Astraea Snail

Astraea Snails, Astraea tecta or A. caelata, are collected from Atlantic reefs bordering the Americas. These cone shaped snails are well known for their diet of several types of micro algae commonly found in the home aquarium. The radula, or tongue, of the snail has a rasp like texture. When pulled across a surface, this rasp pulls the algae loose for a quick snack. This can be easily seen while the snail is working on cleaning the glass.

Notes: The shell of this animal is constantly growing. The fleshy mantle deposits the calcium based construction material on a continual basis. Maintaining proper calcium levels of 350 to 450 ppm will assist the growth of this animal. If algae becomes unavailable in the aquarium, supplement this animals diet with dried seaweed.

Detailed Information about this animal.