Reef Pests and Their Ramifications (Part 1)

It is so vital, to the long term success of our aquariums, to make the right choices as for the types of animals we introduce into our reef biotope. Their are so many variables that must be addressed and parameter issues that need to be maintained. On top of this, it is advantageous to read and research such key topics as husbandry requirements, compatibility issues and the ease, or lack thereof, of maintaining the particular animal you wish to purchase. When these components have been researched and adhered to, you would think we would be out of the woods, HOWEVER, often times this is not the case. Life sometimes throws us a curve ball as the reef deities try to alter our marine aquariums equilibrium. Numerous reef pests, whether truly visible to the naked eye, or camouflaged perilously, only to rear their ugly heads after the fact, can enter our tanks and wreck havoc on our livestock and overall tank success, forcing us into a tailspin that we may or may not recover from. It is in our best interest, and that of our admired and prized livestock, to inspect and research our new purchase to reduce the chances of introducing pests into our diverse, beautiful and fascinating marine biotopes.

I will present a list of some of the more commonly found and introduced pests into a marine aquarium as well as the ramifications of adding one or more of these into our tanks. I will also try give some insight as to ways of riding these nuisance pests before they take over your tank or worse consequences are employed. Remember that this is only a short list as many of these pests do not find their way into our tanks, or their occurrence in our tanks is so minimal that their being mentioned is not as important to us as conscientious reefers.

Lets start with the predatory shelled snails from the class gastropoda in the phylum mollusk. With the 150,000 or so species of mollusks, most of these are snails. To carry this one step further, only a Small percentage of these are truly herbivorous in nature, with the vast majority of these being carnivorous feeding on fish, clams (bivalves), sessile invertebrates, worms and other beneficial and prized inhabitants. Either by injecting venom into the unsuspecting prey or boring a hole into the shell or flesh of the animal through the use of a "radula" or protrusile tongue like organ located in the ventral part of the mouth cavity, these snails can prove detrimental, if not fatal if not controlled and avoided at all costs.

Keyhole limpets, horse conch, egg cowries, flaming tongues and murex snails should be avoided due to their large size, specialized feeding on sponges and gorgonians especially. This leads us to some of the more detrimental snails that will cause us great concern. Naticidae or moon snails serve as boring predators on mollusks. They are identified by their radially symmetrical shell that is grey to brownish in color with a flaky appearance. Sundial or box snails (architectonicid) are innocuous snails that prey on zoanthids. They have intermittent white and brown to black squares throughout the entire shell. Whelks (stenoglossa) are boring predators or scavengers and often times attain a large size. They normally have extensive ridges along the entire length of their shell as well as an extended short siphon or spout for feeding purposes. Now the Queen or Fighting Conch are also part of this taxonomic group, but make wonderful additions to a reef aquarium.

"Taxaglossa or conacea" snails are the true so called nasties! They catch and kill fish with a quick strike of their harpoon like radula which injects venom (conotoxin) into their prey. Some are not as aggressive as that and will feed on worms and mollusks. Their is even one species of cone shelled snail (conus textile) that, if inflicted with the venom, is proven fatal to humans, as their is no anti-venom from this serious pest. The comparison of a sting from the cone snail is similar to that of a King Cobra bite-that potent. Turrid snails are less threatening though this is no excuse to let your guard down. These snails feed on bristle worms and other polychaete worms and also have been seen feeding on specialized corals and sessile invertebrates.

Cone snails are mainly conical in shape with a smooth, colorful patterned appearance. The aperture often forms a narrow slit that continues along the length of the shell. If the foot of the cone snail is narrow, the locomotion of this snail is often very slow. If the shell coloration and pattern is brown to reddish in color with fine lines against a white, tan or yellow background and the aperture flares near the front end of the shell, this is possibly one of deadliest cone snails able to kill a human.

Using tongs to remove these or any other form of snail from a tank is the best way to ensure your safety and ability to rid these snails from your aquarium. Any snail in question should be removed as a proactive rather than reactive measure to help to avoid worse case scenarios from being initiated.

Their are some species of snail that are an excellent choice to help in the aquarium clean- up regimen. Trochus, Turbo, Astrea, Nassarius, Cerith, Vermetid, Chitons and Stomatella snails are ideal for any reef biotope.

Classification, identification and careful examination of live rock, coral, sponge, gorgonian and mollusk will ensure you of the best chance of avoiding problematic situations from unfolding before your eyes and causing a multitude of worse case scenarios in your aquarium.