My T.Squamosa Died - What happened

[phoenix001]

I noticed yesterday that its mantle had receeded quite a bit. Things went downhill quickly from that point. I noticed several small snails in-between the ribs on the shell(see pic of 2 snails in my photo album). I know the pic is really small, but there is also a smaller pyramid shaped snail next to it. I removed the larger size snails with a pair of tweezers immediately but the pyramid shaped snail is so small, I only noticed it when I took the dead clam out of the water and flushed it out in a small bowl. It just happened to fall out. I know that certain snails are bad news for clams but can anyone tell me if these fall in that category? BTW, I have several of the cone shaped snails on my live rock. Also, my water params are excellent and my Maxima looks great. The only other change I have made is my MH lighting(2x175W 15K XM Bulbs) but I have been slowly acclimating and can't imagine this is the cause. Sorry for the long post.

Any thoughts?
Thanks

 

[mbbuna]

u need to check ur maxima every other day ffor the pyram snails(small white,about the size of a grain of rice) and remove them with a tooth brush. they are probobly what killed ur other clam

 

[phoenix001]

Thanks. I will definately watch my Maxima. Are they as small as the pic in my gallery. That guy is so small, it would be difficult to spot. Is the other snail OK?

 

[mbbuna]

cant realy see the snail on the left but the one on the right looks like a pyram to me,yes there very small but they breed fast and when u get a few they will kill a clam fast, ur going to need to check for them for a few months. even if u havent seen any for a while,then all of the sudden they pop back up again

 

[phoenix001]

Thanks for the advice. I've been checking and so far so good.

 

[mbbuna]

good to hear so far so good. keep checking ,pyrams can stay in ur system for more then a few weeks.are u checking ur clams about an hour after ur lights go out? thats when they start to come out.

 

[saltydoc]

What do pyramid snails eat if there are no clams in your system?

I recently had an explosion of tiny white snails off a piece of live rock I bought at the LFS. I thought they were baby ceriths, because they have the same shape, but they have never gotten bigger than a 1/4 inch at most. They seem to be ALL over the live rock, but aren't doing anything but grazing on the live rock.

I have no clams. If these are pyrams, any harm to letting them stay? If so, how to get rid of them?