Snail I.D. pls

[awcasper]

Found this guy in my tank:

http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u30/awcasper/DSC00556.jpg

About 3mm, and has ridges along the spiral of the shell. Is it safe? Thanks.

[acrodave]

not sure . But when in doubt take it out

[awcasper]

bump for id

[Agu]

No idea but I'm of the opinion that diversity is good for a tank. I leave stuff in unless it's known to be a detriment.

[pagojoe]

I can't see all the details from your photo, but just about any small, roundish, red-patterened snail is reef safe. They are mostly either trochids or turbinids, as yours probably is. The white protoconch makes it look like a turbinid, as many of the juvenile trochids have red protoconchs. All of these and their relatives are algae grazers. I'll give you an update when I get home if I can tell more about your snail.

Cheers,



Don

[demonsp]

Hard to tell . Look here. http://www.melevsreef.com/id/

[pagojoe]

I'm pretty sure it's a turbinid in the subfamily Astraeinae. If it is, the operculum should look like a little pearl in the aperture. Compare it to these pics, but pay particular attention to the spire, since your juvenile would only represent the earliest whorls (consider that the spines are eroded from the spires of many of the shells in these pics):

http://www.gastropods.com/Taxon_pages/TN_Family_TURBINIDAE_ASTRAEINAE.html

It should be reef safe, and interesting to see what it looks like if it manages to survive and grow in your tank.

Cheers,



Don

[awcasper]

Thanks for the reply, all. I went ahead and put it back. Snails are pretty awesome!