Zoa Eating Tulip snails!

again, those are similar, but they lack the "stem" part of the shell.

 

lol!!!!

 

The snails you are dipicting are very bad!!! I am removing them from my tank on occassion as they are aggressive omnivores that will kill other inverts especially, like tridacnas among other beneficial organisms!!

 

OK, you guys keep telling each other how bad they are and take them out of your tanks. I'm just posting the correct info in case some reefers decide not to take your advice at face value, and want to research it for themselves. You can find plenty of authoritative information on the net that contradicts your conclusions, nevermind what I've told you.

I've been working with Indo-Pacific snails for a long time, and have kept hundreds of species in my own tanks. I don't mean any offense by correcting you, I just don't want people panicking for no reason.

Cheers,



Don

 

No offense, since you think you are positive on this, then explain to me why I pulled 3 of them off zoanthus gigantus species with noticible tissue damage on the polyps right where they were. Also explain why the LFS I deliver to has/had them all over their zoa' rocks munching on them. Mistra snails are herbivores, not omnivores like tulip snails.

 

Tulip snails are carnivores, not omnivores. Mitra and Vexillum snails are carnivores, not herbivores or omnivores. Some of the columbellids are omnivores or carnivores, so it's possible you have one of these species in your tank. The ones that normally show up in aquaria are in the genera Euplica or Pardalina (formerly grouped under the genus Pyrene). If you'd just research this stuff on the net before you post, you'd save me having to look it up for you.

The Mitridae:

"They generally occur in the low intertidal and shallow subtidal, living in clean, muddy, or silty sand, or beneath rocks or coral. They are carnivorous animals; as far as is known their food is restricted to sipunculid worms."

Family Mitridae

The Costellariidae:

"Costellariids are primarily sand dwellers, but some inhabit hard substrates living between or under rocks and boulders. Species are carnivorous."

Family Costellariidae

The Columbellidae:

"Columbellids are active, crawling snails that live in a variety of habitats. The majority of species live on hard substrates, crawling on the underside of stones or on algae, but some species crawl in sand in seagrass beds. They are unusual among advanced gastropods in that a few species include both plant and animal material in their diets. Species that live on seagrass are grazers, consuming the diatoms, sponges and other animal life forms on the seagrass fronds, while also consuming the plant material. Carnivorous species are known to include other molluscs, polychaete worms, crustaceans and ascidians in their diet."

Family Columbellidae

Fasciolariidae (particularly Tulip Snails):

"The Tulip Snail is a carnivorous predator that preys on a variety of gastropods and bivalve mollusks but prefers larger gastropods."

http://www.indyzoo.com/pdf/TrueTulipSnail.pdf

If you wish to contradict these sources, please note that there is a bibliography of original literature at the end of the links, which you may consult if you want to take issue with the researchers.

Cheers,


Don

 

:yelrotflm:yelrotflm:yelrotflm:yelrotflm:yelrotflm:yelrotflm:yelrotflm

 

Thanks for info!

 

yo geek, off topic but check out marinedepot

Hardwicki Wrasse

 

Very, very pretty fish...

See last post..."Shopping for a Wrasse""