are these snails bad

[wake26]

hello I have a 72g bowfront tank and am starting to notice ufo snails that live in the sand untill it gets dark then they come out all over the tank they are very small and hate the light. after it has been dark for awhile they come out all over the place and they seem to be eating all the empty shells on the bottom of the tank, and as soon as I turn on the lights they all fall off the rocks and bury themselves in the sand. What are they and are they good.

Thanks for the help.

 

[dustin_P74]

do they look like this

is so they are nassarius snails, they are great cleaners and help keep the sand bed stirred and clean

 

[messiah023]

Dustin is correct that Nassarius snails stay under the sand, however they are not small though.
You would know if you have these as typically they are not "hitchhiked" into your system rather added by you.

Are you certain they are snails?

Take a look at this link and see if you can visually ID them : http://www.chucksaddiction.com/Hitchsnails.html

Let us know.

 

[dustin_P74]

Dustin is correct that Nassarius snails stay under the sand, however they are not small though.
You would know if you have these as typically they are not "hitchhiked" into your system rather added by you.

Are you certain they are snails?

Take a look at this link and see if you can visually ID them : http://www.chucksaddiction.com/Hitchsnails.html

Let us know.

messiah, there are two different types of nassarius snails, the small ones, which i posted a picture of, are the more common ones. but there are also large nassarius snails

 

[messiah023]

Thanks Dustin,

I wasn't even considering the larger variety as Wake says "Very Small".

I guess we have to wait and see for an ID. I haven't seen nassarius "hitchhike" into a tank since they are typically sand-based not rock-based.

But, there are so many variables....ie. person inherited tank, sand, etc.

The mystery remains.

 

[dustin_P74]

i wasnt considering the large size either. i was just pointing out that there are two different sizes because you said i was right about them being in the sand but they arent small, which they are

 

[messiah023]

:Big Hair:

 

[daugherty]

some of the welks(sp) are bad and look the same as the good one almost

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-11/rs/index.php

 

[yote]

There are several different kinds of welks that live in the sand.There are only a couple types that are safe to have.

 

[wake26]

Thanks for all the info I went to the link that Messiah023 posted and the snails look like they are collinista snails. I looked in the tank with a flashlight last night and they are getting bad. There is close to 80 of these little snails in the tank. Does anybody have any info on these snails? again thanks for the help.

 

[dustin_P74]

they are harmless

 

[reeffreak]

Collinistas are film algae grazers.Like Dustin said,they are harmless and actually beneficial.There population tend to get smaller as your system matures.