The Bumble Bee Snail (Engina mendicaria) is a member of the Buccinidae family and can benefit most marine reef aquariums in big ways. The bumble Bee snail only grows to a half inch in size, which makes it the perfect candidate to can get into small crevices and tight locations between rockwork, as they clean away detritus, including uneaten meaty foods and decomposing organisms.
This tiny Bumble Bee Snail, is an incredible scavenger with an oval spiral shell that resembles an olive pit, with a long tube like siphon that protrudes from the end of the shell, will also burrows into your sand bed, consumes sand-dwelling worms, and helps aerate your substrate.
Plus, this species is easy to care for and provides an attractive and functional cleaner species that is also reef safe. The Bumble Bee Snail is indeed beautiful to observe, with its striking black shell, striped in elegant white to yellow bands.
Bumble Bee Snails do best in aquariums with live rock and a deep sand bed as they generally prefer to hide amongst the rock during the day and forage for detritus and leftover meaty foods at night.
Though peaceful, keep in mind that the Bumble Bee Snail is a carnivore. If there is insufficient food, the Bumble Bee Snail may feed on other snails in your aquarium or indiscriminately consume polychaetes whether beneficial or the more troublesome bristleworm. If given the right water stability, these snails will even spawn.
Like other invertebrates, the Bumble Bee Snail is sensitive to copper-based medications, high nitrate levels, and even the slightest fluctuation in water parameters.
