Snail Species (Photos and Descriptions)

[bojik]

Originally Posted by mudplayerx
TIGER COWRIE (Cypraea tigris)
Family: Cypraeidae
Range: Indo-Pacific
Size: Up to 4 inches
Diet: Microalgae, Macroalgae, possibly hair algae
Reef Safe: Yes
Temperature: : 72 - 80ºF
Specific Gravity: 1.023 - 1.026
pH: 8.0 - 8.3
Care Level: Easy
Notes
These snails require large tanks (100 gallons or more). They grow very large and are prone to knocking over unsecured corals and live rock formations.
May live 10 years or more if not starved to death as they are in most aquariums. Does not tolerate poor water conditions and is easily damaged by rough tankmates. Otherwise a beautiful and useful creature.
I have also seen them devour cyano.

 

[bojik]

Originally Posted by mudplayerx
NERITE SNAIL
Family: Neritidae
Range: Caribbean, Pacific Ocean
Size: Up to 1"
Diet: microalgae
Reef Safe: Yes
Temperature: : 72 - 78ºF
Specific Gravity: 1.020 - 1.025
pH: 8.1 - 8.4
Care Level: Easy
Notes
Has a tendency to go above the waterline. This is normal behavior.
These lovely creatures eat cyano and diatoms. One of my fav' snails stay tiny eat a wide range of algae save coraline not sure on hair.

 

[mudplayerx]

Originally Posted by whitey_028
Can someone add a pic and description of zebra snails also? This is a very helpful and informational thread by the way. Great Job!
If you are talking about Zebra Nerites (Neritina natalensis), then they are a freshwater species that can sometimes be found in brackish water. They frequently climb out of the tank so it is not recommended that you keep them without a hood.

 

[mudplayerx]

EASTERN MUD SNAIL (Ilyanassa Obsoleta)
Family: Nassariidae
Range: Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence to Florida
Size: 3/4" - 1.25"
Diet: Diatoms, microalgae, macroalge sediments
Reef Safe: No, see below
Temperature: 55 - 71° F
Specific Gravity: 1.008 - 1.024
pH: 8.1 - 8.4
Care Level: Moderate
Notes
This snail is found in cooler waters and will die within weeks/months when introduced to a typical reef tank. They also serve as a host for the blood fluke larvae that cause swimmer's itch. This larvae can infect the hobbyist.
Please check with your local governments before collecting or purchasing these snails as they are listed in some areas as a nuisance species.

 

[bojik]

That looks like the scavenger nassarius a fish store i went to recently had. Was blacker shelled though. Can you post info on them and the tongan varieties?

 

[tizzo]

Nice thread mud, Here's another you can 'splain for the pleasure of the viewing audience...
Pyramid snails.

 

[mudplayerx]

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.

 

[mudplayerx]

Mods: Any chance at getting this added to the archives please? This was my intention when originally authoring this. If something needs to be changed in order to be added to the archives, please let me know.
Mark Werenczuk

 

[larryndana]

i agree, alot of great info. awesome post.

:happyfish

 

[maxsmart]

Originally Posted by mudplayerx
MARGARITA SNAIL
The margarita snail is native to cooler waters and will die in a few weeks or months when kept in the average reef tank.
I believe what I was sold as "black snails" are in fact margarita snails. They always appear green or gray on websites, so I couldn't find them. Mine are deep black with white pinstripes and the silver cap on top. This comment about them dying quickly is surprising, since I have had great sucess with them. In the summertime my aquarium gets to the low to mid 80s, which is quite warm, but they have survived and are growing larger. About 90% of them survived versus about 50% of my astrea snails (have had both for 1.5 years). What I can add is that they eat all day (and possibly all night) but leave swirl patterns instead of wiping a section clean like the other snails do. They're also very cute as snails go

 

[mmm33732]

any info on "Whelk snails"?

 

[mmm33732]

^

 

[mmm33732]

nothing on the whelk's?

 

[mudplayerx]

WHELK SNAIL (Pyrams)
Family: Buccinidae
Range: All seas
Size: Up to 16 inches
Diet: meaty detritus, clams, fish, snails
Reef Safe: No, will anything it can catch
Temperature: unknown
Specific Gravity: unknown
pH: unknown
Care Level: easy
Notes:
The whelk snail is not a reef safe snail. It will eventually eat all of the other snails in your tank as well as any clams it comes across. If it can catch sleeping fish it will eat those as well.
This snail looks strikingly similar to the nassarius snail. You can notice differences in coloring and the shell shape if you compare pictures.

 

[mmm33732]

awesome, thanks.

 

[estein02]

I started seeing these little snails appearing. This is the best picture I can get. At first I thought sundials but now I think maybe baby turbo snails.

 

[jc74]

It's amazing that so many snails have such different diets. Some eate algae, some eat meat, etc.
And the pictures of that fighting conch look a lot like the queen conch I just got from this site. I hope they got it right.

 

[ifirefight]

Why in the world is this NOT stickyed ?? I remember seeing it before,and looked in the archives..finally found it(NOT in the archives

). Awesome info,found the snail ID that I was looking for. Very nicely done. Thanks. PS MODS..Im not sure what crtieria it takes to have something stickyed..but you have to agree this is an informative post.

 

[mcbdz]

Bump for a mod to see.

 

[apos]

I've been told that the orange turbo snails are from cooler waters and don't make it in reef tanks. Of course, I was told this after the three I had died over the course of weeks, while most of the other snails I have have thrived.
I highly recommend "peppermint" trochus snails. They eat fast, are pretty as snails go (fluorescent red heads, multicolored shells, and green antennae) and don't seem to have any problem righting themselves or staying out of trouble. Far superior option to large Mexican turbos imho, which although cool because of their size, can knock over corals and pose a far bigger danger to the tank if they get sick and die.