Pyramidal Snails

[The Saltwater Kid]

Is it possible to have these without having a clam? I used to have a Deresa clam but I had the snails before I bought the clam and now that i don't have the clam I still spot the little white, cone shaped snails usually on my live rock. What could they be eating if there's no clam to feed on?

[trippyl]

I had a few that came in on some zoos. Seems that they will attack zoos as well. I noticed one night that one was puncturing one of my zoo polyps, and removed it from the tank. I had a feeling it was a bad guy, and learned shortly after that my suspisions were correct.

[LFS_worker]

Zoanthids, Parazoanthids, palythoa.

or am I thinking of a different snail ??

Brian

[greenbean36191]

Different snail. Pyramid snails only feed on mollusks and annelids. If you're finding them elsewhere in the tank other than their prey then they're probably rissoids or some other small snails rather than pyramids.

[iamwhatiam52]

Will the ones on snails also live on clams or are are they a different species?
My snails do not seem any the worse for the infestation, but I hesitate to get a clam.

[greenbean36191]

It's possible and some people in the hobby report it happening, but prey specificity for the species showing up in the hobby isn't well documented in the primary literature.

[The Saltwater Kid]

so if these guys are on my live rock are they not pyramidal snails? I thought pyramidal snails stayed on the sand bed? These are the same snails that I did see on my clam when I had one but I sucked them out as soon as i saw one and my clam was happy and healthy. What could they be feeding on now if the clam they were hanging around is gone?

[greenbean36191]

If they're primarily on the rock and sand then it's possible but unlikely that they are pyramids. They generally spend most of their time on their prey. If there is no clam in the tank then they would have to be either feeding on worms or snails. If you don't find them on either then that's another good indication that you aren't seeing pyrams. Of course if you could catch one and look at the embryonic whorl at the very tip of its shell that would solve the question right away. On pyramids the first whorl is layed down perpendicular to the rest of the whorls. If the spiral is uniform all the way to the very tip of the shell it's not a pyramid.

[RedSonja]

Originally posted by greenbean36191
If they're primarily on the rock and sand then it's possible but unlikely that they are pyramids. They generally spend most of their time on their prey. If there is no clam in the tank then they would have to be either feeding on worms or snails. If you don't find them on either then that's another good indication that you aren't seeing pyrams. Of course if you could catch one and look at the embryonic whorl at the very tip of its shell that would solve the question right away. On pyramids the first whorl is layed down perpendicular to the rest of the whorls. If the spiral is uniform all the way to the very tip of the shell it's not a pyramid.

I think I will pull one of the small white snails we have in our 75g out and examine them for this. Can post a pic as well when I do. I've worried they were pyramid snails but we've had a healthy maxima in the tank 2+ years. Monthly inspections never show any on the clam. What other snails resemble pyramid snails?

TIA

-Sonja

[greenbean36191]

Rissoids are probably the most common group confused with pyrams, but there are hundreds of snails that could be mistaken.

Here is a good article showing the difference between rissoids and pyrams. It also shows how the protoconch of the pyrams is rotated.
http://www.reefland.com/rho/2006/05/...lid_snails.php

[RedSonja]

Thanks, that's a great article. I feel more confident I'll be able to tell what they are when I track one down. There aren't a whole lot of them, I've seen maybe half a dozen at once scattered over the LR before the tank lights come on in the morning.

-Sonja