Snails!!

[framerguy]

Invertebrates fascinate me. I've been doing a lot of research on them and would like to share it in a series of articles. I was going to start with echinoderms (starfish) but there has been a lot of questions lately about snails so I think I will start with them. The information given here has been gathered from may 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.

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 extrmely 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.

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.

Astraea tecta (astrea snail, conehead or astraea star snail)
sz:1"
MTS: 1gal
FF: wholly herbivorous
RC:good reef animals
astraeas are found in all seas on rubble zones and reef flats. Since they rarely are in an environment where they would be dislodged and land on their backs, they have not developed the ability to right themselves when overturned. It is up to the aquarist do perform this task. They roam the sand and rocks searching for diatoms and microalgae. Require lighting enough to sustain algae growth.


Nassarius Sp. ( nassarius snail)
Sz: 1/2"
MTS: 10 gal.
FF: Left over food and decaying organisms
RC: excellent reef animals, will not attack healthy animals
nassirius snails are found in all seas. They bury themselves in the sand to sleep and "pop out" when food is introduced to the tank. They are excellent for substrate oxygenation. Will not eat algae. I've read conflicting reports on their detritus feeding habits. They may or may not.
They have no lighting requirements.

Cerithium Sp. (Cerith snail)
Sz:less than 1"
MTS: 50 gal or larger
FF: Detritus, several types of algae, decaying organics, fish waste,
RC: among the best snails for the reef tank
Excellent reef snail. Will eat a wide variety of organic material. Will also plow through the sand searching for food which super oxygenates the substrate. Require lighting to sustain algae growth.

I hope you find this information helpful in choosing snails for your aquarium.

[vdituri]

Nice info! Look forward to future articles.

[Rcpilot]

I just read, recently, that snails do need a long acclimation period. I'll quote from an article I found at ReefKeeping.com. This is an article written by Ronald L. Shimek Ph.D.

Here is a link to the entire article:
The Grazing Snails, Part I - Turbo, Trochus, Astraea, and Kin by Ronald L. Shimek, Ph.D. - Reefkeeping.com

Here is a summary of the text about acclimation:

Acclimation Problems, Or Why Do They Die?

The complexity of internal anatomy in snails is one major reason why some of the Trochoideans seem to die easily, or otherwise not live through their full life spans in our tanks. Although most folks probably never give it a second thought, snails have a complex internal morphology. In many ways, the internal structures that the snails possess have allowed them to be very successful. It is not, however, a particularly "rugged" morphology when subjected to some specific stresses. Snail tissues often seem to be composed of thin layers of tissue that are very filmy and diaphanous. Consequently, they often suffer significant damage during water changes or during transport from a dealer's to an aquarist's tank. The circulatory system of snails may be very complex (Figure 5), and many of its vessels and channels can rupture under stresses caused by changes in salinity. The vessels in the kidney are numerous and delicate, and may rupture if the animal is not slowly acclimated when being moved from one set of water conditions to another. If the acclimation is too fast, the animal will die in a few minutes to a few weeks. If the snails are drip acclimated, the acclimation time may need to be on the order of five to ten hours for maximal survival.

[framerguy]

Snails: volume 2

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


Margarites pupillus (margarita snail) originating in the eastern pacific ocean this variety of “margarita snail” is an herbivore from warmer waters than the Tegula funebralis variety, which hail from the Baja California to southern Alaskan waters. The tegula variety is not suited for temps found in the typical reef aquarium. They withstand warmer water temperature for weeks only, and subjected to warm temps constantly they would slowly “cook’ for a short time until they die ( research shows they live well over 100 yrs in the wild). Margarites pupillus is more suited to aquarium temperatures. It’s difficult to know which variety you are purchasing. Tegula sizes are up to ¾” while Margarites p. are up to 1”.
Sz: Tegula sizes are up to ¾” while Margarites p. are up to 1”.
MTS: 1 gal
FF: wholly herbivorous and needs a tank with a good growth of diatoms and microalgae.





Nassarius Distortus (Tonga nassarius)
Sz: 1”
MTS: 10g +
FF: Obligate scavengers on meaty foods
RC: good scavengers, will not harm healthy animals
One of the larger varieties of Nassarius snails, they may live for decades in the home aquarium. They perform useful scavenging chores by eating leftover food, and oxygenating the substrate by turning over the sand bed.




Engina Sp., Pusiostoma mendicaria (Bumble bee snails)
Sz: ½”
MTS: 10 gal
FF: (Engina sp.)predatory on other snails and worms
( Pusiostoma m.) carnivorous, may eat Zoos and
Polyps.
RC: Questionable, see below

Bumble bee snails are sold as and act as scavengers on uneaten food and carrion. Will also eat beneficial worms and snails. There are some reports of Pusiostoma m. eating Zoos and polyps. Not a good candidate for a reef tank. .

[Triggerjay]

Great thread. One quick ? for you though. Will the Nassarius Distortus breed in the home aquarium? I had a bunch of eggs on my glass the other day near the sandbed. They are the only snails I have big enough to lay that many except my one turbo snail.. I took some pics I will post tomorrow from the home PC. Thanks!

Jason

[framerguy]

I checked several references and it seems the Nas D. is extremely difficult to breed. The Nas sp. seem prolific at breeding but the larvae rarely make it to maturity in an aquarium. Most varieties of snails will deposit eggs with a similar fate. One way to make an artificial incubator is to put a snail upside down in a cup of warm seawater (80 deg. far.) for a few minutes, they pour this water off and add cold seawater ( 60 deg. far.). Some will emit sperm while some emit egg masses. once you have both varieties, mix them together and watch the eggs develop into swimming larvae. It takes a couple of hours! That's where my info ends though, I couldn't find how to raise them, just make them.

[Triggerjay]

Ok, here are the eggs I saw the other night:

The eggs disappeared two days later... and tonight when I got home from work, this is what I found going on! :



Now I do not know if these are Nas D. or Nas. SP. I will try to get a pic in the daytime of just the snails. They look just like the Nas. in your first post. Even if they don't hatch, its cool to see! Thanks

Jason

[framerguy]

That's awesome! Definately spawning activity. Do get a pic without the goo and note the size of the snail. Very cool.

[ScubaDrew]

Wow, thanks for these photos! Great thing to keep an eye out for.

[Triggerjay]

Originally Posted by framerguy

That's awesome! Definately spawning activity. Do get a pic without the goo and note the size of the snail. Very cool.

These are not the best pics, but here you go. The snails shells are about an inch at the longest point. Total length of the snails are about 1 1/2" when they are crusing around, without the trunk measurement of course.




Hope this was what you were wanting to see..

Jason

[Triggerjay]

Something to note.. Comparing photos with Nas. D, in your first post, My Nas. snails seem to have a smoother shell...So possibly not Nas. D. . But size wise, they do seem to fit the description,.... So I have no idea.. lol. Also take notice of the "spikes" at the end of the tail.. Don't know if this will help or not. I was just looking at Vibex pics, and they look nothing like them.

Jason

[framerguy]

Great photos!! You must have a killer lense. Almost definately Nassarius Distortus,. If they're spawning, which it looks like they are, you are a very lucky fellow. If you have a qt tank that has never had copper of any kind in it, it may be fun to put those two in there and have some young'uns. If not, just be happy with the free food. In any evernt, what a cool thing to watch. Congratulations, and thanks for sharing.

[framerguy]

Originally Posted by Triggerjay

Something to note.. Comparing photos with Nas. D, in your first post, My Nas. snails seem to have a smoother shell...So possibly not Nas. D. . But size wise, they do seem to fit the description,.... So I have no idea.. lol. Also take notice of the "spikes" at the end of the tail.. Don't know if this will help or not. I was just looking at Vibex pics, and they look nothing like them.

Jason

I believe it is Nas D., if not it is a Very close cousin. Their shells vary in smoothness, and color of tan,gray or brown or combo. Both varieties lay eggs the same way with the same incubation period, etc. It's just that Nas. D. isn't known for doing it as regularly as nas sp. they both have the "spikes" at the tail

[Triggerjay]

On marinedepot : Tonga Nassarius Snails - Nassarius species

This snail looks different than what I have, but they say in the description that the Tongan snails may have black spots on the foot.. If you look at the first pic I took today, you can see black spots.. Just another thing for ID maybe? I assume the marine depot Tongan snails are Nas. Distortus? Thanks again!

Jason

[Triggerjay]

LoL, you replied to my previous posts while I was typing the last one. Thanks a bunch! I have thought about putting a peice of glass against the aquarium wall, and they might lay eggs on it, where I could remove it and place it in another tank. The last spawn was just a couple days ago, and today I also noticed TONS of tiny snails in the tank.. but I also have cerith snails in there,.. so they may be cerith babies I am seeing, as they are on the glass, and my Nas. snails stay under the sand most of the time. It would be awesome to raise some to maturity..Thanks again for the ID, and its cool to see something "rare" happen in my tank. They must be happy! lol. My camera lens is the stock lens on a Sony Cybershot DSC-H2. I have Macro lenses for it, but were not on at the time of those photos.


Jason