straight up freaky ID please

[joekidwell]

My young niece came back from myrtle beach with this thing so I acclimated it to my tank and let him loose, it digs sand like a nothing I ever seen before...two minutes and it can be. 6" deep. Its about the size of a baseball when its out of its shell and the shell is about the size of a half dollar. It has what seems to be a snorkel and two antennas. Is this bad or good for a mixed reef...I wouldn't hesitate to exterminate with extreme prejudice.

 

[ReeferKimberly]

No idea but did you say you were going to kill him after taking from the ocean?

Never take from the ocean unless you plan to keep. I understand it was your niece but should have IDed and then decided to let him loose or not because there are laws about re-releasing things after they have been in our tanks.

Maybe I am just misreading your last sentence, I am not sure.

 

[joekidwell]

I was not there, she is only 7 her parents don't have a clue and let her bring it home, they don't even have a saltwater tank. I saved its life by putting it in my tank rather than the small bowl it was in. I will ask the local reef club first if they want it or sustainable aquatics right down the road.

 

[ReeferKimberly]

If you had no QT I understand, apologies. I hope you find out what it is. Whatever it is I have several of that kind of shell so I am curious.

 

[ReeferKimberly]

Alright, it is Neverita duplicata I think. Predatory snail, not really reef friendly depending on what you have for it to eat. Eats clams, scallops, mussels and other snails and bivalves, voraciously.

Also known as moon snail or shark eye shell

 

[accordsirh22]

looks to be some kind of moon snail, as kimberly said, predatory

 

[pagojoe]

Yup. She ID'ed it to the species level.

 

[ladysabertooth]

I'm glad it was finally ID I have been waiting to find out myself what it is

 

[scubakid3]

Moon snail. They're common around my area. +1 on the predatory part.

 

[tunicata]

yes! I was right!
I caught a moon snail for my science lab during a dive some years back. It was HUUUUUGE.

It was for a science project for a different lab so I didn't learn anything else about it other than its name.

I'm glad you got an id and to know it may not be reef safe

 

[gnasher]

So are you gonna keep it?

 

[leveldrummer]

You should teach your neice that some things in the ocean are dangerous, including many snails, and she shouldnt pick them up, or bring them home.

 

[joekidwell]

So are you gonna keep it?

Still tryng to find it a home...interested?

 

[joekidwell]

You should teach your neice that some things in the ocean are dangerous, including many snails, and she shouldnt pick them up, or bring them home.

Like that tube snail that shoots barbs and one barb has enough venom to kill ten people

 

[joekidwell]

yes! I was right!
I caught a moon snail for my science lab during a dive some years back. It was HUUUUUGE.

It was for a science project for a different lab so I didn't learn anything else about it other than its name.

I'm glad you got an id and to know it may not be reef safe

I was reading that they can get rather large, so much its hard for one person to handle

 

[gnasher]

Still tryng to find it a home...interested?

I actually have a mostly sandbed tank just for predatory snails, but unfortunately I've already got two tulips in there and wouldn't want to disturb the peace. Otherwise, I'd love to take it off your hands.

 

[alexander_ktn]

Like that tube snail that shoots barbs and one barb has enough venom to kill ten people

Yeah, some piscivorous cone snails are quite dangerous...

As they say: "It's all fun and games until someone loses his life"

 

[pagojoe]

...but none of the Atlantic/Caribbean species are known to be deadly. The biggest snails that are dangerous to humans are about six inches long (Conus geographus), a couple others reach about four inches (Conus striatus, and potentially Conus textile, depending where they originate). They're Indo-Pacific species.

Cheers,


Don

 

[leveldrummer]

Like that tube snail that shoots barbs and one barb has enough venom to kill ten people

I dont think we have those around the atlantic coast. but thats the general idea... she could pick up a jelly, or who knows what else, you know what kinda weird stuff there is in the ocean.