Need ID on snail

[STARFYRE]

My LFS called this a "mini turbo". It has coraline algae on the shell, but the base of the shell seems to be green. I'm thinkin it's an Astraea snail, but I'd def like a 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and even 6th opinion.

 

[melosu58]

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=563

What it looks like to me.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Even with that fuzzy picture, definitely an Astraea.

 

[STARFYRE]

Yeah, my camera isn't good at close-ups. lol

 

[roka64]

From the color of the shell, I am leaning toward a Banded Trochus Snail. What color is the foot? If it is black or an off white/tan, I would say Trochus.

 

[STARFYRE]

It's fuzzy and hard to see But the shell is olive green and has purple coraline algae spots on it. The foot, I believe, is an off white/tan. I'll get a closer look later when I turn the lights on. Either way, I'm going to get 2 more today, cuz they're doing an AWESOME job of cleaning the algae and die off off of my LR, but at a very slow rate. So I think 2 more will be very beneficial. There's plenty of algae to go around, believe that!
I saw trochus snails at TFP last week, and they didn't look anything like that. The trochus had much darker shells (dark gray/black with maroonish hints)

 

[roka64]

Cool some snails wil have coraline growing on their shells, just like this Trochus Snail http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=564.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Trochus' aren't that pointy on the top. The green color is just green coraline algae, I'm guessing. I've got some astreas - the few that haven't augered themselves into the sand - that look pretty much like that.

At least with the ones I've got, the trochus have a black foot while the foot of the astreas are tan/whitish with specks.

Next time I have to add more snails, it'll be more trochus and narcissus snails. The astreas are just too high maintenance!

 

[STARFYRE]

Well, whatever they are, I bought 2 more today cuz they're eating the crap off my LR down to spit shiny clean!! These guys stay on my LR. I haven't seen them on the sand since I got them. I'm not sure if the guys I got today are the same snails or not? They have so many different types of snails there, but only have nassarius, turbo, and small turbo listed. IMO, it looks like they have trochus and astraea too. They have a bunch of pyramid shaped ones. Some have points going out from the bottom of the shell (like some astrea); and some don't. So who knows? I'll try to get a clearer pic of the ones that have been in the tank, and pics of the 2 I got today.

 

[roka64]

You could be right Kurt. I am not 100% sure, but here is a quotes from my link:
"Depending on the exact species these snails may have either a black or an off white/tan foot."

I think the difference might be the spots, as you stated....?

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

To me, it's just the proportions of the shell. I've got both trochus and astraea and that photo is a dead ringer for the astraea. The trochus' have a squatier shell and don't have the straight sides like the astraea. Another thing I noticed last night that differentiates the two is the "bump" along their shells. I don't know how to describe it better, but as you go around the spiral of their shells, they both have these "bumps" that project out a little. The astraea's bumps are bigger and less frequent than the trochus. The trochus have little tiny bumps, and a lot more of them.

And of course all of this is just academic as the original poster just wants something to eat his algae!!

 

[STARFYRE]

[/quote]the original poster just wants something to eat his algae!!

Actually, I'd rather be sure of what exactly they are. I am having trouble getting clear close-up shots with my camera. And I keep forgetting to get batteries for the camera, so I can only get about 3 shots before the camera shuts off.
The first 2 I bought seem to have the many little bumps. The 2 I bought yesterday have pointy bumps that extend further off the shell and their shell is wider and flatter (still pyramid shaped with a point at the top). From what you say Kurt, this leads me to believe that I have 2 trochus (first two I bought) and 2 Astraea (2 I bought yesterday). However....It says that the astreae will not necessarily have the points prodruding from their shell. Also, it states that the astreas base shell (under coraline algae) is olive green. The one in the picture has an olive green shell under the coraline algae spots. The two I bought yesterday have identical shell structure (pointy bumps, and "flatter" shell), and the one has silver and maroon coloring at the tip of his shell. This leads me to believe the exact opposite; that the first 2 I bought are astraea and the two I bought yesterday are trochus. Damn LFS! I wish they'd get their species right. Whatever they are, they 're definately not "small turbos"...lol.
BTW...I'm a girl

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Oops... change that to "all the original poster wants is something to eat HER algae!" I guess remembering to use the ambiguous "...THEIR algae" would've been better.

I think you're right - the ones you bought yesterday sound like trochus. I think the telltale thing is the fact that you see silver/maroon coloring. THAT is trochus.

The green coloring of the base shell... I'm still thinking that's algae coloration. When I first got my astraeas, they had brown/tan/whitish/grayish mottled colored shells. The remaining ones (two, I think?) now have a nice layer of green layed down on top of that, with little purple coralline algae spots here and there.

 

[Fishytoo]

snail

I got a dozen of those from www.tropicaloceanreef.com.
They call them astreas.
There is a good picture on this page http://tropicaloceanreef.com/store/...d=304&osCsid=cfff262f860d2fb69f12316eddd610a0