marble snail

[migas_01]

Hi, can you guys tell me if these snails are OK for a reef tank. Are they beneficial or not a good option to include in the clean up crew?

 

[pagojoe]

It's a Babylonia species, which is a relative of the true whelks. They can be scavengers as well as predators. They are beautiful snails, so if you don't mind the possibility that they may eat other molluscs (and possibly crustaceans, though I don't personally know of that happening) they may be okay to keep. Just be aware that they certainly can be predatory.

Cheers,



Don

 

[Agathos]

I have one of those, I agree with pagojoe, and think it is Babylonia formosae. Mine usually stays under the sand but senses quickly when food is present and comes rushing out. Sometimes I can actually see its trunk (proboscis?) sticking up out of the sand, smelling for food, like a submerged submarine. It eats everything I feed my fish, and when it's fed it usually burrows down again. It moves very fast on the glass.

One peculiar behaviour I have seen is that it sometimes moves to the top of the aquarium and tries to raise itself out of the water. The shell weighs it down and it usually slips and falls to the bottom. Sometimes it does this repeatedly. I don't know why it tries to escape my tank, but I have seen pictures of other people's Babylonia do the same, so hopefully it's not something with my water.