Members of the Mollusca phylum, Gastropoda class, here is profile facts and information to learn about and identify Abalone, Astrea, Cowrie, Turbo and other shelled algae grazing marine snails, as well as venomous stinging Cone and Vermetid species that are predatory animals.
A profile of the Super Tongan Nassarius Snail (Nassarius distortus), a sand sifting snail which helps stir the substrate in a deep sand bed aquarium.
A profile of the Fighting Conch Snail (Strombus spp.), a sand sifting snail which helps stir the substrate in a deep sand bed aquarium.
Your Guides Debbie and Stan profile the identification and characteristics of various types of snails as reef tank janitors, centering around three of the most common species used for controlling algae, Astrea, Turbo, and Nerite snails.
A profile of the Astraea Conehead Snail (Astraea tecta), which are reef tank safe and devour algae at an incredible rate. This reef tank safe snail spends all of its time consuming algae from the rocks and glass in an aquarium.
A profile of the Banded Trochus Snail (Trochus spp.), a terrific reef tank safe algae consumer. This snail consumes cyanobacteria and diatoms from rocks, aquarium walls and the substrate, but will not eat macroalgae.
A profile of the Bumble Bee Snail (Engina mendicaria), a sand sifting snail which helps stir the substrate in a deep sand bed aquarium.
A profile of the Cerith Snail (Cerithium spp.), which is a great sand stirring animal for your deep sand bed.
A profile of the Chestnut Cowrie (Cypraea spp.). This reef tank safe snail spends all of its time eating algae from the rocks and glass in an aquarium.
A profile of the Margarita Snail (Margarites pupillus) which is a reef tank safe algae eating animal. This reef tank safe snail spends all of its time eating algae from the rocks and glass in an aquarium. When populating an aquarium with these snails, caution should be taken.
A profile of the Nassarius Snail (Nassarius spp.), a long living, reef tank safe scavenger. This snail likes to bury itself in the sand, stirring deep sand beds.
A profile of the algae eating Nerite Snail (Nerita spp.). This reef tank safe snail spends all of its time eating algae from the rocks and glass in an aquarium. This snail is reef tank safe, however caution should be taken when populating an aquarium with this animal.
A profile of the algae eating, reef tank safe Turbo Snail (Turbo fluctuosa). Some of these snails offered for sale in the aquarium trade are collected in the subtropical waters of Mexico and do not long survive the warmer waters of most reef aquariums.
A profile of the reef tank safe, algae devouring Zebra Turbo Snail (Turbo sp.). This reef tank safe snail spends all of its time eating algae from the rocks and glass in an aquarium. Caution should be taken with these animals as they may be too good at what they do for their own good.
From the Thiel Marine Infobase Library, a brief identification and characteristic profile on Genus
Conus shelled snails of the
Conidae family that inject a highly poisonous paralyzing toxin into their prey to kill them, which can also be hazardous to humans if stung.
From eMedicine.com, find out about how predatory cone shells of the
Conidae family inject their venom, and what you can do to treat a sting if you have a run-in with one of these shelled snails.
