Cone Shell ID & question

[newman330]

I think I just removed (sort of) a cone shell from my display.

It resembles Conus Chaldaeus, but is just over 1/4", so tough to be certain. One thing is for sure... It is fast. It quickly raises its siphon and off it goes like an elephant without legs The have seen this guy quickly flip over and make sudden left or right movements. Very interesting.

Question is: If it is indeed Conus Chaldaeus, does it have any redeeming value in a reef tank? Is it one of those "You got 3 seconds to live if stung" kind of cones?

I will try to do a photo tomorrow. I moved him down to my refugium and put in a small drinking glass with a little sand and rubble. Have watched him for quite a while and he does not seem interested (or capable?) of climbing out.

Appreciate everyone's assistance

 

[pagojoe]

Adult Conus chaldaeus look pretty much the same as juvenile C. chaldaeus, so you probably have the ID correct. The juveniles are more apt to clearly show pink on the early whorls of the spire, and the white squiggles on the black background of the outer whorl may also be pink or pinkish instead of white. They are worm eaters, so their venom doesn't affect vertebrates. If you have the ID right, your snail will probably prefer hard substrate with a little sand. They like fairly active water.

He won't hurt anything in your aquarium, and even though he's capable of climbing out of your tank, he probably won't.

Cheers,



Don

 

[newman330]

Thanks for the info. I may not have the id right.

Last night when I caught him, he was in a small hole in the rock. I had seen him in there on previous nights. Last night, I used my trusty skewer to 'coax' him out. I netted him and dropped him in my refugium. Almost immediately, he began trying to burrow into the sand. Well I have about 4in of fine sand in there and I didn't want to loose him, so I place a drinking glass (thoroghly cleaned) in there and put him in it. I watched him for about 30 min and he didn't even try to escape...seemed content with the small amount of sand and rubble in there.

This morning, he is not in the glass. Sigh.... so much to learn