Friend or Foe

[Leeroy]

I have recently found these guys on my rockwork, have'nt seen them before and cant find anything about them.

Does anyone recognize them?






Lee

 

[rydr119]

Try posting in the Other Inverts Forum. Someone in there may have a better clue s to what they are.

 

[WayneY]

Maybe some type of conchs? If they are conchs i beleive they are good.

 

[unbreakable]

what did they look like? did the look like nass snails? maybe a type of whelk?

 

[a4twenty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12402446#post12402446 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by nietzsche
maybe a type of whelk?

if they are off the sand and on the rock i would agree, quite possibly a species of whelk.

what do their eyes look like??

 

[lorawalters13]

Pagojoe in the invert section can tell you for sure. I think he can ID any snail.

 

[Myrddraal]

They almost look like a sundial snail (zoo eater), but are not flattened. Did you find them on or near zoos?

 

[pagojoe]

Hi Guys,

It's an Engina species, and I think it's Engina phasinola. The photo on gastropods.com isn't really typical of the species, and your snail is a perfect match for another in the same family that's shown on that website, Engina curtisiana. I think there is a good chance that both of the snail photos linked below are your snail, and that they are both variations of Engina phasinola.

http://www.gastropods.com/0/Shell_7300.html

http://www.gastropods.com/2/Shell_7302.html

It is a predatory snail in the same family as the true (buccinid) whelks, however it probably will only eat other tiny animals in your tank including small worms and possibly itty bitty molluscs. They are about as reef safe as the widely-sold Bumblebee Snails, which are in the same genus (Engina mendicaria).

I wouldn't worry about them, I think they are pretty.

Cheers,



Don

 

[Leeroy]

Thanks everyone for your input.

I have only seen them on the rocks, no corals or even the sand.
There are no zoo's in the tank.

pagojoe, thanks very much for your help and yes they have an interesting shell.

I will keep an eye on them near smaller snails, and can now research them.

Cheers everyone

:beer:

 

[scapes]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12457573#post12457573 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Myrddraal
They almost look like a sundial snail (zoo eater), but are not flattened. Did you find them on or near zoos?

definately not sundials