Can you spot the deadly inverts?

[Slocke]

I was looking through some online stores looking for some cool ideas for my tank and found some things I wasn't expecting on one site. Not that they are available to buy and boy am I glad they're not.

Can you spot what I'm talking about?

 

[Gtinnel]

The blue ring octopus and a cone snail.

 

[Gtinnel]

Although I’m not positive it’s a cone snail.

 

[Slocke]

Cone snail drug 100x more potent than morphine - Australian Geographic

An new drug made from cone snail venom has shown signs of promise in numbing pain, raising hopes for new, non-addictive medications.

www.australiangeographic.com.au

It is, though apparently a species that has potential medicinal value.

 

[Slocke]

What a strange thing for a fish store to advertise with as I doubt they sell them but I guess it worked on me as I’m quite intrigued now haha.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Actually, a surprisingly large number of places sell potentially deadly inverts - Blue Ring Octopus and a variety of cone snails being some of the most common. It’s a problem that has actually been addressed and discouraged by the cephalopod (octopus, cuttlefish, squid, etc.) keeping community because of the risks involved. It’s especially bad as most places don’t warn prospective buyers about the venom.

That said, though, I’ve seen one place (slightly more responsibly) offer a cone snail with a less potent venom that they mention on the page no one has died from - though I forget which place right off hand.

 

[Slocke]

Wow…
The other day a LFS employee got shouted at for putting their hands in a mantis shrimp enclosure when looking for nassarius snails for me(by the boss not me though I should have also been paying attention). I can’t imagine the accidents that could occur if you were to have a cone snail in a tank.

Do you know why they have the nickname cigarette snails? Because you were supposed to have only enough time to smoke a cigarette before you died after being stung by one. I know that’s an exaggeration but I still believe they produce the most deadly venom per ml of any creature in the world.