recent developments in pyramidal snail control?

[Ron Popeil]

besides employing wrasses and scrapping them off yourself for weeks on end, have there been any other methods of killing off pyramidal snails?

ive recently found some on some of my clams and am quite annoyed with them.

let me know if you have any suggestions! thanks!

 

[a4twenty]

i would even have to say that diurnal wrasses are a very ineffective method of control for these nocturnal pests. the one and only way to rid yourself of these pest is to manually remove the snails and egg sacks at every opportunity.

best of luck

 

[Ron Popeil]

and that was a point of confusion for me as well, in regards to the wrasses.

but thank you for the support!

 

[Steve Cuddeback]

I discovered that I had pyramid snails in my clam tank. The feasibility of removing 4 very large clams and scrubbing the shells on a daily basis was out of the question. I researched and found that the leopard wrasse was the best biological control. Before I added the wrasse I would see anywhere from 20- 30 snails on my clams every morning before the lights came on. It has been several months since I have seen even one snail. It does work contrary to what is recommended.

 

[Ron Popeil]

fascinating observation. thank you for the suggestion!

 

[a4twenty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13642319#post13642319 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Steve Cuddeback
It does work contrary to what is recommended.

i agree, they are known to eat pyramid snails but...........


they are diurnal, so they bury themselves in the sand bed to sleep at night when the pyramids or most active.

they have a very specific diet and eat a lot, making it very difficult to maintain them for a long period of time, even i the largest of reef tanks.

they don't handle stress well and are not good shippers, most companies will not guarantee them as they don't acclimate well and are hard to get eating.



this is one of the fish most would recommend leaving in the ocean.

 

[Steve Cuddeback]

You are right they are touchy. I bought 2 of them and one is thriving and eating flake food like a pig. The other one died. They do control the snails. I cannot find a single snail on my clams and I look on a regular basis. I did not want to lose my clams and biological control was my only option. I have a Derasa that is 14 inches, a 12 inch Gigas, 2 8-10 inch Squamosas and a 6 inch Maxima. To remove these clams and scrub the shells on a regular basis would not be feasible.

 

[chrisstie]

I know no one likes to do this to their clams but what about a FW dip? a short one?

 

[Ron Popeil]

on a big squamosa, i took a kitchen scrubber and a faucet and went to work on the base of the clam where about 30 pyramidal snails were colonizing. two days of these treatments and i havent seen any more snails. but i suspect ill have another week or so before eggs hatch that i wasnt able to see. and then have to repeat.