Reefs.com - Saltwater Aquarium - Reef Aquarium
  • Why not take a moment to introduce yourself to our members?

Cape Cod Snails !

S

StrikeThree

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hi Boston Area folks -

well, decided to take the plunge - I went collecting down the cape this weekend and I added about 25 of the grey + blue conical "periwinkles" to my tank today just to see what would happen. Much to my surprise they are already munching happily on the glass and rocks. I stored them in ziplock bags w/ wet (seawater) newspaper overnight and set them on the glass one by one above the waterline this AM. They were all in the water within 2 hours and now some have even made it to my live rock. I will keep you all updated - I dont have alot of hope due to the temp change, but the tidepool I got them out of yesterday was cooking in the sun and I got a temp of 74 so Im hoping....This will be a great cheap (free) alternative - now that they are opened they actually look quite a bit like a kind of florida snail (they had a black shell/body) I put in a while ago (MO). Heres hoping they all survive.

Later-

Brian
 
S

StrikeThree

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Guys - I think I see two of them eating valonia ? Its kind of hard to see but they are perched on a cluster of it with there heads out - theyve been there for like 15 mins...Could this be true ?
 
S

StrikeThree

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
No deaths yet - and they still seem very interested in the valonia. I have clumps or bunches of it throughout my tank, and they seem to be congregating on these clumps. I can see that a few of the bubbles are now transparent and looking sort of deflated. Anyway, could be coincedence, too early to tell.

My other concern was that these are periwinkles which I would expect to spend the bulk of the day above the waterline, but I have observed no such thing. Several of them are now on my glass and I can see them grazing and munching in the light (along with leaving telltale clean "paths" in the algae) like regular old snails. So far so good. If this works out I have an infinite source of them (a clean private beach on Buzzards Bay). Ill keep you updated.

Brian
 
S

Solarreef

Experienced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hey Strikethree, I go to capecod every summer can you tell me where you collected them? Any other suggestions, Thanks.
 
S

StrikeThree

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Ok. Here is my take on these snails. I would rate them a total 6.5-7 out of 10. I will list pros and cons.

Pros: Free for the taking, large and small individuals, cruise the rocks, glass powerheads, overflow box, basically anywhere there is algae both night and day. They seem to like: Green powdery stuff on the walls of my 6 month old tank that comes back every day (not sure what kind this is), red turfy stuff, and Im still in disbelief but they have cut my valonia in like 1/2. I see them on the bubbles, and when I check back the next day the bubbles they were on are clear/deflated. I am still waiting to see if they are actually consuming the valonia because I feel this has to be too good to be true but I am about 3 more double checks away from accepting it as fact. I put about 25 in my tank and Ive had only 3 go belly up, so I dont think the temperate/tropical thing is an issue, but I did catch these out of the water in a tidepool type area on a warm day and them stored them dry (in ziplock bags w/ saltwater wet newspaper) overnight, so this may have been acceptable acclimation.

Cons: SLOW. About the slowest moving snails Ive ever had. They also like to spend a bit of time above the water line. At any given time about 6-10 of the 25 are above the waterline. They also suffer from what I call "astrea syndrome", and I spent the first week or so flipping them all over at least once a day when they would get turned on their back. They seem to have figured out how to right themselves though, as I havent had to flip any over in a while. Perhaps a longer acclimation next time (getting them into the tank) will help with this.

I am waiting on a bunch of pictures, I will post them here and see if anyone can do a species ID, Ill also check w/ Dr. Ron and see what he thinks. All in all though, unless this was a fluke, I think these might be a viable alternative for us new englanders (in the summer at least). Ill update soon.
Brian
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Good deal Brian!
I will try this summer with a local variety out of "the lagoon" in Southie.
 
S

StrikeThree

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Solar Reef - I got them on the bayside in Mattapoisette by Ned's Point. Clean area, Everything seems to be doing fine since their addition.

Hogan- I want to try them in my own tank for a few more times before I would suggest putting them in anyone elses - After that though I might be up to trade...

Ill keep this updated. Flipped over 2 snails today - they were both still alive.

Brian
 
S

scavdog

Advanced Reefer
Location
Boston
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
very cool Brian.... Any pics to post? I have more periwinkles in front of my house than I know what to do with.
icon_eek.gif
 
K

kjoz

Experienced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Strikethree: Do you have any updates on your snails? I was doing a search on valonia and saw this post. I am looking for an alternative to the emerald crab for valonia control.
kjoz
 
T

toastii

Experienced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
LOVE CAPE COD!!!!
go every summer for my entire life

dont you need a permit to collect anything... maybe it was just clams...

anyways.. is that anywhere near east dennis or bruster... chatam maybe?
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Now's the true test to see how good these snails are.. 6 years later.. how's it going?? *laugh*
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Sponsor Reefs

We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.

Click here to sponsor $10:


Top