WHEELPOWER
New member
Can anyone help me ID this snail/cowrie? Is it reef friendly? Pictures below, it about 1.5 - 2 inches long.
MYSTERY SNAIL/COWRIE - Help ID
- Thread starter WHEELPOWER
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charlesr1958
New member
You would have to touch the cowry and get it to withdraw its mantle to be able to provide a photo of its shell. I usualy do not consider cowry to be reef safe as the majority of the species are predatory. But do try to ID it though since I would hate to see a possible herbivore removed for no good reason.
http://bigai.world.coocan.jp/pic_book/shape18.html
Chuck
http://bigai.world.coocan.jp/pic_book/shape18.html
Chuck
pagojoe
Team RC
It's Cypraea zebra, or Macrocypraea zebra if you prefer. Two other species look similar, C. cervus from the tropical eastern Atlantic, and C. cervinetta from the eastern Pacific. The ocellated spots along the side (white with a darker center) confirm that this one is C. zebra. C. cervus is more inflated and lacks the ocellated spots (but sometimes crossbreeds with C. zebra). C. cervinetta is similar in shape, but lacks the ocellated spots.
http://www.gastropods.com/7/Shell_517.html
I wonder if he's still doing OK in your aquarium?
Cheers,
Don
http://www.gastropods.com/7/Shell_517.html
I wonder if he's still doing OK in your aquarium?
Cheers,
Don
WHEELPOWER
New member
Yes, he's doing real well. He loves to tear my Anthelia off of rocks like a bulldozer. It doesn’t look like he’s eats any of it either.
Do you know anymore about this particular Genus Species (Diet, habitat)?
Thanks for all the help Don.
Phil
Do you know anymore about this particular Genus Species (Diet, habitat)?
Thanks for all the help Don.
Phil
Last edited:
pagojoe
Team RC
Hi Phil,
Yes, that's the main problem with keeping large cowries in a tank, they tend to bulldoze everthing else around. Most of the tropical species are omnivores, with the exception of a few genera that normally eat sponges. You aren't likely to encounter any of these in the aquarium trade, and aren't likely to collect them personally, either, unless you live in South Africa or Australia. They generally eat algae, as well as scraping the microorganisms off rocks and probably the glass of your aquarium. They may taste of other things, and some people find that objectionable, but they generally won't feed consistently on anything that you are likely to really want preserved. A different species, Cypraea arabica, was kept for many years in a tank, being fed a diet of lettuce and clams on the half shell... You might try that. I suspect that others who have tried keeping the large cowries without attempting to feed them are probably the same ones that had their starving cowries "tasting" of too many things that they wouldn't normally eat.
Glad to hear he's doing OK!
Cheers,
Don
Yes, that's the main problem with keeping large cowries in a tank, they tend to bulldoze everthing else around. Most of the tropical species are omnivores, with the exception of a few genera that normally eat sponges. You aren't likely to encounter any of these in the aquarium trade, and aren't likely to collect them personally, either, unless you live in South Africa or Australia. They generally eat algae, as well as scraping the microorganisms off rocks and probably the glass of your aquarium. They may taste of other things, and some people find that objectionable, but they generally won't feed consistently on anything that you are likely to really want preserved. A different species, Cypraea arabica, was kept for many years in a tank, being fed a diet of lettuce and clams on the half shell... You might try that. I suspect that others who have tried keeping the large cowries without attempting to feed them are probably the same ones that had their starving cowries "tasting" of too many things that they wouldn't normally eat.
Glad to hear he's doing OK!
Cheers,
Don
