Snail Id

[ichy]

So I have another ID request.
I have two of these snails about 5 mm long.
Pests or not?

Thanks in advance.

Robert

 

[Sewerat]

Nope. Looks like a nassauris to me


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[ichy]

Haha, I was thinking of adding some nassarius and cerith snails to my tank and I already have them.
I have no idea how they got into my aquarium. The last thing I got was a flame anemone about a month ago so maybe they were in the water.
Maybe they've been there for awhile and I didn't notice until now because they are so small.

This forum is great, lots of friendly and helpful people!

 

[Sewerat]

Did you have live sand from somebody?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[ichy]

No, the sand was already dead when I bought the aquarium. It was sitting in the tank for a month before I got around to rinsing it off. I've had the tank since August. I don't know how old the snails are if they are 5 mm long. They seem like babies

 

[AdInfinitum]

Very hard to distinguish snail species when they are juveniles. Nassarius are just good members of the Whelk family, most of which are predatory. Nassarius are unlikely to reproduce in most systems due to a 4 week free swimming stage in their life cycle. Many other species of whelk hatch straight from egg to tiny snail. Many predatory varieties are fairly harmless cleaners as well until they get large or you introduce their preferred prey which can range from anemones to (more commonly) clams and other snails.

Incidentally I have always wondered why an enterprising collector wouldn't look for the anemone eaters as I am sure that there would be a market for Aiptasia and Mojano control although the tank would never be safe for anemones again...