Intentionally introducing sundial snails

nlreefguy · #1 02-13-2010, 01:30 AM

So I spotted some sundial snails on a colony of zoos at my LFS and I picked them up, hopefully to take care of a little problem I have. There is a spreading colony of the plainest looking zoos of all time taking over my best acros, creeping ever so slowly up the bases of the corals. I am hoping to get rid of them with these sundial snails. I picked up three of them and I am wondering how many I should put in - just one or all of them? Any opinions?

fishytime · #2 02-13-2010, 01:35 AM

Ive been considering the same thing myself.......problem is I have a lot of nice zoanthids.......

If your gonna try it, I would say try one.....I wouldnt want them spawning in the tank......Im not sure if sundials store sperm or not(some snails do)

nlreefguy · #3 02-13-2010, 01:48 PM

well,, I didn't get to check the forum again before I went to bed and I had nowhere else to put the snails so I did actually throw them all in right on top of the offending colony. I had the same fears about them spawning. I only have one colony of zoos that I actually like in the tank. If the snails spawn I guess I can kiss that one good-bye. I suppose what I could do is move them to a friend's tank until all the snails are gone (dead, I guess! i suppose they'll starve to death without zoos, or is that accurate?) They don't eat any other kind of corals, do they?

Zoaelite · #4 02-13-2010, 04:11 PM

I wouldn't of put them in there if I was you, its like adding Cane Toads to control mice populations. Using Biological control agents is a very risky ordeal.
Levi

nlreefguy · #5 02-13-2010, 04:32 PM

well, we're using biological control all the time - snails to control algae, for instance. Bacterial colonies for the nitrogen cycle, etc. So, the idea of biological control is nothing new. And as long as the sundial snails have nothing else to eat, they should eliminate themselves when the zoos are gone, correct? Like when you get an explosion of bristleworms when you have a detritus issue and then when the food source is gone, they naturally just scale themselves back (by dying I guess!).

nlreefguy · #6 02-13-2010, 04:34 PM

and worse case scenario is that i'm unable to put any zoos back in the tank in the long-term which also doesn't bother me since I am focussed on SPS anyway and I've never had a colony of zoos that didn't ultimately become a growth problem for me.

Zoaelite · #7 02-13-2010, 05:07 PM

Sorry I should of posted its risky to introduce non tested biological control into your fish tank. http://www.melevsreef.com/id/snails.html gives you a little info on them but now any zoa you put in there in the future could be snail food.
Levi

nlreefguy · #8 02-13-2010, 07:37 PM

Is it reasonable to assume that they can only go so long without their prey before they starve to death? Like, say, harlequin shrimps can only live so long without echinoderms to prey on. So is it just a matter of outlasting them if they manage to be prolific?

marie · #9 02-13-2010, 09:32 PM

I have a sundial snail in my rock tank that I'm keeping alive....the nice thing about these snails, they are easy to see and remove.

I wouldn't worry about them taking over your tank unless you want to turn it into a zoa tank of course

nlreefguy · #10 02-23-2010, 02:48 AM

just an update - the idea failed miserably. The sundial snails completely ignored the ugly zoos and made a straight line for the nice zoos on the opposite side of the tank! So they ended up in the freezer (to be disposed of humanely, though they don't deserve itm the little buggers!)