Clam Snail ????????

[Dewman]

Ok, I have heard of the dreaded "Pyramid Snail" but have never seen one.
I searched the archives and there was no picture there either.
Can anyone explain to me what , exactly, they look like.
I have heard people say the look like a grain of rice....


Well, this morning I got just before my actinics fired up... I walked in and was actually standing in front of the tank when they came on. I was startled to see how white the lips of my clam were (NEW GROWTH ) so I was looking at it very closely, when I saw something that looked like a flattened maggot crawling VERY fast across the shell. It was white and may have had a black speck in the middle of it's head. It flouresced uder the actinics, but I could not see it very well as I did not have my contacts in yet.

Is this a pretty good description of the dreaded snail?

 

[Len]

Pyramid snails are so named because of the shape of their shell ... a elogated conical design. What you've described doesn't sound like them. It actually shounds more like flatworms.

 

[Reefguide]

While on the subject... I have these very small maybe just under half a cm snails with a black shell with white spots... only seen about 5 or 6 but who knows on the LR and such. What are they anyways?

 

[Dewman]

Excellent!! I HAVE FLATWORMS!! :? 8O

I knew I had them, I had seen them other places, but just had never seen them under actinics. They REALLY show up well.

Cool, thanks guys.

 

[Reefguide]

Arent Flatworms bad? 8O

 

[Dewman]

I was being sarcastic (note the enthusiastic post ending with a 8O )

I have heard that the red ones are bad, but white ones are no big deal unless they get out of hand. I think my crabs and shrimp and stuff keep them under control.
Not sure though.
In either case, gotta take the good with the bad.

 

[Len]

Reefguide:

There's no way to ID those worms based on the description given. Fact is, it's probabaly very difficult to ID with pictures offered as well.

Dewman,

Flatworms are generally more annoying then anything else. It's really not a terrible danger to anything in your tank, but can be an eyesore if they grow to plague proporitions.

 

[ReefLion]

You may actually have seen an isopod, which if I have my pods right is a flattened little pod that somewhat resembles a squished armidillo. They are whitish for the most part, but could have looked flourescent in the new light.

ReefLion