The Astrea snail (Astraea tecta) is characterized by the sharp, conical shell with it’s pronounced ridges. This snail loves to graze on algae and is a very active member of any good clean up crew. Due to it’s pyramid-like shape, if an Astrea snail fall on it’s shell, it often is unable to right itself. It is often recommended to place Astrea snails as soon as ammonia levels allow it. The Astrea snail will be a great aid in ridding an aquarium of nuisance algae such as hair algae, cyanobacteria and diatoms. As with most other snails, the Astrea snail is extremely sensitive to ammonia and high nitrate levels, and will not tolerate any copper-based medications. This herbivore in indiginous to the Caribbean and is a member of the Astraeinae family.