Tiny white snails, what now?

Chris_150G

Chris_150G

Reefing newb
A few days ago I found a tiny white snail on one of my trumpets. They're about 2mm in diameter. Tonight I see there are at least 20 on my center rock structure. I researched it a bit and found that it may be Pyramidellidae snails but I haven't found much info.

Are they pests? :shocking:
 
What's the deal with collonista snails? I think I have tons of them in my tank. The ones I have are not conical in shape like the predator snails listed above. They are round in shape and white and about about the size of this letter o.
 
:shock:They are round, white, and seem to have a bit of a tan swirl. They are also are the size of this - o . That was a good way to put it 420. I looked at colonista snails and found this picture which pretty much is how mine look, especially the shape. Except for mine are a white with that sort of tan marking. I have found them primarily on the rocks and there are many more of them than I thought. Perhaps hundreds which is disturbing when considering that they may be pests. I noticed just one of two about two or three weeks ago. I found one on my trumpet the other day. And then all of the sudden last night they are everywhere. I wonder if it could have anything to do with my introduction of quite a bit of Selcon supplement to the frozen food. The bottle says inverts love it. If they are just grazers then my bad, I squashed about 20 of them last night with a nail set. (I was panicking because my trumpets dont look very happy. There were not any on my clam which is looking good and happy. ANYONE HAVE ANY ADVICE?
Collonista1.jpg
 
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Bifferwine said:
They are really common, they come out at night and graze on algae. Reef safe. Whenever I dip corals, dozens of previously invisible collonista snails drop off. I feel bad for the little guys. :(
Click to expand...





IM A KILLER! I panicked and squashed like 20 last night.Just grazers? I'm a monster! Bless their little snail hearts. Maybe Biff is wrong! Maybe they are killers. Im holding my legs and rocking back and forth now. I will try to somehow get a picture tonight but they are so small I doubt it wil be useful with my unsophisticated camera. .
 
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Hahahahahahaha. I'm surprised you are only noticing them just now? I think like anything, if you get too many of them, they can probably irritate corals.

What is wrong with your trumpets? What's happening there?
 
Heres a Pyramidellidae pic from the web. Thats not what I have. So these are predators then and not the little cute round guys I squashed like Hanibal Lecter?


 
Bifferwine said:
Hahahahahahaha. I'm surprised you are only noticing them just now? I think like anything, if you get too many of them, they can probably irritate corals.

What is wrong with your trumpets? What's happening there?
Click to expand...

It seems like one is always looking bony. Then the next day it will be ok and then another. And they have some white dots on their base the size of this period - . Also I can often find a lil white snail on them.
 
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Chris_150G said:
It seems like one is always looking bony. Then the next day it will be ok and then another. And they have some white dots on their base the size of this period - . Also I can often find a lil white snail on them.
Click to expand...

Have you tried dipping them in iodine? The dots may be some sort of parasite or disease. Also, do you feed them? It's not uncommon for corals to close up for a day or two after they've been fed.
 
Thanks, I'll try the iodine dip. My local LFS sells it for $25 and I have been meaning to buy it. But it seems a bit pricey for a crumby little bottle of iodine. Thats just one less coral I can buy. I do feed them but so far only one of the two heads has taken mysis.
 
what is the difference between the iodine you get at the LFS and the little bottle at the drug store?

I just want to know since there are many different thing in this hobby that are cheaper elsewhere, like superglue and silicone.
 
you never know though, they might add something to the one at the drug store. Not even sure how much it is at the drug store either. But I figured it was worth asking you know.
 
I seem to remember googling that a while back, because I was trying to save money too. If I remember correctly, all of the drug store iodines have additives of some sort that would hurt corals. They are not 100% pure iodine. They all have extra stuff in them.
 

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