Snail Poop Cleaning

no_Wedge · 01/21/2009, 12:06 PM

I currently only have 7 nerite snails in my 24g AP, and found lots of little brown pellets that look like terds on the sand bed. I was wondering if Nassarius snails, or any creature cleans these up, or if it's just up to the bacteria.

DevilBoy · 01/21/2009, 12:12 PM

its up to the owner of the tank to remove snail poop from siphoning it out during water changes

Whys · 01/21/2009, 12:24 PM

I've seen my brittle star create a similar pile of pellets before. Never noticed anything from my snails. The pellets eventually got swept up by the current and into the sump. Never bothered with what was left behind, as it eventually took care of itself without problem. That was just after buying the star from my LFS. I must be much more frugal in my feedings, as it hasn't done anything like that since.

One should be careful about siphoning sand in a reef tank, as there are many beneficial little critters living in there that you don't really want to disturb. In the case of a Deep Sand Bed (3"+) siphoning should not be done as this will greatly damage it and possibly release toxic gases into the water column.

01/21/2009, 12:06 PM	#1
no_Wedge Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Texas Posts: 422	Snail Poop Cleaning I currently only have 7 nerite snails in my 24g AP, and found lots of little brown pellets that look like terds on the sand bed. I was wondering if Nassarius snails, or any creature cleans these up, or if it's just up to the bacteria.

01/21/2009, 12:12 PM	#2
DevilBoy Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Wooster, Ohio Posts: 1,724	its up to the owner of the tank to remove snail poop from siphoning it out during water changes

01/21/2009, 12:24 PM	#3
Whys Moved On Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Spokane, WA Posts: 3,263	I've seen my brittle star create a similar pile of pellets before. Never noticed anything from my snails. The pellets eventually got swept up by the current and into the sump. Never bothered with what was left behind, as it eventually took care of itself without problem. That was just after buying the star from my LFS. I must be much more frugal in my feedings, as it hasn't done anything like that since. One should be careful about siphoning sand in a reef tank, as there are many beneficial little critters living in there that you don't really want to disturb. In the case of a Deep Sand Bed (3"+) siphoning should not be done as this will greatly damage it and possibly release toxic gases into the water column.