Do Marginella snails eat snails??

[kaylajoy]

Today I looked in my aquarium, and I saw one of the marginella snails wrapped around another snail. The snail was definitely alive and still trying to move around. I tried to separate the two with a stick but the marginella snail just dove under the sand and dragged the other snail with it like a tremors monster

I managed to dig them up but the other snail is definitely dead and covered in slime now.



It dragged the thing back under the sand to eat I guess.

I'm a bit annoyed because I really like the stomatellas, and I found a mysteriously cleaned-out shell of another one and even a larger trochus last week. I thought these were detritivores not snail murderers. Has anyone else had this happen?

 

[Rtaylor]

It was probably already dead. They are scavengers

 

[Meloco14]

I had the same experience. I saw a marginella cruising the sand bed, he climbed over a dwarf cerith, the cerith stuck to the tail end of the marginella, and it pulled it under the sand. I don't know if the cerith was alive or dead, and didn't know if the marginella purposely grabbed it or if it just stuck to him. After reading your experience I would say it grabbed it. Hopefully the cerith was dead or dying already and the marginella isn't a murderer.

 

[JPM San Diego]

From a quick search on the internet: See the last line!​

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Marginella​

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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Synonyms[1]
Species
Scientific classification
Marginella
A live individual of Marginella rosea
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Neogastropoda
Family:	Marginellidae
Subfamily:	Marginellinae
Genus:	Marginella Lamarck, 1799
See text
Cucumis Deshayes, 1830 Marginella (Marginella) Lamarck, 1799 Marginellana Adams & Adams, 1853 Marginellarius Duméril, 1806 Marginellus Montfort, 1810 Marginilla Swainson, 1831 Porcellana Gray, 1847 Pseudomarginella Maltzan, 1880

Marginella is a genus of small tropical and temperate sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Marginellidae, the margin snails. It is the type genus of the family.[1]
The shells of species in this genus are rounded, smooth and glossy, with a large aperture that appears to be toothed because it shows the edge of the columellar folds. In many species the shells are colorful. The glossy surface of the shell results from the fact that the mantle covers most of the shell when the animal is active. As is typical in the Neogastropoda, the animal has a long siphon. When the animal is active, the foot extends much further out than the edge of the shell.

A margin snail with its mantle partly covering the shell
As is also typical for the Neogastropoda, species in this genus are carnivorous and predatory.

 

[Meloco14]

From a quick search on the internet: See the last line!​

​

Marginella​

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Jump to navigationJump to search

Marginella
Scientific classification
Species
Synonyms[1]
A live individual of Marginella rosea
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Neogastropoda
Family:	Marginellidae
Subfamily:	Marginellinae
Genus:	Marginella Lamarck, 1799
See text
Cucumis Deshayes, 1830 Marginella (Marginella) Lamarck, 1799 Marginellana Adams & Adams, 1853 Marginellarius Duméril, 1806 Marginellus Montfort, 1810 Marginilla Swainson, 1831 Porcellana Gray, 1847 Pseudomarginella Maltzan, 1880

Marginella is a genus of small tropical and temperate sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Marginellidae, the margin snails. It is the type genus of the family.[1]
The shells of species in this genus are rounded, smooth and glossy, with a large aperture that appears to be toothed because it shows the edge of the columellar folds. In many species the shells are colorful. The glossy surface of the shell results from the fact that the mantle covers most of the shell when the animal is active. As is typical in the Neogastropoda, the animal has a long siphon. When the animal is active, the foot extends much further out than the edge of the shell.

A margin snail with its mantle partly covering the shell
As is also typical for the Neogastropoda, species in this genus are carnivorous and predatory.

Well that answers that. Reefcleaners sells these as harmless cleanup crew. I didn't buy mine, but I have purchased from reefcleaners twice so it must have gotten mixed in with the dwarf ceriths or something. Now I'll have to keep an eye out and try to catch him.