Trochus

[DaveJ]

Hi Dr Ron,

I am having a little problem and I thought maybe you could help. I am having difficulty finding Trochus for my tank. In the past I had no problems with Tiger Trochus, but now there is a newer variety being sold , but it is not quite as good. The difference seems to be the color of the body/foot of the snail, the good one is black and the less efficient eater has a white body/foot.

The ones I am familiar with are the black ones and I loved them because they could flip back over on their own, moved quickly along the glass, ate a ton and even reproduced a few times.

Do you know if the Trochus intextus is that particular snail or not? If that is not it, can you give me an idea of which one I should be looking for?

Thanks! I appreciate it.

[rshimek]

Hi,

The Trochus that I have gotten from IPSF, and identified by them as Trochus intextus seem to have gray/cream/white feet and body. They are good grazers.

I really don't know which one you had. Unfortunately, most snail identification references don't list or even mention the body color; basically, all the pertinent characters for identification are shell characters.

Sorry. :(

[DaveJ]

Thanks for the attempt! Actually found them a few minutes ago from one of the sponsers here. They are known for their LR and corals, but had told me he can get just about anything I needed. When I tossed this one in his lap, he kew what I was referring to and was able to help me. Apparently there are several varieties being sold as "Trochus". The ones I was looking for are Zebra's and the others were referred to as Banded. I guess the shells are slightly different, the banded being more ridged (around) than the zebra which has more of a smoother horned shaped shell. Regardless, he knew what I was talking about and I will get them next week.

Thanks again for the help, I appreciate it.

[rshimek]

Dave,

There more than "several" varieties being sold as Trochus. See my column in the April 2004, issue of [rk] for a discussion of some of these animals.