This is a compilation of the more common marine reef aquarium snails.  Most of these saltwater snails can be purchased through your local fish store or online suppliers such as Liveaquaria.  If you are lucky enough you may even get a few as hitchhikers on live rock. Beneficial reef aquarium snails are important in various ways, such as algae control and detritus removal.  While some snail will do both some of them have specific diets.

 

Tropical Abalone

   A ferocious algae eater, some reefkeepers claim that it is by far the best herbivore a reef tank could have.  Prefers a cooler aquarium.

 

 Queen Conch

   Also known as Strombus Gigas. This species of Strombus can grow fairly large, up to one foot. They will eat algae and macro algae and will climb on rocks.

 

 

 Fighting Conch

   Also known as Strombus Alutus.  It lives in sand beds and will eat live and decaying plant matter and detritus.

 

Mexican Turbo Snail

   Prefers cooler temperatures in the reef aquarium.  This species gets fairly big and is known to bulldoze live rock and coral, it is however and excellent algae grazer.

 

Margarita Snail

   This reef snail will eat most algae including hair algae.  From what i have seen they can either be black or grey in colorand are a temperate water snails that may not last long in our hotter reef aquariums.

 

Trochus Snail

   There are many variations of Trochus snails that include patterns and colors.  I have a purple trochus snail that is mainly nocturnal, he has a black foot and I have observed him eating filamentous algae, cyanobacteria and diatoms.

 

Tiger Cowrie

   This reef snail while small will eat algae and detritus.  When it matures and gets bigger it is no longer “reef safe” as it has been reported to eat anemones, soft corals and tube worms.

 

Chestnut Cowrie

     As with the Tiger Cowrie this snail will eat algae and diatoms while young. As the snail gets older it will eat soft coral and sponges.

 

Stomatella

   This saltwater snails body is half covered with a shell. When attacked it can drop its tail like a lizard. These snails are known to eat algae.

 

Nassarius Vibex

   Will eat detritus and decaying plant matter.

 

Cerith Snail

   Often burrows into sand beds.  Will scavenge at night and will eat detritus and algae.

 

Caribean Nerite

   Nerites range in color from brown to zebra like the one shown. They are a tidal species that will mainly eat filamentous algae, but have been known to eat diatoms and cyanobacteria as well.

 

Bumble Bee Snail

   Will burrow into sand beds and will eat sand dwelling worms, meaty foods and decomposing organisms.  Keep in mind that these snails spend most of there time in the reef tanks sand bed consuming its microfauna and may not fit into every aquarium set up excepecially ones that depend on there snadbeds as biological filters.

 

Astrea Snails

    Will eat filamentous algae, diatoms and hair algae.  This snail is by far my personal favorite, they are easy to get and are constant workers.  Since Astrea snails can not right themselves up on sand or bare bottom tanks they do very well in saltwater reef aquariums with a lot of live rock

 

Collonista Amakusaensis

   Collonista are generally very small hitchhikers that are very prolific.  They are known to eat many different types of algae.