Wierd looking snail!?

[Jermz79]

I received a piece of LR from my LFS on Friday and with it came about 5 or 6 Brittle stars (very small) and 2 really weird looking snails!!!

They have a black shell about the size of a peanut and have a snoot that sticks out like an Elephant trunk! really quick moving and only seem to come out at night? I'll try to get a picture later tonight!

Any Ideas?

 

[Fluff]

Could be a welk, or could be some type of nassarius. Your pic will help.

 

[Jermz79]

Yes ... as soon as the lights go off tonight I'll try to snap a quick one. If it is one of the above mentioned are they good/bad ... I know nassarius are beneficial, but never heard of a welk?

Thanks,
Jermz

 

[Jermz79]

I actually just hit google and came up with this .... these are the exact snail in my tank right now! The page actually says "nass vs. welk" ..... any ideas on them?

http://www.melevsreef.com/pics/0504/nass_vs_whelk.jpg

 

[dralarms]

The nassarius is the one in the background.

 

[GoodFish]

I found that same exact thing in my tank today!! and it is a digger....he/she is on my glass, but unget the surface of my sand bed....good or bad?

 

[Fluff]

The pic you posted, the snail on the left is a nassarius, the snail on the right is a welk. The welk has a black spotchy pattern on it's flesh. If this is what you have, remove it.
If it is the type of nassarius, this type spends time on the glass as well as in the sand.

 

[Jermz79]

I have the snail in the background! Remove it huh? Dang I will have to wait until night to see it, so I guess it'll be happy hunting tonight!!! Can you tell me why these are bad snails?

 

[Fluff]

They are a threat to other inverts. I have one that I never thought was a problem til I watching him kill and eat a nassarius snail.

 

[steve-s]

I actually just hit google and came up with this .... these are the exact snail in my tank right now! The page actually says "nass vs. welk" ..... any ideas on them?

http://www.melevsreef.com/pics/0504/nass_vs_whelk.jpg

Wow, great pic comparison!

Cheers
Steve

 

[Jermz79]

Yeah it is an awesome pic.

Good thing is, I caught one of the two that I have in my tank last night and it definitely was a welk ... it had the cheetah looking markings! Bad thing is, well .... there is still one in there! I caught the bigger of the two last night and searched and searched for the little one, but couldn't find him! Hopefully he won't kill any of my other snails.

Is there a method to their madness? Why do they eat other snails?

 

[Fluff]

I don't know why they eat other snails. That may be their natural food. Or perhaps it's a do or die thing in our closed system. I'm not that well read on the species itself. I just know first hand how destructive they can be. The second will show itself eventually. :?

 

[steve-s]

That may be their natural food.

That and carion...

Jermz79,

If you find the other snail, do not stop there. Keeping looking every few days after lights out. These little pests multiply quite efficiently in a captive system and may have already. Most will not survive but only a few are needed to keep up the "herd". Even if there was only one found I would still be diligent in searching for more. An inseminated female can carry the sperm for months afterwards laying fertile eggs at will.

Took me over a year to get rid of them.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Jermz79]

dang .... A YEAR!

Great, thats all I need a "herd" of crazy snail killing snails! HaHa

I just ordered some moon lights from The Lebos so that will make it easier to look around than a big BRIGHT 8O flashlight in the tank ... seems to scare eveything!

Thanks for the info!

Jermz

 

[steve-s]

that will make it easier to look around than a big BRIGHT 8O flashlight in the tank ... seems to scare eveything!

Get yourself a small penlight or LED flashlight. It's about the size of you finger and easy to shade. You will not have much luck finding these guys with just moonlights. It would be like looking for a camouflaged tic tac.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Jermz79]

I already have a LED flashlight. One that switches between 2 LED's and 4 LED's, it seems to work pretty good, but is still really bright! I even have these plastic covers that go over the end of the flashlight that are blue and red ... actually pretty cool!

I'm gonna have to check into one of those pen lights!

Last night after lights out, I was lookin around the tank at all my little Brittles I have, and noticed the sand moving in one spot ... I figured it was the welk moving around under there and waited for him to come out, but he NEVER did!!! I didn't want to dig down in the sand and create any problems, so I'm just going to have to wait for the snail to emerge one night!

Are there any natural predators of these welks? Something I could put in there that would search him out and eat it?

and steve-s ... How did you get rid of yours after they multiplied for a year?

Thanks,
Jermz

 

[steve-s]

noticed the sand moving in one spot ... I figured it was the welk moving around under there and waited for him to come out, but he NEVER did!!! I didn't want to dig down in the sand and create any problems, so I'm just going to have to wait for the snail to emerge one night!

How deep is the sandbed? If a SSB, you can target them with feeding tongs.

Are there any natural predators of these welks? Something I could put in there that would search him out and eat it?

There are many natural snail predators in general but unfortunately none really small enough for a 30 gal tank or reef safe. What else is in your tank (plans for the future?).

and steve-s ... How did you get rid of yours after they multiplied for a year?

Red Coris wrasse.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Jermz79]

Sand bed is approx. 4" deep maybe 5".

Plans for the tank are, FOWLR tank, couple O. Clowns, Royal Gramma, Skunk shrimp, and a cleanup crew ... nothing major right now, when I get the bigger tank thats when I'll jump in head first!

So the Red Coris Wrasse will eat the welk huh? or will he eat everything?

 

[steve-s]

Sand bed is approx. 4" deep maybe 5".

Then no digging, you'll only end up with more problems.

Plans for the tank are, FOWLR tank, couple O. Clowns, Royal Gramma, Skunk shrimp, and a cleanup crew ... nothing major right now, when I get the bigger tank thats when I'll jump in head first!

So the Red Coris Wrasse will eat the welk huh? or will he eat everything?

There is no wrasse species you can safely add to a 30 gal tank that would be effective against a predaceous snail. About the only suitable fish species would be a toby puffer but that would mean no decorative crustaceans either. Your main concern is the wee snails you cannot easily detect. The larger one (including purposefully added) will be too difficult for the puffer to eat so those will still need removing by you.

Please note I do not like recommending fish additions based on a need like this. If you aquire any fish that may aid you with the snails, do so because you like the fish and it suites the habitat your creating. The last thing I would want to encourage is buying something only to return it later once it's function is no onger of immediate use.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Jermz79]

Please note I do not like recommending fish additions based on a need like this. If you aquire any fish that may aid you with the snails, do so because you like the fish and it suites the habitat your creating. The last thing I would want to encourage is buying something only to return it later once it's function is no onger of immediate use.

Oh no definitely not .... I'm going to take my chances on grabbing them manually and see how that goes. I would never add a specie to rid another, just doesn't seem right!!

Thanks for all your help! wish me luck ...


Jermz


oh yeah ....
Kudos to you!