Snail ID Please (w/ pics)

[ed4]

Hi all,

I saw this little hitchhiker at my LFS in the soft coral tank. The people at the LFS didn't know what it was and like a fool I bought it. Does anyone know what this is?

Thank you in advance everyone!

Note the raised bumps in the 2nd & 3rd pic:

 

[mhills16]

maybe a species of cowrie? im searcjing as we speak lol!

 

[ed4]

It looks more whelk-ish to me, but I'm not 100% certain. I didn't see anything in Chuck's Addiction regarding it.

 

[mhills16]

i cant find it anywhere lol... i dont htink it is a cowrie after searching. man it sure looks good though!

 

[ed4]

Thanks! The pictures are crappy. I haven't unbagged it yet because I won't get home till tonight.

It's a good looking snail and I had to have it, if it turns out to be reef-safe.

Nothing about it on Melev's Reef site either

 

[mhills16]

i can't find any whelks with that collor pattern either, it has some crazy colors!

 

[mhills16]

lol, this is a joke but, maybe you have a new species and , well, whenever someone finds a new species they get to name it, so, lol, what are you going to call it?

 

[ed4]

Dumbassis Redhotspenderi - I paid $10 for it.

When I think about it, it could be preditory towards soft corals or other snails. It's just my speculation.

I hope greenbean, leslie, chuck or anyone else can chime in...

 

[mhills16]

lol, ill buy that name! made me smile, yeah they should know, i really like the way it looks! i keep searching and i just cannot find a snail with such striking colors anywhere! i have been looking this entire time!

 

[ed4]

Haha thanks

Normally I wouldn't jump on anything & everything at the LFS, but with the ornate pattern on the foot and the texture of the flesh on the shell, the LFS people nonchallantly called out a $10 price on it.

Normally they'd sell me loose stomatella hitchikers for $1/ea.

 

[mhills16]

found it!!!!!! i am excited, took me a while but i did!! go here:

it is a cowrie that eats soft corals! but i found the picture that is the exact match, it is an egg cowrie go here! the species you have has the bright colors to warn predators that it is poisonous from eating the corals which contain the poison. the egg cowries can have different colorations depending on where they are and what they eat. but, it is that for sure, let me get a website for you:

http://www.austmus.gov.au/invertebrates/mal/gallery/ovulid.htm

 

[mhills16]

let me know if it is a match!

 

[ed4]

It's a match, with the exception of the pattern on the foot!

Thank you!

This guy will go into the fuge for now... my display is a mix of SPS and LPS, with the exception of a 2" bright green-polyped toadstool coral.

 

[mhills16]

from what i read too they dont all have the same color patterns, just depends on certain things, yeah, i wouldnt get rid of him either , just wouldnt put him in the dt! i like it soo much i m going to keep an eye out for one for myself!

 

[ed4]

Thanks. The reasoning behind quarintining it in the fuge is:

-Its easier to track in the fuge then in my display w/ >120 lbs of live rock
-By chance, I'm hoping it'll be a detrivore, just like another gorgeous hitchhiker purchase that supposedly preys on tridacna clams, which I don't have in my tank.
-Lastly, unless I can trust it in the display, I don't want it munching on my toadstool :0

 

[Grunt]

Awesome looking cowrie

 

[mhills16]

yeah, i see what you mean. are you going to eventually try it in the dt amd if so let me know how it goes as far as him bothering corals! mike

 

[ed4]

Thanks Grunt and Mike - I'll keep you guys posted.

The other cool looking snail - I'll try to take a picture when I get back if he's in the open - has been a model reef citizen. IDK what it's subsiding on, and it just sits at the same spot for up to 2 weeks at a time, before it relocates itself. This tridacna predator, ID'ed from an old Daniel Knopp Giant Clam book I have, is in my clam-less display...

I'm sure you guys can appreciate trying to have a broader diversity of fauna in the display

 

[mhills16]

YES I CAN!!! makes it that much more interesting

 

[ed4]

Agreed

My local reefer friends sometimes ask why I must have a broad spread of different hermits, herbivore snails and ornamental crustacians.