Snail I.D.     9/6/12
Hi folks,
<Hi Richard>
 once again I turn to the experts with a question. I have tried to figure out the exact type of snail in this picture but without any luck.
While they seem to do a good job as a clean up crew, they have reproduced in such numbers as to be almost scary. They came aboard as hitchhikers, and are now in the literal thousands. They cover the tank walls and most of the live rock during night time hours. Should I allow them all to stay or should I try to "thin" the herd a bit?  They never get any larger than an English Pea.
<Looks to be a Collonista sp, likely C. amakusaensis. Beneficial algae grazers. There are a number of Wrasse that will gladly eat them. Manual removal is up to you but there numbers will likely return given proper food supply or lack of predators. They will never grow to any size and there small shells can clog up pump intakes.>
Thank
<Quite welcome.>
Richard
<Jordan>
Snail I.D.     9/6/12
Hi folks, once again I turn to the experts with a question. I have tried to figure out the exact type of snail in this picture but without any luck.
While they seem to do a good job as a clean up crew, they have reproduced in such numbers as to be almost scary. They came aboard as hitchhikers, and are now in the literal thousands. They cover the tank walls and most of the live rock during night time hours. Should I allow them all to stay or should I try to "thin" the herd a bit?
<See email with image for response. Jordan>
Thank
Richard

Conch or Cone Shell? Strawberry Conch:  Conomurex luhuanus - 8/17/12
Hi Rob,
<Hi Chris, Lynn here today.>
The guy at the store claimed that this was a conch. I'm not so sure.  Check out these photos (taken with my phone so maybe a bit blurry) and let me know what you think. Currently using tongs to handle it just to be on the safe side.
<Better safe than sorry! Thankfully, what you have is a beautiful little Conch called Conomurex luhuanus (synonym: Strombus luhuanus) in the family Strombidae, commonly known as the Strawberry Conch.  The overall shape of the snail, with relatively straight sides and a short spire on top, makes it easy to misidentify as a species of Cone snail (family Conidae).  What gives it away as a true Conch is the “stromboid notch”, or small indentation, that’s located on the lip of the shell, towards the anterior end.  This is where one of the eyestalks protrudes when the animal is cruising about, foraging for micro and macro-algae.  The notch can vary from slight to pronounced, but in your snail, it’s the latter!  Also differentiating Strombids from conids is the way each moves.  While Strombids tend to lurch and “leap” across the sand, giving the animal a somewhat ungainly appearance, conids tend to slide or glide.  Another helpful differentiation involves the eyes.  Strombids tend to have obvious, almost knob-like eyes on the ends of long stalks while conids’ eyes typically appear as little more than black dots on the tips of tapered stalks. 
In the wild, Conomurex luhuanus inhabits areas of open sand, seagrass beds, and coral rubble in the Western Pacific and ranges from 2-3 inches (50-80mm) in shell length.  As juveniles, they tend to bury themselves in soft sand, either partially or fully, so don’t be too surprised if your individual disappears for a bit under the substrate.  As far as care goes, these snails are harmless, beneficial herbivores with big appetites for micro and macro-algae, so if the supply starts to run low in your system, you might want to try offering it some Nori that’s been rubber-banded to a rock on the sandbed.  You should be able to find dried, packaged Nori at the grocery store in the Asian section (used for sushi).  Also, make sure that the rubber-band is a new one – not one from the newspaper!  Please see the following links for photo comparison: http://www.gastropods.com/5/Shell_205.shtml 
http://www.poppe-images.com/?t=33&search=conomurex+luhuanus >
Thanks,
<You’re very welcome.>
Chris
<Take care, Lynn Z>
Re Conch or Cone Shell Part 2: Strawberry Conch:  Conomurex luhuanus - 8/17/12
Hello again,
<Hello Chris, Lynn here again.>
I dug up some info:
"There is, however, a surefire way of discerning whether you have a real conch. When the animal extends from its shell, look closely at its eyes. In all of the animals in this group, the eyes are large and evident, located at the end of a long stalk, and they possess an evident eyeball with a visible pupil. They are visually oriented animals and will watch you."
-R. Shimek, The Grazing Snails, Part III: Conchs, Ceriths, Cowries, and Columbellids
In the photograph with the unidentified creature on its back you can clearly see its eyes. I wonder if that fits the above description?
<Yep, it sure does.  As mentioned in the last message, there’s a definite difference between Strombid and Conid eyes.  Strombid eyes are much more obvious and recognizable.  Here are some photo links for comparison:
Conomurex luhuanus: http://www.poppe-images.com/?t=17&photoid=924709
Conus species (black dots on the end of white tapered stalks): http://www.divegallery.com/cone_venomous.htm >
Chris
<Take care, Lynn Z>

Snail or Conch? Likely Columbellid Snails and Spirorbids - 4/17/12
 Hi Crew,
<Hello Dave, Lynn here this evening.>
We've had an explosion of births of some kind of snail or conch in both of our salt water tanks. It happened several weeks ago and the little critters are now about the size of elbow macaroni (sorry, I couldn't think of a better comparison!).  Anyway, I did quite a bit of reading here on WWM and have looked at quite a few photos but I'm still not convinced of what they might be.  I attached a photo showing two of them hanging out on some live rock together. They look like they have a proboscis. Their shells are growing as they grow.
<The snails appear to be harmless/beneficial Columbellids (family Columbellidae), aka “Dove” snails that feed on film algae, possibly diatoms, and tend to be prolific breeders.  For more information, please see the following link:   http://wetwebmediaforum.com/showthread.php?336-Critter-of-the-Week-Columbellid-snails&highlight=columbellid >
I guess the reason I'm worrying a little bit is because I've read that some species of conch are not good to keep with other invertebrates and are carnivorous.  We do have several Fighting Conch but they are very peaceful and spend most of their time below the sand bed.  Also, I'm not sure if it's related, but we've also seen an explosion of tiny white circular crusty adhesions, about the size of a pinhead,
<No worries, those are tiny, harmless, filter-feeding, feather dusters called Spirorbids.> 
 …stuck to the glass and all of the structures. They are everywhere. 
<This is typical, especially in new systems.  Eventually, the population will taper off to a more manageable level but in the meantime, you can remove any unwanted individuals from the glass with a scraper (an old credit card works well for this).>
I included a photo of an artificial leaf from one of our tanks showing them. Are these egg packets or something?  Or is this some form of algae?
<Nope, they’re Spirorbids.  If you take a close look, you can see the feathery feeding appendage on some of the individuals in your photo.  For more information/photos, please see the following links:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/feather.htm 
http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/spirorbis_spp.htm >
Thanks, as always, for your help and insight.
<You’re very welcome.>
Things are going quite well in our tanks right now because of your past guidance. 
<Thanks, that’s great to hear/read.>
There is no better feeling than stable fish tanks.
<That’s way up there on the list for sure!>
DaveZ
<Take care, Lynn Z>