Something ate a hole in my Astrea Snail

[Trolldoll]

Can a Tuxedo Urchin eat a hole in a shell? The shell was completely polished so I think my Tuxedo cleaned him up alittle to good and put hole in the shell. I haven't seen it move yet and it does not smell.

 

[pagojoe]

No, your urchin didn't drill the shell. If it has what looks like a pinhole, that usually indicates an octopus bite/drill. If it's larger, but round without any markings around the hole, it could either have been drilled by a murex or a starfish. If it shows erosion around an area a couple times larger than the hole, it's where a Hipponix or other limpet-type snail was attached, and dissolved its attachment area a little too much. These holes aren't visible until the Hipponix gets removed or dies and falls off. The snail could be alive even if it's been drilled by any of the methods mentioned above.

Since it's on an Astraea shell, my guess is that it will be a Hipponix hole.

Cheers,




Don

 

[Trolldoll]

Thanks Don.

I never noticed anything on the snail. I wonder if the urchin knocked the Hipponix off and exposed the hole. Here is the hole.

 

[pagojoe]

I can't see it in 3D, but it does look like a Hipponix scar. I guess the snail was dead?


Don

 

[Trolldoll]

Dead. Now I have to find the Hipponix. Should I worry about anything other than Snails?

 

[pagojoe]

The Hipponix probably died too...it may have died before the Turbo, even. It's not really anything to worry about, since the shell of the Hipponix had grown to conform to its host's shell. It almost certainly won't be able to attach to anything else.

Cheers,



Don