What type of snail is this?

[HABS#1]

I found this guy when I got home from work tonight does anyone know what type of snail this may be? It was living in the Fiji rock and came out of hiding today.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a79/roadracerstarky/Picture016.jpg

[kau_cinta_ku]

looks like a certh

[HABS#1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11100317#post11100317 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kau_cinta_ku
looks like a certh

Would that be good bad or neither? I am hoping it moves a bit more so I can try and get a better picture of it.

[kau_cinta_ku]

certhes are good.

[kau_cinta_ku]

from live aquaria
The Cerith snail is a small scavenger with an elongated spiral shell that is usually black with tiny white dots covering the entire shell. One of the most ideal scavengers, detritus eaters, and algae eaters these snails are perfect for the reef aquarium, quickly devouring detritus, uneaten food, decaying organics, fish waste, and several types of nuisance algae. Cerith Snails will often bury themselves in the sand, which will help maintain adequate oxygen levels in the substrate.
The Cerith Snail prefers an established aquarium with live rock and a deep sand bed. These snails are sensitive to high nitrate levels and copper-based medications.

The Cerith Snail is extremely difficult to breed in captivity.

[HABS#1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11100375#post11100375 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kau_cinta_ku
from live aquaria
The Cerith snail is a small scavenger with an elongated spiral shell that is usually black with tiny white dots covering the entire shell. One of the most ideal scavengers, detritus eaters, and algae eaters these snails are perfect for the reef aquarium, quickly devouring detritus, uneaten food, decaying organics, fish waste, and several types of nuisance algae. Cerith Snails will often bury themselves in the sand, which will help maintain adequate oxygen levels in the substrate.
The Cerith Snail prefers an established aquarium with live rock and a deep sand bed. These snails are sensitive to high nitrate levels and copper-based medications.

The Cerith Snail is extremely difficult to breed in captivity.

Cool thanks now the shwll is not spiral it is all smooth almost tear drop shaped.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a79/roadracerstarky/Picture021.jpg

[Paintbug]

looks like a whelk to me. they are usually predators of either corals, or other animals including snails. i better pic is really needed to tell. take one of where the snail comes out of the shell out of the water usually works best :).

[pagojoe]

Not a whelk, not a cerith. I can't think of any smooth ceriths or whelks either, for that matter. It's probably a miter, looks like one of the species of Strigatella that like to hang out on the reef, usually not in the sand. I think they are all worm eaters.

If you want to bother to take it out of the tank and photograph it in a dish, dorsum and ventrum, I'll try to give you a species-level ID on it. If that's all coralline encrustation I'm looking at and not the actual shell, it'll be more difficult, but the aperture may show enough to ID it.

Cheers,


Don

[HABS#1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11106400#post11106400 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pagojoe
Not a whelk, not a cerith. I can't think of any smooth ceriths or whelks either, for that matter. It's probably a miter, looks like one of the species of Strigatella that like to hang out on the reef, usually not in the sand. I think they are all worm eaters.

If you want to bother to take it out of the tank and photograph it in a dish, dorsum and ventrum, I'll try to give you a species-level ID on it. If that's all coralline encrustation I'm looking at and not the actual shell, it'll be more difficult, but the aperture may show enough to ID it.

Cheers,


Don

Ok I will do that after and post up the pics.

[HABS#1]

Ok so here are a couple pics of the snail you may want to save them to your pc to get a better look at it.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a79/roadracerstarky/snail.jpg

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a79/roadracerstarky/snail2.jpg

[HABS#1]

TTT

[pagojoe]

Not what I expected, since it looks to be settled on your coral in the top photos, but I'm pretty sure you have a species of Melampus, which spends most of its time out of the water. They cluster on rocks or mangroves right at and above the water line, and are vegetarians. It will be interesting to see if yours stays in the water or climbs the glass to the water line....

If the snail really came from Fiji, it's probably Melampus castaneus. There are several dark brown or black species that could be your snail though, depending on its origin. The next most likely is probably a dark morph of Melampus flavus.

http://www.gastropods.com/4/Shell_27064.html

http://www.conchology.be/en/availableshells/searchresultsgallery.php?family=ELLOBIIDAE&species=Melampus%20flavus%20BROWN#f

http://www.conchology.be/en/availableshells/searchspeciesgallery.php?family=ELLOBIIDAE

Cheers,



Don

[HABS#1]

Thanks Don as for the snail it has now dissapeared and it is not up near the top of the tank so I am guessing it has gone back into the rock where it appeared from. I will look for it over the next few days and see if it re appears. I am also going to try and get some other pics of it through a higher magnificartion.

[HABS#1]

oops double post.

[pagojoe]

Yeah, close-ups would really help, especially if you can get a ventral shot with the animal retracted (if you poke him, he should retract. That doesn't really sound like Melampus behavior, even though it certainly looks like one.

Cheers,


Don