Small white snails
 

I have been noticing a bunch of small white snails as of late and remember reading that white snails are bad while doing research on another subject. Just wondering if anyone else can confirm this for me? If they are bad what can I do to get rid of them. I would love to keep the snails if they are going to be beneficial to my tank.

Some background on my tank (new to reefing)... My tank has been up for about 2 months and I have added 2 margarita snails (died I think do to temp getting to high), 3 Astrea snails, 1 cleaner shrimp (skunk), and a blue velvet vassel (given by local fish store to help cycle tank - may give back when other fish are to be added). As for coral a pulsating xenia, and a rock with five blue mushrooms on them. Which brings me to another question the mushroom are starting to grow allready and are on a smaller rock.... is there a way to take the mushroom of the rock and transport to another area, or should I be looking at maybe getting rid of the 3-4 of the mushroom and only keeping one? Or maybe trading in the 5 I have on the small rock and trading for a single mushroom?

Any help in these matters would be appreciated with the focus being on the snails? They are all very small right now but the ones that are bigger seem to have a tanish/brown patch on there shell.

Thanks

there are a few different types of small snails that occur in our tank. 1 is a micro turbo snails whos species name escapes me right now, but its good, it will graze on microalgae and multiply your tank. Another one is the pyramellid (spelling?) snail, which is parasitic. The obvious difference is the shell shape. check in the reference library forum you might be able to find something there.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.. will do some research in the next couple of days and see what I can figure out. It was the pyramid (sp?) snails that I had red were bad... would become a parasite on a clam or snail if I remember correctly.

Run as quickly as you can from the LFS that sold you a damsal to cycle your tank.
Deal with one of the reputable online sellers or from a reputable store in Edmonton.
Above all get your advice here, before making your next purchase.
Thank you

Check your Astrea snails (and any clams) for parasitic Paramidellid snails. If you don't find any of these tiny snails on your Astreas (or clams), then you likely have Rissoid snails. They tend to come out mostly at night. I have a lot of them in my tank. Paramidellid snails are parasitic, and Rissoids are algae grazers. The most obvious physical difference between the Paramidellid and Rissoid is in the tip of the shell, and it is hard to describe, so do a search on Rissoids, and then get out your magnifying glass. :D

Naesco - I appreciate your advice and the LFS (Blueworld Aquariums from my dealings and what I have red in the forums here... they are reputable store) gave me the fish for free... and can give back when I add any other fish to the aquarium... I understand your concern with the damsel but just want to make sure I am not missing anything as your post didn't really explain what was wrong with the damsel and my situation. (I understand this fish will not work well with any other fish in the aquarium.... and I am not planning to have it when I add other fish to it - was there another concern that I am missing about the damsel?)

Myka - thank you very much for giving more areas to research these snails. When I am back at home I will do some more research - unfortunately I am away on business trip for over a week and wife is looking after the tank. (Will relay what I find to her). After doing some research tonite I am 95% sure that I do not have the pyramidal type snails... from the look I think I have collonista snails. Can't wait to get home and verify my findings.

Again thanks to everyone for the help they have provided :)

The reason hes telling you to run from that LFS is because the damsel is not necessary to cycle tanks. Cycling with fish is an old practice for reef aquariums, your live rock will create more than enough ammonia to cycle a tank. I think that was the point he meant to make.

It is DAMSEL ABUSE!!!! It is sick, abusive, and unnecessary torture. Putting an animal in a poor environment (ammonia burns their gills) when it is completely unecessary is uncalled for. Take the damsel back now, you don't need it. As said above, your rock will provide plenty enough ammonia to cycle your tank on its own.

You're very welcome. Ah, well Collonista snails don't look anything like Pyramidellid or Rissoid snails. That should be an easy identification.

OK just want to clear things up... I overlooked that. My tank hasn't had a major cycle (high ammonia spike)... But I have had it set up with 65lbs of live rock and 80lbs of live sand for just under 2 months now. I have red that many people only had a minor spike with my same sort of situation (lots of live rock and live sand to start there tank off with). Please tell me if I am doing something wrong. I am new to this and have been trying to learn as much as I can from the forums.

Thanks

It depends how much die off on the rock you have as to how much of a cycle you will have. The only thing you're doing "wrong" is the damsel. There is no reason you should be forcing an animal to submit to such abuse. Do you understand that?