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FAQs about Marine Snail Identification
5 Related Articles:
Gastropods, Sea Slugs, Mollusks, Abalone,
Related FAQs: Snail ID 1,
Snail ID 2, Snail
ID 3, Snail ID 4, Snail
ID 6, Snail ID 7,
Snail ID 8, Snail ID 9,
Snail ID 10, Snail ID 11,
Snail ID 12, Snail ID 13,
Snail ID 14, Snail ID 15,
Snail ID 16, Snail ID 17,
Snail ID 18,
Snail ID 19, Snail ID 20, &
Marine Snails 1, Marine Snails 2, Marine
Snails 3, Invertebrate ID,
Snail Behavior, Snail Selection,
Snail Compatibility, Snail Systems,
Snail Feeding, Snail Disease,
Snail Reproduction, Mollusks, Sea
Slugs, Abalone, | 
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Turbo fluctuosa babies? 9/29/05
I'm new to reefing, I have
only had my 75g tank for about a year. I purchased some Turbo fluctuosa
(id from picture on your website) several months ago. I think I have
hundreds of babies now. Way too many to count. Is this ok? Thanks.
<I'm doubtful that these are in fact babies. Sounds to me that this is
more likely a parasitic snail population of some sort. I would search
this site/the net re this. - Josh>
Re: Turbo fluctuosa
babies? 9/29/05
I tried to get a closer look. The shell is
similar in shape to the Astrea, kind of brown with fine ridges from the
tip down to the edge instead of circular, and the foot fills the bottom
of the shell, it is not to the side like the turbo. They are only on the
live rock and the glass. I have been looking through the posts for
hours, but it becomes hard to know without pictures. If they are
parasites, what are they feeding on?
<Unfortunately, it's impossible
for me to give a definite ID on these without a picture. Can you send a
good, clear pic.? Try to get one on the glass for a good view of the
foot as well. - Josh>
Over Population of Unknown Origins 9/28/05
Bob,
<Mark>
I've been looking thru the FAQ's and Articles for a
"snail" that is basically multiplying like rabbits in my tank.
<Surprised you missed this one>
I've attached a photograph,
albeit a poor one, of one of these things. I've been unable to find
anything close to this on the site. They seem harmless and are
eating algae and the "gunk" on the glass. It appears to have a
shell but it's not like a "normal" snail. I looked at the slugs and
this doesn't fit there either.
It may be some sort of abalone
but it didn't quite fit the description or pictures here
either. Not really sure what to make of it but it really reproduces
fast. I have hundreds of the little guys in my tank and a couple of
big ones (assume mom and dad). The largest is probably a 3/4" long
and they are brown with a mostly brown shell.
<Looks like a
Stomatellid to me... plug this family name into Google/WWM>
They
really seem to be exploding in population while my tank goes fallow.
I'm trying to slay Crypt the dragon.
<Heee!>
I'm winning
the battle slowly. I don't think that any of the fish I have were
keeping the population down.
I think these guys were in the live
rock and were so small I didn't see them until they got big. LR was
labeled Marshall Island at the LFS. It's beautiful rock with lots
of purple and red in it. There were only 2 of the little buggers so
I didn't really think anything of it. They were kind of cool to
watch. Several months later and there are hundreds of little ones.
At some point the population boom has to slow down or I'm going to
have to start removing them.
<Likely you can sell them!>
I
know you will know what they are. I'm sure they are very common if
I've got em. They sure don't look very exotic.
Mark
<Are
useful algae eaters... about as "reef safe" as gastropods come. Bob
Fenner> | 
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Re: Over Population of Unknown Origins
Bob,
<Mark>
Thanks for the reply. The difficulty in finding something like this
is not being smart enough to know where to start. Even after having
the starting point of Stomatella It took a bit to find the matching
picture Found it here,
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/snailidfaq5.htm.
I
was looking in the wrong spot before. This is a very good match to
what I have but the one in this picture is better looking, better
color.
<Yes>
Sell them, now you're talkin. How much are
these things worth? I'll have to ask the LFS If they want any.
<Mmm, I'd look about locally... take some to your bigger shops that
are privately owned/managed... and to the fish clubs... trade will
get you far more than cash sales...>
Thanks again,
mystery
solved
Mark
<Welcome. Bob Fenner> |
Snail ID?
Unfortunately I had a new peppermint shrimp die
the other day (possibly killed by a fish and/or cleaner shrimp).
After catching the fish/cleaner shrimp during the attack, I left it
the peppermint in the tank to see if it would come back around.
Later after the lights went out, its body had 3 of these snails
crawling around on it. I managed to catch 2, but 1 remains at large
in the tank (of course there may be others that I don't know about).
Any ideas what they are and more importantly if they pose a threat
to corals or clams?
<Don't know the exact ID, but not likely
"that" predaceous... though likely do feed on other (smaller,
slower) invertebrates>
The snails are very small (about 3.5 mm
or 1/8-inch). They have a "snout" similar to a Nassarius snail. The
shell seems to have a white/orangish barring on it.
<Oh! Perhaps
a Stomatella species. Please do use your search tool, look at Google
Images... though the pic doesn't show this... is this shell more
flat than cylindrical? Not a harmful species... and I suspect that
these snails were just opportunistically feeding on the deceased
shrimp carcass. Bob Fenner> | 
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A Cowry Maybe? - 08/28/05
Hi, I just started a 55 gal reef tank
about 2 wks ago and on the 1st day I got my live rock, one of these
little guys came out. I've seen it rarely and usually at night. Two days
ago I got more live rock and another hitchhiked with it. I didn’t get a
pic of the new guy. I touched it when it climbed into my skimmer, and
its "head" was hard like a shell but had "skin" over it...what is this??
I attached the best 2 pics I have of it...
<<Mmm, difficult to tell
from the pics...but looks like a gastropod, possibly a cowry. Please
have a look through our FAQs: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/gastropo.htm>>
Thanks!
-Alec Heilmann
<<Regards, EricR>> |
Hmm.. it doesn't have a shell though.. It does have 2 antennae and
amouth maybe its a sea hare.. thanks for your help!
-Alec
Heilmann A Cowry Maybe? II - 08/28/05
Hmm.. it doesn’t
have a shell though.. It does have 2 antennae and a
mouth maybe
its a sea hare.. thanks for your help!
-Alec Heilmann
<<Hi
Alec...the pics weren't very clear, but what you've got doesn't look
like a sea hare to me. You described it as "hard" with a "skin"
over it which led me to guess a cowry. If so, its shell is covered
by its mantle. I still think it is a gastropod of sorts...likely
harmless, but I would keep an eye out as some are known coral
predators. EricR>> A Cowry Maybe? III - 08/28/05
Thank you very much! They seem to just eat film algae and green hair
algae off of my live rock.
-Alec Heilmann
<<Ahh,
excellent...always a bonus! EricR>>
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Repeat Gastropod ID 8/14/05
Hello,
The attached images are of
some slug-like being I see in my tank at night. It seems to just graze
about on the rocks, but of course, I don't stare at it for much more
than a minute. I'd love to know what it is, and more importantly, if
it's harmless.
Thanks so much,
- Andrea
<Please see here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/snailidfaq5.htm
and learn/use the
indices, search tool on WWM in future. Bob Fenner> | 
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Is this a sea slug? Is it harmful? 7/22/05
<Is a slug of some
sort, likely not harmful>
Yesterday, at least two 8mm "slugs"
cropped up in my 8 week old, 30-gallon saltwater aquarium. I am a new
saltwater aquarium hobbyist. The water tests perfectly and life seems to
be thriving in my new reef. The tank consists of aragonite substrate,
many hermit crabs, sand fleas, and snails, plus one whelk, and one 3"
horseshoe crab, all brought directly from the Atlantic ocean on the
North Carolina coast. I recently added 6 lbs of live rock, 2 mushroom
coral and 3 small fish, all from a reputable saltwater fish store. This
week, the tank also started getting baby Hard Tube-worm Feather Dusters
on the glass. I read that this is a good sign. However, I suspect I've
been overfeeding and under cleaning, so I've been correcting those two
problems this week. Could this "sea slug" be related to the overfeeding
or infrequent water changes?
<Mmm, not really... likely "due to"
your good care, healthy live rock...>
Should I be concerned about
the slugs?
<Nope>
Thank you,
Terri Bruns
<Enjoy! Bob
Fenner> |  
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Snail ID
Hi folks <Hello Yun>
I found this hitchhiker and
from what I could find on the web, it seems to be a Morula granulata, is
this correct?. It is about ¾ inches long and I haven’t noticed it
bothering anything. Is it ok to leave in the tank? The crew has always
been such a great help. Keep up the great work! <It does appear to be
one, Yun. I wouldn't leave it in the tank. They do feed on bivalves,
mollusks etc. They use their radula to drill through the shell and then
secrete acid into the shell and consume the animal. Some even use the
acid alone and feed on corals. James (Salty Dog)>
Yun
Snail Search...
Hi Crew,
<Scott F. here today!>
Thanks
for the reply to my last questions. I had an unsolved death a couple of
days after I sent the last E- mail. On Sun. I noticed one of my clowns
had a little nick in her tailfin. I had also noticed her swimming around
the top of the tank in the current with clamped fins. She was
eating well and she would come down and swim with her friend so I let it
go. I also noticed her jerking forward a few times, other than the nick
in the tailfin she had no visible symptoms of anything. I awoke a couple
of times that night and checked on her. She was on the bottom, she was
upright but would sometimes stop moving. I had seen both Clowns on the
bottom after lights off ,so I did not find that too strange. What was
strange was her tailfin was even more ragged. Still I waited, I was
hoping she would swim up in the morning and I would get a qt ready. In
the morning, however, she seemed more listless and breathing heavy. I
moved her and ran out for some antibiotics. [I could only guess
a bacterial infection] I had read Clowns are sensitive to Furan
compounds so I got Kanacyn. She died later that afternoon. I had her for
almost five weeks and she had seemed fine. Its been a couple of days and
so far the other fish seem fine. Any ideas?
<Hmm...In the absence of
visible symptoms, it's so hard to guess. The difficulty in breathing
seems to be indicative of either a parasitic disease or an environmental
lapse of some sort. I'm afraid that I could do little more than guess at
this point.>
They were supposed to be tank bred but now I'm kind of
wondering about that. I stocked up on Spectrogram, Kanacyn and already
had Furan-2. [the guy at the LFS said Aquatronics is going out of
business?] I had added about 24 Nassarius Snails on Sat. but I believe
the tailfin was already nicked. I was hoping to add another Clown if the
other fish remain healthy. [ after 4 weeks in qt. of course]
<Yes...quarantine is the way to go! Do buy form a source that can assure
you that they are captive-bred.>
Another quick question, if you
don't mind. I made an E-BAY impulse buy! I had been on a role, I had
already bought a [very] used 40 gallon for $25.00, a new large hang on
refugium with light and pump for $ 130.00 [ I really want to build a
sump with one of my 30 gal. but I am scared, with my luck I would flood
the living room] So my impulse buy was 100 Ilyanassa snails. I had read
great reviews on E-Bay from other buyers and bought them, THEN checked
your website. I did not find much. I have since read mixed reviews on
another site. The bad I read was that they are predators, they carry
Flukes, they don't live long in warmer waters. Then I would read the
exact opposite! I put them my 20 gallon for now. Any info you guys have
on these snails would be very much appreciated. Thanks so much,
Kim
<Well, Kim- my best recommendation would be to do a search on one of the
larger search engines. To get the most accurate information on these
animals, it may be better to turn to academic sources like university
biology departments, etc. Sorry I could not be more specific, but this
is a species that I have no personal experience with. Perhaps one of our
other readers could share his/her experiences on this one. Good luck!
Regards, Scott F.>
Another unknown critter
Things seem to be coming out of
everywhere all of a sudden. I just found this in my tank. I think
it's a slug. I just sent the email about the red fan which I'm sure
is now because it shot back in it's tube when my wife was near the
tank. Just never seen a red one online before.
Here is a picture
of the slug. I think it's called a paper bubble shell sea slug.
There's also an unknown shrimp that's in there that was too fast for
me to get a picture. It hides under rock and is sort of tan colored
and it was covered with sand.
I love this hobby! All this life
just popping up, from the live rock I guess. Sorry, I'm just excited
to see my tank coming along. It's only 5 weeks old.
<The more
you look, the more there is to see. Bob Fenner> | 
A Chiton?
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Limpets for Dinner
Hi
gang:
While cleaning the glass on my reef today, I pried loose a
hard-shelled creature. It's resembles a snail -- sort of cone-shaped
hard white shell with a rough surface texture -- with a soft interior
that grips to the glass, but once they settle in, don't move for
weeks/months on end. I've never seen anything on these creatures that
resembles a head, eyes, antennae, etc.)
<Sounds like limpets. The
small ones are common, harmless detritivores.>
Anyway, as the critter
slipped from my tweezers' grasp, my piglet-with-fins pacific blue tang
darted over and gobbled the thing, shell and all. I waited for him to
spit it out. . . but didn't see it happen. The tang is about 5-6" long.
. . the shellfish about the size of its eye (which I know is a rough
gauge of stomach size for fish). What're the chances of my fish being in
big trouble in terms of intestinal blockage? And is there anything I can
do to help? Chuck
<No worries. I doubt that the fish would have
eaten something it can't digest. Also, digestive acids should make quick
work of dissolving the shell. Best Regards. AdamC.>
Flatworm or Nudibranch? I.D. please
I posted this guy after I
found him clinging to the underside of my hammer coral. He's about
an inch or so long, 1/2 an inch wide, and about 4-5 mm thick. I've
looked on the net and books for an I.D. but thought maybe you guys
could help out. Here's a link to where I posted a pic of this fella.
Thanks, Mike
<Mmm, is a Stomatella... a beneficial mollusk... as
others have already pointed out. Bob Fenner> |
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