Reef Central Online Community

Home Forum Here you can view your subscribed threads, work with private messages and edit your profile and preferences View New Posts View Today's Posts

Find other members Frequently Asked Questions Search Reefkeeping ...an online magazine for marine aquarists Support our sponsors and mention Reef Central

Go Back   Reef Central Online Community Archives > Invert and Plant Forums > Tridacnid Clams and other Mollusks

 
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1  
Old 02/02/2005, 02:47 PM
Shaun Monahan Shaun Monahan is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Lake Oswego, ORYGUN (Portland Burb)
Posts: 71
Exclamation Pyramidellidae eating an astrea?

I came in this morning and found these astrea snails with....

Astrea #1

I was not aware that these pacific ocean clam parasitizing snails would also prey on snails - espically astrea teca(sp?) from the carribean?


Astrea #2

Almost all my astrea snails have at least (1) pyramid snails around their foot.

Has anyone ever seen this before?
  #2  
Old 02/02/2005, 03:48 PM
The Shrimp X The Shrimp X is offline
I shall steal your CLAMS!
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Suffolk, Virginia
Posts: 1,298
hey i have been wondering this to. i noticed a few on some of my Astrea snails. I shall hold off on getting a clam until i get rid of them, i was not sure if they were Pyamid snails but now that some one else has them, and on the same type of snail i am sure.

Do sixline wrasses useually prey on the Pyrimid snails? If so i am gonna pick one up.
__________________
There are three kinds of people in this world, the people who can count, and the people who can't count.


-~ David ~-
  #3  
Old 02/02/2005, 10:49 PM
Peabody Peabody is offline
Premium Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 2,733
Yep..they love mollusks. If you remove all the clams from your tank the snails can still live on preying on the astreas.
  #4  
Old 02/04/2005, 03:09 PM
Shaun Monahan Shaun Monahan is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Lake Oswego, ORYGUN (Portland Burb)
Posts: 71
I have clams (gigas,derasa,squamosa,crocea) in this aquarium with none of these pyramids to be found...

Have they morphed to just eating snails? They do not seem to be killing the snails either....
  #5  
Old 02/04/2005, 03:12 PM
Highlander Highlander is offline
Brotherhood Of The Reef
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Plainfield, Illinois
Posts: 2,991
Pyramid snails are prey specific by species as far as I have read.
On your snails they are easy enough to clean by hand, but a snail eating wrasse is the best long term solution IME.
E.G. Christmas Tree, Lightning, some Sixlines will eat them too.
  #6  
Old 02/04/2005, 05:51 PM
CAPT PETE CAPT PETE is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: NJ
Posts: 687
Shaun,

Send a pic of the snails to Dr. Ron to get an exact id on them. I have the pyramid looking snails in my tank and thought I was doomed. After sending a pic to Dr. Ron, he identified them as an algae eating snail and not the pyramid snails that I thought they were. I can't get the search to work to get the link for you. I'll try later.
  #7  
Old 02/07/2005, 10:38 PM
NewSchool04 NewSchool04 is offline
Blue
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Go Bears!
Posts: 4,940
Shaun,

Can you keep us informed as to what these are. I jumped on RC tonight to ask the same question and looks like you beat me to the punch. Mine are exactly like yours, on my turbo snails.

Thank you!
__________________
180 w/ 400W Coralvue dimmable ballast / mini lumenarc reflectors / Reeflux 10K bulbs
  #8  
Old 02/09/2005, 11:18 AM
Travis Travis is offline
Premium Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Sioux Falls, SD
Posts: 5,286
In the past I have heard of pyramidellid snails preying on snails. Not sure if they are the same species that preys on clams though.

A yellow choris wrasse would be a good candidate to eat the pyramidellids.
  #9  
Old 12/22/2007, 12:23 PM
Gary Majchrzak Gary Majchrzak is offline
yes it's my aquarium
 
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: upstate NY
Posts: 20,987
FWIW (and despite what some experts might say) I've seen certain Pyramidellidae make the jump from Astrea to Tridacna. Remember- if left unchecked it only takes one "rice" snail to populate an aquarium with hundreds. Make sure to destroy all egg masses as well as snails!
__________________
some common aquarium nuisances: Bryopsis,Derbesia(hair algae),Cyanobacteria(red slime), Diatoms(golden brown algae), Dinoflagellates(gooey air bubbles),Valonia (bubble algae)
  #10  
Old 12/23/2007, 11:59 AM
mbbuna mbbuna is offline
Team RC Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: De
Posts: 5,847
this thread was resurrected from the dead

there are over 8000 species of pyram snails and not a whole lot of info on there feeding habits. for years the common wisdom was that they were obligate predators and that if you found them on clams they would only feed on clams, and the one on snails would only feed on snails. i looked around for a long time for documentation to back this up and could never find any. finely someone sent me a study that proves pyrams are not very picky in what they eat and will in fact switch from snails to clams.

http://www.biolbull.org/cgi/reprint/157/2/320
__________________
looking for grammar check

------------------------------------------------
  #11  
Old 12/23/2007, 12:10 PM
Gary Majchrzak Gary Majchrzak is offline
yes it's my aquarium
 
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: upstate NY
Posts: 20,987
I was unaware of this study.
A big THANK YOU for sharing it, mbbuna.
It confirms my own observations.
__________________
some common aquarium nuisances: Bryopsis,Derbesia(hair algae),Cyanobacteria(red slime), Diatoms(golden brown algae), Dinoflagellates(gooey air bubbles),Valonia (bubble algae)
  #12  
Old 12/27/2007, 01:56 AM
pagojoe pagojoe is offline
Team RC Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Conroe, TX
Posts: 493
That was a great find, mbbuna, thanks for posting the link.



Don
  #13  
Old 12/27/2007, 09:58 AM
fali fali is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: queens, NY
Posts: 18
Got these snails on my astrea too. Everyday brush them off. When i first found them there were so many on all my snails. Now that i brush them off(outside the tank) i don't see as much. I check my clams everyday too just to make sure i don't see the snails on them.
 

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:08 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Use of this web site is subject to the terms and conditions described in the user agreement.
Reef Central™ Reef Central, LLC. Copyright ©1999-2009