Whats growing on my clam shell?

[z_rivers]

i have a 5'' crocea clam that is very healthy and lives on a piece of LR. there is some type of critter that is growing on the side of his shell which maybe someone can help ID. it made about 1/2'' calcium deposit in which it lives in. only its head pops out of the little hole, but whenever it does, it looks like a snail head. it also produces a rather large (6-10'') mucus string which floats around the water and collects food. whenever it collects enough he pulls it into his shell. i currently dont have a pic b/c i cant get a good shot of it but i can try if one is absolutely needed. can anyone ID this?

PS- its been living on the clam for a while now and the clam doesnt shot anything wrong with it, im just wondering what it is.

 

[kfisc]

likely a vermetid snail- harmless, unless the 'mucus string' gets close enought to the mantle, causing irritation.

 

[z_rivers]

yes, thats it. if it should start to irritate the clam, should i remove it?

 

[kfisc]

yep- just break the snail shells off- they're really brittle- shimek mentioned that to me in a post awhile back, he wrote a good article about vermetids awhile back- good luck-