? pyramid snails

[skyedolphan]

OK I can see 5 pyramid snails on the botton of my 3 yr old clam he is sitting sideways at the bottom of the tank with his byssal strings ? attached to a rock there is no way fro me to get to these snails without removing the clam higher in which case it would rupture his threads what should I do ?
her is an out of focus shot but you can see them off to the right looking at the clam

 

[marco67]

A Soft Tooth brush and a wrasse could be his two new best friends.

 

[smcnally]

Anyone have a closeup of what pyramid snails look like? I have some small white snails and I don't know what they are. I don't think they've touched my clam though. I'll check under him tonight though.

 

[marco67]

There are alot of pics around I'm sure a search will turn up plenty. They are tiny tiny about the size and shape you would get if you broke the point of a freshly sharpened pencil.

 

[smcnally]

That might be what's on my rock. Damn...I thought they were just "baby" snails. The ones I have are clear/white and teenie-tiny. Can I get anyother bad guys in my tank? First Cirolanid Isopods, then Monti Eating Nudis, now possibly these? Crap...

 

[starrfish]

Get a 6 Line Wrasse.

 

[NateHanson]

Here's a great picture from the Tridacnid forum on RC.

 

[skyedolphan]

got a sixline
marco can I leave him where he is, reach in with the toothbrush and brush them into a cup (or at least try to )

 

[smcnally]

I checked my clam, it doesn't have them. Maybe they were just baby snails after all.

 

[Ifferfish]

Not for the faint at heart, I took a VERY sharp knife and cut the byssal as close to the rock 3 different clams of mine were stuck to to reposition them in places I thought they would be better suited for. All of them have done fine. Just be sure the knife is really sharp so you can cut as low and as clean as possible. Then you can move it anywhere you want, if you want and get the snails away as well. Just a thought

 

[JustDavidP]

If you can not get to the byssal port to ensure that all the snails are gone, you'll keep fighting this battle.

Marco has the right advice. Brush them off. The wrasse will take all smallish snails and will harrass all the adults OFF of the clams while trying to take em in, but ONLY if they can get to them. Any large snails that your wrasse can not "mouth" should be physically removed.

Unfortunately for us, the buggers like to eat where the wrasse can't reach em...under the clam in the area of the byssus. If you can't get them off with a brush, you may have to cut the threads. Rock the clam gently and cut as few threads at a time as you can..keeping pressure on the clam to get at the threads. Don't use TOO much pressure as you cut them, because for every one you cut, it get looser on the rock. You may tear the gland or otherwise damage the clam if you are pushing too hard.

I've had them and got rid of them quickly with my 6-line and patience.... keep up on it and you'll wipe em out soon enough.

D