff, for the further input. Bob Fenner
Snail My Astrea snail is secreting a milky substances from
itself. Should I take&it out? Or is releasing sperm or something
like that? && Probably the latter... if it is still moving about,
leave it be... if it stops moving for a day, the heave ho. Bob
Snails As allies against algae I understand they are great,
but do they reproduce and become an intolerable nuisance in marine
tanks like they do in freshwater ? Would a few extra crabs or an
abalone work just as well? thanks. && Hmm. Well, unlike some of
the popular freshwater snails, the marines very rarely get into
reproductive mischief... Some, like Astrea snails are especially
helpful as algae controllers... Most crabs (true ones, as opposed to
false, like some of the helpful small hermit species) are
problematical... And for the most part, Abalone are not of practical
use in &micro-algae& control in tropical marine aquariums...
Many species/specimens sold are cool water macrophagous herbivores...
There are MANY other purposeful algae eaters for marines... but the
best approach to algae control is proper set-up and maintenance... Bob
Fenner, whose articles on these topics can be found at
Snails Here's a new one for you. Last night around
11:30pm I was watching a show on Discovery about the ten most venomous
sea creatures. Low and behold number ten was a snail (I don't
remember the name). This snail had a long snout and poisoned its
victims with a sort of barb then sucked them from their shell. Now for
the real kicker - this morning I found something similar in my tank. It
has black shell with a white striping pattern and a long snout. The
fleshy part of the snail also has this black and white pattern. My
question is: could the snail I have be a snail/crab/fish eater too?
Possibly the same family? Should I remove it before it immediately?
&& Hmm, small doubt you're referring to some of the Cone
Snails (e.g. Conus geographicus, family Conidae)... have a few books,
and shells of the family in my collection... but of the more than 300
species described, none as you detail (maybe the Hebrew Cone?, Conus
abraeus). Anyhow, I doubt if this is a toxic species, and if it were in
my tank, I'd leave it there.... More likely, if you are losing
animals mysteriously, that a crab, serpent star, mantis shrimp, bristle
worm species... involved. Bob Fenner
An Abundance of Snails Bob: I have recently experienced a
population explosion of small (1/16th to 1/8th inch in length),
off-white colored snails, that only come out at night. I have not added
any live rock to the aquarium in a year but I have been increasing the
calcium levels in the tank recently. I have never seen these snails
before but I believe that I have changed the tank environment such that
these snails have been able to exploit it. During the day, I cannot see
even one of these snails but at night the walls of the tank are
crawling with them. They appear to be coming out of the sand bed, which
was not a live sand bed, until they showed up. I have at least a
hundred of these little algae eating dynamos in my tank. They seem to
relish the green film of algae that grows on the walls of the tank. Do
you have any idea of what type of snail this is or where to look for
information? Appreciate any thoughts! Martin && Well stated...
and you're probably fortunate to have these cleaner uppers... The
species... or even the family is hard to establish from the
description... There are over 35,000 species of gastropod (snail)
mollusks described... To begin a search for identification... the Net
under the words &snail&, &gastropod& and further
modifier &taxonomy&, &identification&... would be
my starting point. There are Field Identification books that are part
of the hobby press... but I don't think they will avail you much (
have just looked through a few )... I would encourage you to move some
}