Category Archives: snails

“Ilyanassa obsoleta” The Snail that Rules Ebay.

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  I had planned on talking about laminar flow this blog but an important issue was brought to my attention the other night about my Beneficial Reef Aquarium Snail article.  I had a post in the article about the Ilyanassa Obsoleta snail and how it was a good detritus cleaner and scavenger.  It turns out that there is a lot of debate about these snails.

  These snails can be found on ebay, in fact there so prevalent on ebay that there are literaly dozens of pages with auctions on them.  They are extremely cheap and are found in cooler waters which makes them easy to come by, especially on the east coast. 

  I have used these snails before with a small amount of success, after all Its hard to pass up 50 saltwater snails for $20 and $5 shipping.  The auctions on ebay say that these snails do just about every thing and anything.  What they don’t tell you is that they can carry nearly 9 types of trematodes and that half of the adult snails carry at least 1 trematode.  Wonder what a trematode is? Click here.

   Know had I known this information before I purchased these snails some 4 years ago, I would not have made the purchase.  My purchase came from an ebay seller and in my hot reef tank only lasted for about 2 months.  Many other reefers claim to have success with them and continue to buy them.  But buyer beware these saltwater snails should probably be left in the mud flats where they are found with there parasite friends.

  This thread has additional information and is a “must” read if you are considering buying these snails.

  I would also like to thank John from http://www.reefcleaners.org/. For bringing this to my attention.  Check out his site he has great prices on saltwater snails and macro algae.

Sundial Snails the silent zoa killer

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The Sundial snail is a common reef aquarium predator that feeds on zoanthid polyps.  These snails are not much bigger than pyramid snails and as you can tell from the picture have unique marking.  As you can see in the picture these snails have a neat little rattle “tail” that resembles one of a rattlesnake. These snails usually come out at night to feed on zoanthid coral polyps but can sometimes be seen when the coral polyps are closed.  As with any new addition to any tank you should fully inspect every piece of coral so that you don’t get unwanted guests such as these snails.  This picture was taken from here.

Watch out for Pyramid Snails!

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  Pictured above on the dime is a couple of pyram snails or pyramid snails.  These cute little fellas can cause a whole heck of a problem in your reef tank if you keep clams, starfish and larger snails such as astrea snails.  There are different types of pyramid snails the ones shown on the dime are the ones that feed on tridacna clams.

 The pyramid snail or pyramidellids feed at night by piercing there hosts flesh with there proboscis. when feeding on clams the snails will Peirce the clam’s mantle and suck out its zooxanthellae and fluids.  When spotted on a starfish the snails will be feeding near the bottom of the starfish near its feet and around its mouth. 

  The best way to keep your tank clean of these unwanted marine reef snails is to quarenteen your new arrivals and make sure to check out each specimen top and bottom.  Remove each snail with a brush or tweezers. 

  I personally lost a blue linkia starfish and a couple of astrea snails to pyram snails.  I knew the snails where one the starfish but i never thought anything of it at the time until my starfish started to die.  So verse yourself well with certain parasites and keep your reef inhabitants as healthy as possible. 

My next blog will be about sundial snails the silent zoa killer!