Snail that eats coral???

[redvicki]

Okay I think I have the snail IDed it looks like a cerith snail. I have caught it three time on two of my corals. I thought it was a crab in a snails shell the last time I caught it so I picked him off the coral and into the sump. Well when I saw a snail in my sump I put it back in my display, because I thought all snail were good guys. I haven't caught a crab on any of my corals just this snail. My green birds nest is just a skeleton and the second coral is half a skeleton. So has any one ever heard of this before. Should I remove him for good? Will my corals recover?

 

[Nanook]

Sounds like corals were dead/dying with algae on them and the snail was just eating the algae.

 

[capncapo]

Ceriths are harmless unless you're algae.

 

[redvicki]

Is there another snail that looks like a cerith that would eat coral? I'm new at this but I thought the birds nest looked great. And it's the only thing I've seen on both pieces. Maybe he's some strange mutant snail. I'll trade him for a new piece of birds nest. Do you think the coral will recover?

 

[Nanook]

No strange mutant snails out there Your corals were dead/dying before the snail took to them.

 

[breutus]

I thought whelks would eat corals? but they dont look like a cerith but more like a nass.

 

[redvicki]

If I catch it again I'll take a picture and post it so maybe someone can give me a positive ID. So is my naked birds nest toast or is there a chance it will recover?

 

[Nanook]

Probably toast. What are you water parameters?

 

[redvicki]

pH 8.2 ammonia 0 nitrate 0 nitrite 0 alk2.5 ca 420 mag 1410 phos 0 SG 1.03

 

[Nanook]

SG of 1.030 is too high. Should be 1.025-1.026. What kits are you using?

 

[redvicki]

that was right after i dosed with purple up. i have the meter and am not real good at reading it yet. the line moves every time i move. so it may have been tech error. i'll recheck it tonight.

 

[StupidsReef]

I don't know of any snail that eats coral. I think Nooks right.And you really need a refactometer to get a true reading on the SG. And if the birds nest is stark white it's most likely done for.

 

[paulamrein]

What about the snail that eats clam? it looks like the cerith, but different color. We were just talking about that at an lfs this weekend. Not sure if they are clam specific, just a thought though.

 

[cap1956]

the whelk snails will eat a clam. I had whelk snails with the huge "elephant trunk" and some small white clams, both from the Indian river in Florida. Before long the clams were dead with small holes drilled in the shells.

 

[El Diablo]

Do you know where you got this snail from?

 

[redvicki]

There are no other snails like it in my tank. My guess is when a store gave me some empty shells for my crabs one of the shells wasn't empty. I do have a refactometer and check it tonight and my SG is 1.025. My birds nest is stark white the other coral is about half white. I don't want it to be dead he has to pull through. He was so cute.