Snail Questions

Can any snails survive on detritus with little live algae? I have a detritus build up in my sump and overflow and was wondering if maybe I could pull a turbo snail or two out and if they would help control the stuff. I just don't want it to start hurting water quality like a big pile of fish waste seems like it might. Also, my live rock is covered in HORDES of baby snails. Is there any chance that any of these will survive and grow or will they all get eaten or just die?

 

What type of snails are they? Most will eat detritus, but some may not.

 

I have a few options of snails I could put down there. I have some Mexican Turbo Snails, Astrea Snails, Nassarius Snails, and one other that I can't remember the name of. Would a turbo eat some?

 

The turbo snail probably won't or the astrea. Nassarius snails will eat detritus, but they need a sand bed to burrow in. You could try a hermit crab, they will eat just about anything.

 

Actually, after looking again today, there is definitely detritus, but the bed of stuff housing the amphipod colony is mostly sediment with some detritus. That is under the trickle of my wet/dry. On the other side of the wet/dry with the skimmer and pumps, there is detritus hanging around all over the place. Not overrunning anything, just in splotches everywhere. I may try a hermit.

 

those "baby snails" may be a pest snail. I dunno, i have them as well and just bought a sixline, his name is Sixy, to help control them.

 

Could be small strombus spp. snails or other smaller snails that are eating microalgae that are growing around the detritus. Small abalone type snails as well as limpets will reproduce readily in a tank with a refugium or without TOO much mechanical filtration. Heck I have slews of all sorts of snails all that are beneficial hitchhikers, who says you shouldn't pick up a hitchhiker!!

Happy reefing!

 

I assumed they were babies as I see my snails go through mating rituals on a regular basis, but I could well be wrong. They aren't on any coral, so I don't think they are pests. I already have a 6 line, so he might be snacking on some of them.

 

You might try Ceriths as a solution to the detritus buildup. Some of the species are found in areas that are essentially devoid of algae, with only detritus to feed on. The ones that are normally encrusted with coralline are the ones that live on the rocks and eat algae, so they are not the ones you want. There are several mostly-white species that are common and should work, though.

Cheers,



Don

 

Here's a good example of the Cerithium species I'm referring to:

Cerithium columna

Cerithium columna is one of the most common shallow-water species that's NOT normally associated with algae. Shouldn't be too hard to find them, I'd think. There are several similar species, and those would probably work also. An additional option, especially for your sump, would be Cerithium nodulosum. I don't know how often the suppliers offer these, but they are common in shallow water in nutrient-poor areas. Only real disadvantage is that they get huge, growing to around 5 inches. Of course, that may be exactly what you are looking for with your present situation.

Cerithium nodulosum

Cheers again,



Don