Lfs snail id

[captnHaddock]

Hi guys,

I bought 3 snails today at the lfs sold as sea rhino snails, is someone able to id them? They have a proboscis I believe.

 

[captnHaddock]

In the last picture it is the snail body we see trying to flip itself

 

[pagojoe]

Yes, they are Tenguella granulata, identified as Morula granulata in most of the popular literature. They supposedly feed on limpets, vermetids, barnacles, oysters, and potentially other molluscs. I usually found them on rocks that were encrusted with vermetid snails and barnacles, as well as a few limpets, so that is probably correct.

Cheers,


Don

 

[captnHaddock]

Yes, they are Tenguella granulata, identified as Morula granulata in most of the popular literature. They supposedly feed on limpets, vermetids, barnacles, oysters, and potentially other molluscs. I usually found them on rocks that were encrusted with vermetid snails and barnacles, as well as a few limpets, so that is probably correct.

Cheers,


Don

Thanks Don! Looks like you got it! Two other pictures attached. Any danger for turbo and astrea snails?

 

[pagojoe]

Nope. Those are pretty good looking specimens for the species, too.

 

[captnHaddock]

Nope. Those are pretty good looking specimens for the species, too.

well thanks!
did you succeed to keeping them alive for a long period of time? Do you think they can survive only with tank detritus and fish food or they will need target feeding of fresh foods like frozen mussel to thrive? They are not moving much so far.

they are beautiful snails but not that useful...

thanks again, I was not able to find info on them based on the common name given by the lfs. Even with latin name there is scarce info on them and it looks like they are not frequent within our hobby.

 

[pagojoe]

Right, they're fairly common but fall into the "rock snail" group of muricids, which only eat meat. They will supposedly scavenge on meaty bits of clam or maybe fish, but that's not how they normally function. The won't really eat detritus at all, but they might survive on the small vermetids in your tank. They are intertidal animals, so they may end up congregating at the waterline at the top of your tank. I don't personally know of anyone who's kept them, so you can let us know how it goes.


Don