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pocilipora
01-21-2003, 01:56 AM
http://www3.telus.net/public/montipor/Snails3.jpg

Josh23
01-21-2003, 03:45 AM
those kind of look like conches,
They look like they have the trunk like mouth although its hard to tell by the picture

There great for cleaning up sand beds if they are indead conches.

Hope that helps
Josh

Aquattro
01-21-2003, 04:07 AM
hmm, look like whelks to me. I have one very similar.

pocilipora
01-21-2003, 04:22 AM
Are they reef safe? I have 5 small ones sitting in a bag right now and dont know if I should set them loose?

AJ_77
01-21-2003, 04:30 AM
Problem is, are they the dreaded "predatory whelks?" I have one small one very much like your picture with darker colours, but he doesn't do much and I don't see it too often, maybe it's not big enough to cause trouble.

Looks kind of similar to a Nassarius, but with a longer snout.

pocilipora
01-21-2003, 04:45 AM
Whats the worst that could happen if I let them loose?

Aquattro
01-21-2003, 04:52 AM
Mine so far is harmless. And let's face it, if you see them doing any harm, they aren't hard to catch. Maybe Dr. Ron is the one to ask...

AJ_77
01-21-2003, 04:53 AM
They could go after your other snails, worst case...

Have you looked at the Dr Ron archives (http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/archive/40/2002/02/1/60490) at RC? This is one, another guy with whelks.

This one's even better:
http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish2/aqfm/1998/oct/wb/default.asp

HTH.

AJ_77
01-21-2003, 04:55 AM
And let's face it, if you see them doing any harm, they aren't hard to catch.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

One_Divided
01-21-2003, 08:16 AM
They are definately some type of whelk. They may appear to be directly harmless, but most whelks are carnivorous. Many feed on microphauna. Keep a close eye on them. They may be harmless in small numbers, but may be capable of doing some damage in the masses.

They probably aren't much to worry about, but I would try to get an ID from Dr. Ron anyways..

I recently discovered some similar whelk like creatures, but I was unable to ID them. They looked like nausarius snails a wee bit. here's a pic:

http://members.shaw.ca/limestone2/snailid01.jpg

ron101
01-21-2003, 04:40 PM
I recently discovered some similar whelk like creatures, but I was unable to ID them. They looked like nausarius snails a wee bit.

Looks kinda like a trumpet shell. Check out this thread:

http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=89378&highlight=trumpet+shell

Looks like the photos are no longer available but could just be my comp...

Seriak
01-21-2003, 08:46 PM
I have the same type of snail. They are deffinately predetory. They do not eat algae according to Dr Ron. I don't remember what he called them though. The problem I had with them was that they multyiplied so fast that they were overtaking my tank. I thought I had gotten all of them, but I just noticed that a new batch of babies has sprouted up. Back to getting me hands wet.