help with pyramidellid snail control

ejmeier

Active member
I am in the planning stages of a 29 gal. clam tank, and I would like to know what fish, or more specifically, which wrasse are reliable for taking care of those pesky pyramidellid snails. In my current tank, I have a sixline wrasse which does OKAY, but I think that there must be something better out there than a sixline.
Also, it is going to be an open top, and I have read that many wrasse like to jump - are their any recommendations for a good wrasse in my situation?

PS - I have also heard about using a Clown Coris, but I don't want to use anyhting that will outgrow the tank or become mean towards clams in the future.

Thanks
 
Yeah a six-line is an excellent choice! A clown coris can become a nuisance when it gets bigger. They do knock coral, rocks and other decor on a regular basis. Furthurmore, a Clown coris fares better in larger systems because they do reach an average length of 8 inches when mature! It also gets more aggresive as it gets bigger. Metal halides are recommended for a clam tank.

Judging by your tank size, you may have to get a chiller if you are gonna run Metal halides! In fact it is recommended that you do get a chiller for this lighting system! Chillers usually run around 500 dollahs or more! Think twice about setting up this type of tank. Is it worth it? Can I really afford it? not to mention that the lighting is pricey as well. If you run power compacts, you can get a variety of species without putting a big hole in yer wallet! Simply run a small fan
or 2 in the canopy with power compacts and you are set! You can still get lps and soft corals with this type of lighting!

Take care!

LAAAAATE!!!!:rollface:
 
I don't think it's necessary to purchase a chiller if you're using halides over a 29gallon. If you blow a wall mounted fan (a Honeywell for example) across the surface of the water, inducing evaporation, your heater will be working over time to keep the temperature up. And, any hot air emanating from the fixture will be blown away by the fan.

Although it's larger, I have a 75 gallon aquarium with 500 watts of halide 6 inches from the water surface. Without my honeywell fan blowing air across the bottom of the fixture, the water gets up to 88 degrees. The fan on its lowest setting can bring the temperature down to 76 in less than half an hour - I keep it at 80 degrees with the heater. I've seen a 20 gallon aquarium with a 400 watt pendant over it and a fan blowing the hot air away from the aquarium. No temp. problems.

Go ahead with the halide and mount a fan along the wall behind the aquarium and your aquarium will never overheat.
 
I've had great success with coris gaimard (red coris) juveniles. If their white stripes are fading, don't buy them. They also get large, and may be mean as adults, but imho, they do a better job than sixlines have done for me in the past.
 
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