getting rid of pyramid snails

[jenniebutterfly]

well, i went to a friends today and he had purchased about 100 pounds of live rock. i bought 20 lbs and brought it home. thought this is great, fully cured premium fuji rock, and then what to my horror do it see, pyramid snails. i called him and warned him about them because i was pretty sure he did not know. so my question is, will a sixline wrasse eat these? i know i will have to pick them off myself, and i don't have any clams or corals in this tank yet, water and rock are ready for fish, so would he help? i pulled about 40 out off the bottom of the tank, so i know there are tons more

[Brianc_4]

If they are the parasitic pyramids, they are an obligate parasite. So with no host or living tissue to feed off of , because your tank is still empty. They should slowly starve off. A six line will help they are known to eat the little buggers. But just like so many things in the is hobby , there is no guarantee that they will eat them. Sometimes it seems like a 6 line likes the taste and others dont. But again, without a host in the tank the little buggers should die off.

Good Luck

[jenniebutterfly]

i figured they would die off soon enough, and i know they are pyramids. i just want to know how long it takes the little pita to die off lol. trying to catch my sixline to add him, but hey what can i say, the $2 a pound was worth it i guess lol

[FragFarmer]

Fresh water dip all your new rock for about 30 minutes. All the nasties will vacate the rock but quick.

[jenniebutterfly]

yeah and so will the good stuff. i am just going to let nature take it's course. they are not messing with the coral so no big deal, i just pull them out when i see them

[bobioden]

When I first got my clam I had a outbreak of Pyramid snails. I added a 6-line wrasse and they all but vanished. I thought they were gone for good. But when the 6-line jumped ship the snails re-appeared. I added a new 6-line and the snails again appear to has vanished again.

 

I think they need a clam, so yours will slowly disappear.

 

Bob

[jenniebutterfly]

yeah i have a 6 line, wants nothing to do with them lol. yeah i plan on just letting them disappear for a few months before i get my clam

[Steve973]

Are you positive about the ID? There are different types of small snails, and I'd be very sure about it before you make a diagnosis and take steps to eradicate something from your tank that might not be there at all. I'm not trying to second-guess you, but if they didn't come from a tank with clams in it, and if you don't have clams in your tank, it makes me think that they might be harmless.

[jenniebutterfly]

yes i am positive, they did come from a tank that had clams, i have id'd them myself. due to the small bump in the apex of the shell. they are harmless, but i am sick of seeing them, i don't have any clams as of yet, but wanted to get one, just have to wait a while

[smokez01]

i see these little buggers around the rim of my turbo and astrea snail,

 

i have a 6 line and they are still there,

 

 

but i have corals also and they dont seem to be affectd by them and i dont see any of them oin the corals at all

 

i realy want to buy a clam but i duno how to get rid of them,

[Steve973]

If they are parasitic, then you will just have to wait. If you see them on the glass eating algae when the lights go off, then they are not parasitic.

[jenniebutterfly]

mine have been id'd by someone else as well, but don't bother my snails. from what i hear, they lock onto a host, so if they are on snails, thats all the will bother. most are parasitic to only one host. hosts include, clams, snails, and worms

[smokez01]

yeah nothing in my tank is infected, and my snails dont seem bothered by them, the pyram. just hang onto the turbo like those fish hang onto sharks, just seem to chill there, etc

 

 

but i am worried cus i dont want to buy a clam and have it killed,

[Caesar777]

Keep the ID in mind; there are some algae-eating snails that look VERY similar. The key is the shape of the trap door. On the algae-eaters, it a flat circle, like that of an Astrea, Turbo, or nerite. On the pyramids, it's an obvious cone with a spiral groove running around it; like a tiny traffic cone, really that long and thin.

[Caesar777]

My point is that you don't have a need for a freshwater dip, regardless. If they're pyramid snails, then they'll die without zoos to eat; and if they're algae eating snails, then great. Remember, a freshwater dip will kill a LOT more than just snails, and remember that snails are pretty tough to kill with fresh water (can shut the trap door!), so it would really do more harm than good. BUT, it's your rock.

[Caesar777]

 

Those are "Pyramid"--actually Sundial--Snails. Note the cone-shaped operculum, aka trap door.

[Caesar777]

For the record, THESE...

 

 

...are pyramidellid snails, which eat clam mantles. The zoo-eating snails are Heliacus. (Hey, I researched the issue to death when I thought I had zoo-eating snails. Turned out I was insane, and they were regular lil nocturnal algae-eaters.)

[mattw2190]

Hey, I was thinking, if you have nothing in the tank and you are going to let the snails die off on their own... wouldn't it be better not to pull any of the ones you see out of the tank? I mean if you have a larger population of them in the tank, wouldn't they consume any food there is faster and therefore won't they all die as a group faster too? If you keep removing them until theres say 3 instead of 20 won't those three survive a lot longer? Just something I thought of.

[Bobalouy]

Originally posted by Caesar777

For the record, THESE...  

 

 

...are pyramidellid snails, which eat clam mantles. The zoo-eating snails are Heliacus. (Hey, I researched the issue to death when I thought I had zoo-eating snails. Turned out I was insane, and they were regular lil nocturnal algae-eaters.)

 

Do Zoo eating snails look like that also? I had 3 polyps of a cool orange zoos. It wasn't opening and I notice a snail just like that on the zoos. I had to rip it off, and the zoos ended up dieing soon after.

[jenniebutterfly]

no those are clam eating snails, and matt, it won't make them live longer. they have no host in my tank right now. these type of snails lock onto one specific host. they feed on worms, snails, or clams, and since they are not messing with my snails, and none are bothering any worms, and i have no clams they will starve eventually. they just sit on the bottom glass all day so i suck them out with a turkey baster. for the record these snails are small, only about 1/8"