Is something attacking my Trochus snails

[Philt56]

Saw this thing yesterday, thought it was just the snail hanging upside down , but when I poked it, the shell just fell empty to the ground. So it looks like this thing is trying to pull the snail's body out of the shell. I've never seen a trochus shell hang upside down like this.

Any ideas. So this is the second snail I've seen like this.

 

[CoralCollectors805]

Pistol shrimp, mantis shrimp maybe... Or a hawk fish maybe if you have one of those

 

[Philt56]

Thanks. But the snail is not attached to the tank side, the shell is perpendicular to the side. It seems like that "blob" is attached to the side and is pulling the snail body out of the shell.

I didn't think a snail would have its body so pulled out of its body that the weight of the shell causes it to hang parallel to the glass like that?

 

[Philt56]

Does this look like the normal piece the covers the bottom of the shell?

 

[CoralCollectors805]

Thats weird.. Doesn't look like the normal stopper for that snail... probably best to discard just incase the blob found his way to your tank,...haha

 

[CoralCollectors805]

dose it seem like it comes off and reveal the stopper part of snail?,... or is it (melting)tissue from snail ,..perhaps

 

[Philt56]

When I poke it, it retracts further in the shell.
The other day when I saw it on the front glass, it was the same way. The shell was hanging from it and I pulled the shell off.

 

[Naiad]

There are several things that could be at play. Do you have algea for the snails to eat? They could be starving and too weak to hold themselves up. If they are loosing muscle tissue it won't be hard to rip off their shells.

It could also be a polyclad flatworm preying on the snails.

Finally it could be a contaminate or disease. Did you add or change anything recently

 

[Philt56]

They seem to graze enough on glass and rock..its in a small cup now, it retracted pretty fast when I touched the cup.