What kind of Snail

[usmcmarc]

I finally got hold of a couple of these guys. They have been in my tank for months, but much smaller. Guess they grew quite a bit. I cant find anything that looks quite like them on the hitchhiker pages or in the databases. Any Clue?
Both are the same except for color.

Sorry about the crummy quality pics. Cameraphone has no Macro setting.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

If they stay mostly in your sand bed, then Nassarius.

And your thumbnail is reallllllyyyyy long.

 

[johnmaloney]

That is not a nassarius vibex. You can tell because the underside does not have the broader lip around the opperculum (sp?), or the hole where the snail comes out of. Makes it a dead give away for a look alike whelk. It will behave sort of like the nassarius, (eating leftovers), unless you have small bivalves in the tank, it may try to eat them.

 

[johnmaloney]

If you really want, I have a snail i.d. guide around here, I can get back to you with the species name.

 

[usmcmarc]

Someone else mentioned a whelk....I havent noticed them attacking anyother sails though...I'll pluck them and put into the back chamber with my LR rubble.

 

[johnmaloney]

Those particular whelks are small and will do fine in your tank just scavenging. The nassarius is in the whelk family too, (dog whelk), didn't mean to alarm you. Just for I.D. purposes though, a true nassarius has a thick "lip" near its opperculum, or the hole where the snail comes out.