Reef safe snail? (1 Viewer)

[mikster]

Not sure what kind of snail this is but I found 3 on a rock and now they are on my glass in the quaritine tank.

 

[steveb]

its hard to tell from the picture but is it this?



If so that is stomatella varia a very helpful snail indeed.

 

[PorpoiseHork]

Agreed, they are a very good part of your clean up crew. They are micro algae eaters.

 

[mikster]

its hard to tell from the picture but is it this?



If so that is stomatella varia a very helpful snail indeed.

Yup, that is it. Thanks! Do they multiply in the tank?

 

[steveb]

Yes they will unless you have wrasses or something else that considers them yummy.

 

[PorpoiseHork]

They can, but may often not survive if you have peppermints or a sixline wrasse.

 

[mikster]

They can, but may often not survive if you have peppermints or a sixline wrasse.

I have a cleaner shrimp but no wrasses. Should I put them in my Sump just to be safe? Maybe they can multiply down there and find their way to my display tank when they populate

 

[Bullitt519]

I have a cleaner shrimp but no wrasses. Should I put them in my Sump just to be safe? Maybe they can multiply down there and find their way to my display tank when they populate

Take a couple and move them to the sump and keep the rest in the main display. I have like 20 running around in my main and I have peppermint shrimp and wrasses. Don't seem to bother them. I don't have a sixline though.

 

[steveb]

Wrasses --
I wouldn't worry about:
Cirrhilabrus
Paracheilinus

I would worry about:
Pseudocheilinus
Macropharyngodon
Halichoeres <-- Halichoeres melanurus for sure will go after them if it is big enough from my personal experience.

 

[mikster]

Take a couple and move them to the sump and keep the rest in the main display. I have like 20 running around in my main and I have peppermint shrimp and wrasses. Don't seem to bother them. I don't have a sixline though.

Thanks, I only have 3 of them though. Lol

 

[PorpoiseHork]

I have a cleaner shrimp but no wrasses. Should I put them in my Sump just to be safe? Maybe they can multiply down there and find their way to my display tank when they populate

You can put a few down in the sump, but doubtful any potential offspring would make it past the pump impeller unless they are really tiny and happen to get lucky. I have peppermints, a sixline, and yellow wrasse and I have at least 7-10 of these snails all different sizes my tank. I really only ever see them after the lights go out and most of the time they are up on the glass. To reproduce, the males will broadcast their sperm into the water column. I'm figuring the eggs are either suspended in the water column or are placed on rock or something by the females and are getting fertilized by free floating sperm. I have seen this happen in my tank a couple of times at the end of the day when the lights are really dim. It's interesting to watch. The male will extend up out of a crevice in the rock and puff out 3-5 puffs of cloudy looking water into the water column, then slowly retract back down into the rock.