Snail ID, anyone?

clevengergl · #1 12/29/2007, 01:03 AM

Hey all!

I was messing with my skimmer when this guy suddenly appeared from my refugium. Any idea what kind of snail this is? Any harmful implications I need to be aware of???

I watched him for probably 20 minutes before he finally made his way down into the sand in my fuge. It almost looked like he was trying to shed his shell or something.

Thanks in advance!!!
Gary

pagojoe · #2 12/29/2007, 01:32 AM

Hi Gary,

Your snail looks to be Babylonia spirata, a snail related to the whelks. They're cool looking, and recently people have reported keeping them without many problems, but they are carnivores. They may eat carrion, but they may also feed on any other snails in your tank or refugium. They are perfectly capable of killing just about any mollusc you might have in your tank. You will need to feed it unless you don't mind it eating other the other creatures in your tank/refugium.

http://www.gastropods.com/0/Shell_10.html

By the way, he probably wasn't really trying to get out of his shell, he was probably just stretched out and hunting for prey.

Cheers,

Don

clevengergl · #3 12/29/2007, 01:42 AM

Wow! Thanks for the ID, Don. That's definitely him! Is his diet primarily other molluscs and gastropods? If so, I don't currently have any others currently in the refugium, so he should be OK.

If he will feed on microfauna as well, such as copepods and amphipods, then I'll probably want to get him out as creating a safe area for raising microfauna is one of the main purposes of my fuge! :-)

Thanks again!
Gary