Good or Bad snail?

Fanof49ASU

Premium Member
I've gotten a id on this guy as a 'Heliacus Snai', and found out they sometimes eat zoanthids......have you guys had any problems with this type of snail? I found him in my zoa tank, and it's got me worried. I haven't noticed a sharp decline anywhere, but I'm trying to play it safe. I keep pulling out every one I see, but if they don't pose a problem, I'd rather leave them in.
Thanks

SnailUFO.jpg
 
That's not flat enough for a Heliacus. Pagojoe or Greenbean is sure to show up to give you the right id & info on feeding habits.
 
I'm gonna go out on a limb and say its most likely a good guy, probably a member of the collonista family. It's definately not the dreaded sundial snail known to eat zoanthids.
 
It's a good guy, alright. I wish you had flipped him over so we could see his operculum... If it has a hard, shelly operc with the dent or "pinhole" in the middle, it's a Collonista species, or at least one of the species in the same subfamily.

If it has a thin, translucent yellow operc, it will be a trochid. From the single view, it looks like it could be a baby in the subfamily Stomatellinae...not necessarily the usual Stomatellas you see daily on Reef Central, but one of the species that looks more typical for snails in the Trochidae family.

It's similar to some variations of Synaptocochlea concinna (which are similar to the other Synaptocochlea species).

http://www.gastropods.com/2/Shell_6762.html

The shells shown in the above link were between 3 and 4mm, itty bitty guys. I wish now that I had included shots with better views of the spire, but alas, I didn't, and the shells are buried somewhere in my boxes labelled "Trochidae." You can probably see the similarities in shape and pattern, though.

If you can get a pic of the aperture, I can probably confirm the ID for you, at least to the genus level.

Cheers,



Don
 
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Thanks Don!

Just for a point of reference, I'll get a shot of the reverse side and add to this thread....but it's at work, so it'll be Monday.
 
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