[framerguy]

Snails:volume 3

Mobile Invertebrates fascinate me. I've been doing a lot of research on them and would like to share it in a series of articles. The information given here has been gathered from many sources and from my personal experiences. Sources include: Marine reef aquarium handbook by Dr. Robert J. Goldstein, Marine invertebrates by Dr. Ronald L. Shimek, Ph.D., The Reef Aquarium volume 3 by Delbeek and Sprung, liveaquaria.com, marinedepotlive.com, pacificeastaquaculture.com. The photos in this post are NOT mine. I will post three animals per volume and will try to only cover animals typically offered in the aquarium trade as there are 125,000 known species of snails!

Shelled snails belong to the Class Gastropoda (gastro-poda- stomach foot)

All use calcium to build their shells, so calcium levels in aquariums containing prosobranch (shelled) gastropods should be in the 380-450 range.

All invertebrates are extremely sensitive to changes in water chemistry and must be acclimated very slowly. A drip line acclimation of a minimum two hours is critical for long life. Dr. Shimek recommends 5 to 10 hours of acclimations for snails.

most of the sources agree that one to two snails per 3 to 5 gallons is sufficient. A variety of snails is better than one species to ensure all of the jobs they do get done.

For each snail listed I will give a Genus and common name, maximum size (Sz), minimum tank size (MTS), food and feeding (FF), Reef Compatibility (RC), and care notes.

Snails covered in Volume 1 included: Cirith, Astraea, Nassarius
Volume 2: Margarita snails, Tonga snails, bumblebee snails
Volume 3: Abalone, Trochus , Nerite
Volume 4: will include fighting conch, and cone snails


Haliotis sp. (Abalone)
Sz: 3” generally (.8-7.5”)
MTS: 50g
FF: Wholly herbivorous
RC: good reef inhabitant, harmless
Hailing from the Indo-Pacific, Abalones are wholly herbivorous active grazers that need a tank with a good growth of various algae and diatoms. Very effective at removing detritus as well. Will not tolerate changes in salinity, needs very long acclimation and full strength sea water 36-37ppt. The foot attaches very firmly so use care when removing from glass.


Trochus sp. (generally called Turban, also,top shell)
Sz: up to 1” in aquariums, 3” in wild
MTS: 1gal
FF: algae, cyan bacteria, diatoms and film algaes on
glass, mainly hair algae
RC: Beneficial, harmless
From Tropical Seas, they need good lighting to sustain algae growth. Very long lived in aquariums with proper acclimation. Add a few at a time, will starve if overstocked. Shell often with spiral ridges, radial ridges, bumps or a combination. May be very colorful or drab. Will not eat macro algae.

Nerita sp. (nerite)
Sz: 1” in aquarium, 1 ½ “ wild
MTS: 1 gal.
FF: Microalgae, cyanobacteria & diatoms
RC: common and beneficial
There are many types of Nerita snails and all graze on algae. They are nocturnal and since they are creatures of tide pools, they will move above water levels and possibly even leave the tank. Shell are rounded and low with several distinct folds. With sufficient food they will lay many eggs on aquarium wall. Survival of larvae is unusual but has occurred.