Snail Killer, what is this thing?

[carey]

Hi. Bought a snail for algae on recommendation from LFS. It's hu8ge and lives under the sand. I caught a pciture today as it was cruising the sandbed. I actually saw it come up on a large snail and eat it!!! I've been missing snails but I just thought it was the hermits.

after he engulfed it with his body he was snailing along with a huge lump in his back end, like a snake after he's eaten.

please help. i am totally grossed out and amazed at the same time.

 

[Gti_Leo]

looks liek some kind of slug

 

[carey]

Anybody else? I'm curious to know cause I am moving my 29g into a 55g and if this guy is gonna keep eating my snails I'm not gonna move him and will return him.

Thanks

 

[needmorecowbell]

That thing is a beast!! Wow I would like to keep it just for fun. Just to Give it some feeders or something. How did it eat it?

 

[carey]

LOL. Well I cant have that. My poor cuc is being slowly killed off.

Any one seen one of these before? I got some pretty good pics of it I thought.

 

[ezy33]

If it has a shell it might be a Fighting Conch.

 

[carey]

It does have a shell. When I bought it for $5 the guy told me what it was but it def wasn't conch. But that's only according to him. I'll go google the fighting conch and see if thats him.

Thanks!

 

[Bettababe1011]

http://www.google.com/m/search?site=images&source=mog&hl=en&gl=us&client=safari&q=fighting conch#i=0

This is a pic of a fighting conch. Does it look like yours? The pics are hard to see on an iPod.

Courtesy of Dakota's iPod.

 

[carey]

Nope thats for sure not it. The picture I posted kinda shows the shells design, its smooth and almost an oval shape. If you click on the pic I posted it should enlarge even more for better detail.

Thanks for the link! Now we know for sure what it isnt. LOL. Maybe when I fully swap tanks I'll bring it back and ask the guy. I'm not happy with it in my tank. I still don't believe he just ate that snail in like 3 seconds in the middle of daylight with all the lights blaring. It's scary kinda

 

[Crepe]

Sounds and looks like :
Conus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I would say return it quick before either you or your livestock get seriously hurt

 

[Bettababe1011]

The first pic said error when I tried to enlarge it. It happens sometimes on my iPod when the pic shows in the post. The second was hard to see, but I think that's just my sucky eyesight. I'm glad that I was able to help.

Courtesy of Dakota's iPod.

 

[needmorecowbell]

Sounds and looks like :
Conus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I would say return it quick before either you or your livestock get seriously hurt

Even cooler!!! If it Is this i would sadly get rid of it. Poison glAnds?! Such a cool snail!

 

[carey]

That link looks like what I have. Why would an LFS even have these things? OK so now I gotta wait til I break down my tank in a week or two to get at him.

Thank you very much for that link, I don't know how you guessed it was what I had.

 

[Crepe]

No problem. It just came to me. I've read about them and you see them a lot in those nature documentaries that sensationalize everything. KILLER SNAILS SWARM BEACH: ONE DEAD. or something along those lines.

 

[carey]

eewww I cant wait to get him outta the tank. I'll have to drive an hour each way to bring it back too. Thats like $10 in gas over this silly killer. grrr...

 

[XxVooDooxX]

Nope, I have a fighting conch and it's very docile. And the shell looks nothing like that,that......THING! Carey, if I were you, I would get rid of that beast any way! If you saw it kill part of your CUC then, buh bye!

Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium

 

[carey]

I spotted the dreaded creature again, he is hiding underneath the sand in the front of the tank where the snails are on the glass. I think he's waiting for them to come down. I am NOT moving him to the 55g. I wanna get a whole new cuc for that tank since my 30 member crew is down to maybe 10.

 

[Unicorn]

Wow, part of wiki said the following about your monster:
" They are all venomous to one degree or another. The most dangerous species hunt fish using harpoon-like teeth and a poison gland. Others hunt and eat marine worms or mollusks."

What is it with you and finding crapy LFS lol can't believe they sold you that thing at all !!!!!

 

[needmorecowbell]

Ya thats really unlucky.. Just don't get bit by it while taking it back!

 

[xxwolfpackof1xx]

it says stiings of the larger species can be fatal and that thing looks pretty beastly please dont get stung