What are these things on my snail?

[dutch27]

No, not the bubble algae. :lmao: If you look around the bottom edge of it's shell there's a bunch of cone shaped objects. I haven't felt them yet, but they look like cone shaped shells. They're on the other side of it as well. I've had this snail for awhile and these are definitely new. Any thoughts?

 

[Fibinotchi]

Pyramid snails. They are bad and can be hosted by astaeas and clams.

 

[small alien]

Not to mention the bubble algae.

 

[dutch27]

Pyramid snails. They are bad and can be hosted by astaeas and clams.

Thanks, he is the last of my Astrea, am I moving to Trochus as I can't stand how a fallen Astrea can't right itself. I'll see if I can't get them off of him.

Not to mention the bubble algae.

He almost got removed permanently due to the algae, but I didn't have the heart. I'm going to take him out to pull of those snails and will be removing the bubble algae at the same time. Been in a pretty good bubble algae battle lately, I've been overfeeding so I'm cutting back.

 

[Fibinotchi]

Try emerald crab for bubble algae.

 

[dutch27]

Try emerald crab for bubble algae.

I have 1, he isn't making a dent. I only have a 25g so i don't want to add too many, I hear they don't play nice together in small space.

 

[Fibinotchi]

Then just manually remove it every chance you get without bursting the bubbles, eventually it should decrease.

 

[scubasteve06]

So if your landlord knew you had bed bugs or roaches, but didn't call an exterminator he'd be a pretty cool landlord?:lmao:

 

[Ryan-UF]

Hey bubble algae can look really nice! All steps of the ecosystem can be a good balance =)

 

[goochesfish]

Help the poor guy please

 

[keith sprague]

so if they are pyramid snails what do they affect.and how do you get rid of them naturally?

 

[dutch27]

Help the poor guy please

No worries, I took him out last night and removed the snails (and bubble algae). Someone from my local reef club also gave me this info:

Pyramidellids vs Rissoids by Dr Shimek:
Basically, to tell the difference, there are a couple of different ways but the absolute sure-fire method requires pulling one of the little guys and looking closely to see if it's got an operculum - the little trap door at the opening. If there is one, it's a harmless Rissoid. If there isn't one, it's a Pyramidellid. Also, regarding the operculum, it isn't a thick/hard one like you see in Turbo snails. It's proteinaceous - so it's thin, flexible, and color-wise is likely to be anything from a clear/translucent white to a dark amber.
http://www.reefland.com/rho/2006/05/identify_rissoid_pyramidellid_snails.php

My camera's macro doesn't magnify enough to get a good feel, but I didn't see any signs of an operculum from what I could tell from a macro I tried to take (I don't have a magnifying glass).

@ Fibinotchi - I've been manually removing it when I do water changes, I think my bigger problem is that I've been overfeeding. I think manual removal combined with cutting back my feeding and my emerald should help it quite a bit, only time will tell.

 

[greenbean36191]

They're pyramidellids without a doubt. You will never find rissoids gathered around the foot of other snails. Dr. Ron's key is for people who want to be sure their suspected rissoids aren't really pyrams, not the other way around.