Did I not get Nassarius snails?

[mels95yj]

Ok, I went and bought 3 snails that were adverstised as Nassarius snails. However, since having them, I have never seen them buried in the sand. They move all over the rocks and glass. Two of them have mostly black shells with the rear tip being gray. They have the trunk. I've seen them eat the algae from the glass.

My question is could these be whelks? I think I see a protective piece of shell on the rear of the foot, but I'm not sure. I pretty much know the answer, I guess I'm just needing someone else to say what I already know.

They haven't attacked the Astrea snail yet, and I don't have any corals. I've got a decent picture, but I forgot to bring my reader to work with me.

Mel

 

[Sk8r]

If they're very tiny, they might possibly be strombus grazers---particularly if you see them spin silk like a spider to lower themselves from rocks. The mini-strombus come in various colors, but all of mine are white and tan in some combination or other. I am a little worried about the black and gray thing...and I would keep those little fellows in the sump where they might either thrive and grow as detritus-eating snails or perish.

Every nassarius I have seen is white with occasional pale gray. They move at 3x the speed of ordinary snails and they can't climb glass or rock: their slime is so thick they slide right down it.

 

[mels95yj]

Yeah, I don't think they're Nass snails. I think they might be a Black Dog Whelk. First the LFS sells me a rock that has bubble algae and now these!

If you go to this link, they look pretty close to the middle picture.

Black Dog Whelk

As far as the other snail, I have no idea. It's got a beautiful shell, but it doesn't bury itself neither. If it ever comes off the rear panel, I'll take a pic of it. I don't think it's got a trunk though.

Mel