PYRAMID SNAIL (Pyrams)
Family: Pyramidellidae
Range: All seas
Size: Up to 3 mm (0.12 inches)
Diet: Blood of large snails, tridacnid clams, feather dusters
Reef Safe: No, nuisance species
Temperature: unknown
Specific Gravity: unknown
pH: unknown
Care Level: Easy
Notes
Pyramid snails are a tiny nuisance species of snail with a white or tan shell that is smaller in size than a grain of rice. They obtain nourishment by penetrating the flesh of their host with a proboscis, and drawing out the host's blood. One or two of these snails will not harm the host much. However, in the aquarium the snail can proliferate in great numbers and quickly kill their hosts.
This snail is very difficult to differentiate from beneficial snails of similar size, such as Rissoids (family Rissoidea and Rissoininae). To tell them apart you probably need a magnifying glass and a good eye. Pyramid snails lack an operculum which most, if not all, similar-sized beneficial snails will have.
Secondly, pyramid snails have shell that display heterostrophism. This means that the whorls on the snails shell change orientation near the apex. They spiral in one direction at the apex, then switch directions.
If you find these snails in your tank you could try to manually remove them. This generally results in success but requires diligent and tiring work. Some species of fish will dine on these snails, but this method is unreliable at best.
