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>  

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.>  

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.>