Pyramid snails....HELP

[d4a2n0k]

Ive been fighting these things for a few months now and Im slowly losing the battle.

I just lost a Super Crocea and my 8" Teardrop Maxima is now on its way out. I just pulled the above snails off of the Maxima. Weird thing is that my Derasa has never had any of these snails on it. My other Crocea is not looking good either.

I take them out 3-4 times a week and take the snails off and brush them with a toothbrush to get the egg sacks. I also added a Six Line Wrasse but he hasnt helped at all.

What else can I do? Please help!

 

[mbbuna]

keep cleaning them the way you are.(you are doing this about an hour after lights out?)you may also want to take a big scoop of your sand out from where the clams sit.

 

[James Yeung]

Sorry to hear about your clam probs.

Damn, I think I'm in trouble too! I just found out I have 'em snails! Been fighting aptasias for the last 2 years, now this!

I'm sure it wasn't b/c of my new teardrops I bought 36 hours ago. I scrubbed them hard and checked them out closely. Checked all my other clams for signs the same day. I haven't done any night inspections for over a year and now I just plucked 4 of them (3 from the sand and one on 1 of 12 clams). I only found 4 in the last 30 mins. So I guess it's still safe. Maybe my six-line wrasse kept the population in check in the last 2 years but the poor guy vanished last week.

Good luck... Besides the wrasse, all the reading around here suggested manual labour to be the only way to fight this. If I had a bare bottom QT tank with metal hilades, i'll move all the clams there and also the snails and hopefully starve those suckers in 3-4 months!?

However, they don't look pure white... The shell is kinda brown and has a chess board type pattern just like this close up picture of the snail on the right that targets others snails located in the middle of this thread but that doesn't explain why one of them was on a clam! http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=489644&highlight=pyramid

This is not good man... I have a nice stash of clams too!!!

Good luck,

James

Update: damn, I spotted 6 more... I only plucked 3 of them... I can't keep up with this... I need to sleep on this. plucking them is really hard... I think I need to setup a bare bottom QT tank in the near future if this gets out of control. ARRRGGH!!

Yeah, I'm starting to see alot more now from under the sand and around the live rocks. Looks like 2am is breakfest time for them... These snails definately did not come from my new arrivals. They're starting to come out in force! However, my clams still look perfect. What do I look for? Damaged mantle tissue?

 

[d4a2n0k]

Thanks for the replies.

I am at my wits end. I cant keep taking these clams out 3-4 times a week. That cant be good for the clams!

James Yeung - Not all the snails Ive been pulling off are pure white either. Some have a pattern to them but the shell shape never differs. They seem to hang out near the clams foot and under the mantle on the top outside part of the shell. I dont think they actually bite off pieces of the mantle rather they suck the juices out of it weakening the clam in the process. At first the clams dont seem affected but after a few months they start to not look happy. Look for a sunken or pinched mantle and a weak foot. They will start to flop around on the rock they are attached to instead of a nice strong connection. You'll know when somethings wrong. My Maxima started gaping big time which he has never done in the 1 year+ that Ive had him. Good luck to you as well.

 

[Charlie Davidson]

I have a leopard wrasse a credit him for saving a few clams. I used to watch him hover around my clams, peeking in every nook and cranny, to get snails. Fish are like people in that they each have their own personalites. And , some will eat snails-- some will not.

 

[MIKE NY]

I did battle with them too. I siphoned out as many as I could and got a yellow wrasse. Haven't seen one since.

 

[The Shrimp X]

This is very strange in my case, i have seen a few P. snails in my tank (dont worry i do tke them out), but i have NEVER found any on my clams, (i have only found 4 snails in the last year) but none on my clams.

 

[mbbuna]

Thanks for the replies.

I am at my wits end. I cant keep taking these clams out 3-4 times a week. That cant be good for the clams!

James Yeung - Not all the snails Ive been pulling off are pure white either. Some have a pattern to them but the shell shape never differs. They seem to hang out near the clams foot and under the mantle on the top outside part of the shell. I dont think they actually bite off pieces of the mantle rather they suck the juices out of it weakening the clam in the process. At first the clams dont seem affected but after a few months they start to not look happy. Look for a sunken or pinched mantle and a weak foot. They will start to flop around on the rock they are attached to instead of a nice strong connection. You'll know when somethings wrong. My Maxima started gaping big time which he has never done in the 1 year+ that Ive had him. Good luck to you as well.

its better to take the clams out to get rid of the snails then to have the snails kill the clam.

 

[James Yeung]

Feeling shocked and helpless after discovering these snails last Thursday, I took the time out to spy on these snails tonight around midnight (1 hr after lights out). They started to come out from the sand and 2 hours later, I see 20+ moving around. I'm sure there are much more if I look harder. They're all about 3.5-4mm in length. A few were climbing on the clam shells and passing over the mantel that's touching the sand. That's it. I don't see any eating activities, yet. Do they normally begin feasting 3 hours after lights out? I see most of them moving around (or not) in the sand and only a few on a clam or two (out of 12).

I would figure they'll begin feasting by now!? If these pryamid snails only target snails, I don't think they are either.

Here are 2 pics I just took moments ago:

James

 

[mbbuna]

the next time you see them all over your clams take the clam out and brush them all off.and then take a net and scoop out a bunch of sand from where the clam was sitting.its hard to see them feeding on the clam,but I guarantee that they are.