Baby Nassarius Snail?

[NanoReef303]

I have 2 nassarius snails in my tank. Saw this tiny guy today. Could this be a baby nassarius snail? Shell color is more brown than the 2 full grown I have, but it has the trunk and looks a lot like them. Best pictures I could get. Thoughts?

 

[Lovemyreef2015]

Looks like it. Cool!

 

[KJ]

Hard to tel from the pic.

 

[NanoReef303]

Thanks. Those were the best pics I could get. It’s the size of one of my grains of sand.

 

[Zos4me]

You can see the snorkel

 

[NanoReef303]

Thanks. Yeah, the snorkel is why I assumed it was a nassarius, but wasn’t sure if there were other types of snails with snorkels that could have hitchhiked in on something.

 

[Sparkymarc]

Could be a whelk. They look very similar to the nassarius.

 

[NanoReef303]

Could be a whelk. They look very similar to the nassarius.

Ah, it could be. I’ll have to try and find it again and take a closer look. Looks like whelks can be a bit problematic. Thank you.

 

[dking271]

While it looks like a whelk or nassarius, it’s always important to remember that cone snails also have a snorkel.

 

[Sparkymarc]

The best way I know how to differentiate between nassarius and whelk is the snorkel and flesh have markings. You can check out Melev’s reef and he has photos to help identify. Hopefully it is not a cone snail because they are venomous and I would not touch

 

[NanoReef303]

Great point regarding Cone Snails. Good reminder that while it’s an aquarium sitting in my dining room, it’s full of wild animals and unknown creatures should be handled with care. I’ll use tweezers and handle with care to take a closer look. Thanks all.

 

[Sparkymarc]

That’s for sure. I think some cone snail’s venom can even be fatal. Even though it doesn’t look like a cone snail to me, extra caution wouldn’t hurt.

 

[KJ]

nassarius distortus - - Image Search Results

images.search.yahoo.com

 

[NanoReef303]

Got a closer look at it today. I think it’s a Nassarius. I couldn’t make out a pattern on the trunk and the shape of the shell looked like a Nassarius shell which are widest in the middle.