Help me ID Mystery Snail/Conch, Please!

[NanoKat]

Was doing my usual nightly routine shutting off lights in the house when I decided to grab the flashlight and peek into my nano tank. I've seen some cool limpets recently that had full yellow mantels around their shells, so I wanted to see if I could find them again. Well, I didn't find them, but I found this strange snail/conch type of thing that I do not remember putting in the tank, so must've been a hitchhiker. I took him out to photograph him and I think I'll keep it out until I get a solid ID. Here's a couple of pics: (and he's about 5/8" long)

He's got a "conch" sort of shaped shell and a red foot. I don't believe he actually has the "snout" like a conch does, so I'm not sure if he is one. The description of a "red footed conch" on the web includes a white spike towards the front of the shell and this doesn't have one.

Any help id-ing would be appreciated. I'll link this to an invert thread tomorrow, but I got to get to bed!

 

[Speckled Grouper]

Could be a baby horse conch. Florida's official state shell. Eats other snails....grows to 2 feet....

 

[Miamireefer]

definitely looks like a horse conch.... they get large and destroy snails, clams, mussels. These guys are the great whites among slow moving inverts imo... I just saw a video of one eating up 2 large mexican turbos with ease.

I'd keep him out if it were me.

 

[Rogger Castells]

I don't think it is a horse conch but here is a good website with lots of pics of conchs that look pretty similar, let us know tomorrow which on it is

http://www.gastropods.com/Taxon_pages/Group_Conch.html

 

[ek9vboi]

oh my...

I think I'm going to have to add a picture to this thread because I think I've got some that eat other snails...

 

[Miamireefer]

Only other conch I was thinking was a red foot but the pattenr and shell style don't match the one posted here.. what does match is a horse conch..... just look up horse conch and red foot conch on google images and you can see the differences yourself. good luck.

 

[Sk8r]

What a neat creature. It could become very interesting, if you can limit it somehow. You can buy live mussels at the market, and feed it that way. If it just leaves crabs alone, you can use hermits and phosban for algae control, and have a rather neat giant snail, give or take a few dozen mussels.

 

[chrisaggie]

My vote would be for horse conch also.

 

[Flamehawk]

That's a Tulip snail and it will eat your other snails unlike any conch.

Hope this helps, JOHNNY

 

[Speckled Grouper]

We have one in the sump of the grouper tank. I would say, it's between 8 and 10 inches now. It's been there for almost a year, so it must eat something else also, otherwise it would have starved to death already....

I'll post a picture when I get home.

 

[chrisaggie]

I don't belive that is a tulip snail (Fasciolaria tulipa). Tupid snails have very smooth shells with a mottled pattern and I don't belive their body is usually that red. Here is a tupil snail shell and here is a horse conch. We need a snail expert. BTW, I fully admait I have no clue what I'm talking about.

 

[chrisaggie]

Also, I have read that horse conchs do like to eat snails (whelks).

 

[NanoKat]

Okay, I just got home. I stopped by Eco Reef on the way home to check out their library (they've got a huge collection of books, by the way) and I came to the conclusion that it was either the Horse conch or the tulip snail. I figured either way, it's a bad thing in my tank. I just can't believe I only just now found it. All I can figure is that it came in on the rock I put in about 6 months ago. Robert & Larry said to feed it to the triggerfish they have at the store, so I dropped it into the "aggressive" tank they have there. It floated down to the bottom right past him, but I don't think he saw it. He'll find it eventually and have a little snack. I'm glad that I just went with my instinct that "red means danger" typcially in nature and took it out before it went and hid again. I would have been beating myself in the head if I hadn't and then found out later what it was.

 

[Speckled Grouper]

Here is our Horse Conch shooting water

 

[Speckled Grouper]

And here, he is having dinner...........A mexican Turbo snail......yumm!!

 

[chrisaggie]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9105125#post9105125 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Flamehawk
That's a Tulip snail and it will eat your other snails unlike any conch.

Hope this helps, JOHNNY

horse conch's don't eat snails my butt!