Pyramid snail removal tips.

[outerbank]

You can siphon some off using hard air tube piping connected to airless flexible tubing just like a vacuum. Intermittently do this so you are not constantly moving the clam.

 

[outerbank]

You can siphon some off using hard air tube piping connected to airless flexible tubing just like a vacuum. Intermittently do this so you are not constantly moving the clam.

I meant, "You can siphon some off using hard air tube piping connected to airline flexible tubing just like a vacuum. Intermittently do this so you are not constantly moving the clam.

 

[minus9]

This is what I found the first day after discovering them. The next night only produced 2 or 3 pyramids.

Just found this on a trochus as it passed in front of me.

 

[Tahoe61]

Never found wrasses to be much assistance in combating pyramids. Pyramids are mostly active at night, wrasse sleep at night. Diligence with manual removal and the use of PVC worked for me, but you have to keep up on it for months and inspect your larger snails.

 

[minus9]

I'm checking every night and looking during the day too. I have my clams in clear dishes, so I can see if anything is climbing up the sides. My CUC is primarily snails, with just a couple hermits and urchins, so I have my work cut out for me.

 

[xjiang7]

Caught it red handed..

 

[xjiang7]

Caught it red handed..

Yes there are pyramid snails that don’t stay on the host. These guys spend majority of their time on sand bed, live rock, and glass just forging, but they will prey on their victims frequently

 

[DeniseAndy]

Okay, I am ticked not. I have dealt with a lot over the last couple years with my tank. I have had a beautiful maxima in my tank for 5+ years adn everything has been good with my clams. yesterday, I noticed my maxima was not opening. I was not feeling well, so put it down to flow or fish. Today, I took it out to inspect and darn it if I did not find about 6 pyramid snails.

I have never had these guys before and I have kept clams for almost 13 years. The maxima will probably not heal. In bad shape. However, I have a squammy, 2 crocea and a giga in the tank. I have scrubbed and inspected each of those now too. They seem to be clean.

I have qt'ed everything lately, except my turbos and astrea I got from a clean up crew shipment. I did not even think about pyramid snails hitching a ride. Man, I am so t'ed off.

I will now make sure to inspect every night and scrub too. I am afraid to move them to a qt tank, because I added some astrea to those too. This really sucks. I may have room in my 20g qt for them I guess. No sand, so that is a positive and no astreas.

I am too sick to deal with this now. Guess rest will have to wait. AAHHHGGG!!!

 

[deplinger]

I ordered a cleanup crew one time and got ticks of the sea! I had never heard of them before but they came in on my Astrea snails. You could see them on the rim of the shells. I bought Yellow Coris Wrasse and it ate the pyramid snails off the snails. It was too late for my clam as it died before I realized they were attacking it.

 

[DeniseAndy]

Yep. Mine is more than likely a goner. I only noticed yesterday. Frustrating. Anyway, I went ahead and set up my 20g qt for the remaining clams. I wanted no risk to their health. I made sure no sand, no snails, no nothing in to start. I will still check them every night. I hope I limit the damage to one.
Very sad day today.

 

[minus9]

Yep. Mine is more than likely a goner. I only noticed yesterday. Frustrating. Anyway, I went ahead and set up my 20g qt for the remaining clams. I wanted no risk to their health. I made sure no sand, no snails, no nothing in to start. I will still check them every night. I hope I limit the damage to one.
Very sad day today.

Sorry to hear. My noae is showing some blotching, hopefully it's just stress? I'm a guy who hates to lose pods, so I really don't want to lose a clam, especially a teardrop. Again, sorry about your clam, but here's hoping it will survive.

 

[DeniseAndy]

Thanks. I hope your noae recovers and is good.

 

[outerbank]

It makes a lot of sense and I had not thought of PS hitch hiking on clean up crews. PS also seem harder to control in sandbeds. I hate the dang things as I could never get rid of them when I had a DSB. Make sure to quarantine all mollusks.

 

[Ross Petersen]

If there's no CUC in a tank... will these pyramid snails eventually starve? Or do they eat detritus as well?

 

[minus9]

If there's no CUC in a tank... will these pyramid snails eventually starve? Or do they eat detritus as well?

I'm not sure, but I'm about to find out. I'm going to remove all of my snails and only keep the few hermits I have and my three urchins. I can't remove the clams, so I'll have to put them in clear jars or containers and replace the sand/rubble daily. I might be able to move them to my sump in an isolated area and light them with a single Kessil?
I'm hoping that removing their main food source and keeping the clams clean of them, that in time, they'll die off? We're about to find out. Ugh! I know for sure that they really like dwarf ceriths, at least the pyramids that I have do.

 

[OrionN]

My experiences were hard won from the times when these parasies were unknown in the 1990's. Pyramidal parasites killed a few of my clams. There are free living snails that looks just like pyramid snails to the naked eye. Also, large snails also have pyramid snails that prey on them. They need to be check for these before place them into your tank. The parasite pyramid snails are somewhat species specific. From personal experiences, snail parasites won't prey on clams. I think clams parasites will cross infect other speces of Tridacna clams, and snail parasites will cross infect various species of snails. There were times in the 1990's when I have both parasies in my tank, and other time when I only have snail parasites. I never find that wrasse is on any help in eliminate these pest from my aquariums.

When I have problem with these snails, I clean them like @outerbank. I siphon them out nightly in the middle of the might before I go to bed with a rigid air tube, connected to an airline, siphon through a mesh screener in the sump. I have the clams on the sand so I can easily remove them out of the tank to clean them weekly, and I broke all the scuttles off of the shell of the clam so I can easily clean them thoroughly.

Now that these threads are well know, most reputable retailer will watch, clean and treat snails and clams for these pests. Only occasionally reefer will see them when they are shipped to us. I am more concern with clams that is a less knowledgeable LFS. Their tanks can harbor these snails and infect new stocks. As long as these stocks move reasonably fast, the problem is at a tolerable, low level and the LFS owner would never wise up to the problem.

 

[reef lover]

If there's no CUC in a tank... will these pyramid snails eventually starve? Or do they eat detritus as well?

James fathertree says 30 days to starve with no prey.

 

[minus9]

Mini clam QT in the sump. Now I have to remove all the snails in my tank. The big issue is all of the collonista snails that come out at night. I find on average 3 to 5 of them with pyramid snails every night. This is gonna take a while.
The container is elevated above the water and is fed from a small Rio pump. I know it's not 100% isolated, but it provides a better option than inside the display.

 

[OrionN]

Rather then the coarse rocks, I would use a fine sand bed, deep enough to keep the clams from attaching.

 

[minus9]

Rather then the coarse rocks, I would use a fine sand bed, deep enough to keep the clams from attaching.

I thought about removing some sand from the tank and bleaching it, because I don't have extra sand on hand. I have extra arm media, which is why I used it instead. I just need enough sand to replace when I check the clams. It's funny, but bleaching sand always reminds me of my time at Tropicorium. Good times.