snail id hitchickers

[braytag]

Hi guys just trying to make sure the snails are ok. I'm worried they could be whelks.

I really sucks at iding things.

Thanks

 

[Bent]

Them look like Tongan nassisarius snails. (Spelling?)

Do they dig under the sand? IME if they are gliding along the rock and sand and you never see them actually bury themselves, then they are likely whelks. Whelks won't bury themselves.

 

[Bent]

http://melevsreef.com/whelk-versus-nassarius

 

[Dkuhlmann]

Tongan Nassarius are very large (2"+) that does look like a small regular (1/2"-1") Nassarius. Need better picture to compare it to a whelk. What did it hitchhike in on? How many do you have? Ben is right the Nassarius bury themselves in the sand and when you feed the tank they pop out of the sandbed like a bunch of Zombies :lmao:

 

[Dkuhlmann]

"The creature on the left is a Nassarius, the one on the right is a whelk. Whelks get much larger, while Nassarius don't."


"If you look at the texture of their snouts, there is a specific pattern "tattooed" onto the flesh of the Whelk. Also, the Whelk has a protective shell on its tail that it uses to seal itself in its shell when in danger. This gives it a water tight seal."

 

[braytag]

thanks guys, I'll check if it has a "flapper". If not I'll keep them.

Got both of them on a elegance coral.

 

[cloak]

You might want to do a search on Columbellid snails as well. The picture you have looks very similar to the one in the link below. These have been known to hitchhike there way into our aquariums on a regular basis. Also, if you haven't already you might want to post your picture in the Other Invertebrates Forum. Pagojoe is VERY good at identifying things for people GL.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-07/rs/index.php