Scared and unsure!!! Cone snail

Oceanwave45 · Jul 27, 2017

good morning - apparently some
Cone snails were given to me in the clean up crew pack of 50 snails.

I am completely scared to put my hand in the tank - I haven't cleaned it since I found out I may have one and I can't find him

What do I do!!!!!! Help

Oceanwave45 · Jul 27, 2017

Oh and I have two fish missing

Tahoe61 · Jul 27, 2017

A lot of snails look like cones snail so please try to post an image if able.

Elegance Coral · Jul 27, 2017

where did you get the clean up crew?
No reputable supplier would send you cone snails.
They're probably olive snails.

Oceanwave45 · Jul 27, 2017

Okay just got home from work I don't know where he is there are snails under the sand - should pick it up from the shell?

Oceanwave45 · Jul 27, 2017

Elegance Coral said:
where did you get the clean up crew?
No reputable supplier would send you cone snails.
They're probably olive snails.

It's local fish shop - they called me and told me

Oceanwave45 · Jul 27, 2017

Oceanwave45 said:
Oh and I have two fish missing

Make that one missing fish chromsis

Maritimer · Jul 27, 2017

If they truly are cone snails, don't pick them up with your fingers. That proboscis can reach a fairly long way around.

Use tongs or some kind of scoop to pick them up.

A good photo would be helpful in identifying them.

~Bruce

679x · Jul 27, 2017

Oceanwave45 said:
It's local fish shop - they called me and told me

So your lfs called you to tell you that they gave you cone snails?

Oceanwave45 · Jul 27, 2017

I called them because if had some dead snails out of the 50 I received... the guys told me that they think some cone snails maybe be mixed with the shipment from the breeder or whatever they got them they told me to be careful and let them know if I have one. But I didn't know what a cone snail is besides what the store told me.
So now I have to figure out to scoop all these snails that are under the sand and take them back -
I just don't know how to do this to get all 50 furthermore I don't know how to move all the rock and sand without using my hands.... so I was going to wear gloves.

I turned out the lights to see if they will come out -
This is where I'm at right now

Oceanwave45 · Jul 27, 2017

679x said:
So your lfs called you to tell you that they gave you cone snails?

See below

Oceanwave45 · Jul 27, 2017

Okay these are the snails on top everything else is under the sand - I'm freaking annoyed right now - I am thinking they will come out since I turned out the light????

jphillips · Jul 27, 2017

Those last two look like regular banded trochus I'm unsure about the top one but if they're sure they sent you a cone snail I'd use something like a spider spoon or kitty litter scooper to grab the snails buried in the sand. With cone snails you'll probably see a proboscis poking out from under the sand but nassarius and babylonian snails also do that. I would also try not to disturb the sandbed as much as possible.

Oceanwave45 · Jul 27, 2017

jphillips said:
Those last two look like regular banded trochus I'm unsure about the top one but if they're sure they sent you a cone snail I'd use something like a spider spoon or kitty litter scooper to grab the snails buried in the sand. With cone snails you'll probably see a proboscis poking out from under the sand but nassarius and babylonian snails also do that. I would also try not to disturb the sandbed as much as possible.

That's a great idea!!! How do I get under the rock? Also I am scared about being stung - would they sting a human or do think I can move everything around

sundog101 · Jul 28, 2017

Oceanwave45 said:
apparently some
Cone snails were given to me in the clean up crew pack of 50 snails.

Cool! ;Wideyed
If you truly have cone snails be careful. I wouldn't be moving rocks around with my hands. Depending on the species, the sting can range from like a bee sting to fatal.

jphillips · Jul 28, 2017

Yeah I'd be cautious maybe just scoop out what you can over time and don't go digging around in the sand or picking up any snails with your hands for a while. But I'd also clarify again that there were cone snails in that batch they have a pretty specific shape and I'm pretty sure the deadly one's are actually illegal to import...

Maritimer · Jul 28, 2017

Here's Princeton's website for the book they publish on cone snails of the Caribbean:

http://press.princeton.edu/titles/10229.html

There are color photos there of over a dozen species, so you can get a handle on what cone shells look like. (They tend to look like cones, but with the pointy end at the _front_ of the shell.) DO NOT stir the sand with your fingers - get a kitty-litter scoop, as suggested, and use that to sieve the sand for shells.

~Bruce

XNavyDiver · Jul 28, 2017

Interesting subject. I realize most of the conus species are not venomous, but the few that are, have some of the most toxic venom on the planet. I was wondering from a legal liability (and moral/ethical) standpoint what are the issues for an lfs that is knowingly selling to the public a HIGHLY venomous animal (not that THAT is what the OP's lfs is doing)? I haven't researched it, is the sale of these species legal? I'm guess that the toxic nature of the animal would have nothing to do with legality of sale, but more of "is X species on the protected species list." After all, we all know is this hobby that there are more than a few venomous species sold regularly. I personally have never seen a known toxic cone shell snail (such as Conus Textile) in any lfs. Has anyone here seen it? I would think, from the viewpoint of any lfs, that knowingly selling a deadly species to the public would be a very bad business model. What would their insurance/liability premiums look like? I'd shudder to think.
Like anything else, I'd suppose if there was a huge financial gain to be made, some lfs out there would be willing to risk it, I suppose.

Oceanwave45 · Jul 28, 2017

XNavyDiver said:
Interesting subject. I realize most of the conus species are not venomous, but the few that are, have some of the most toxic venom on the planet. I was wondering from a legal liability (and moral/ethical) standpoint what are the issues for an lfs that is knowingly selling to the public a HIGHLY venomous animal (not that THAT is what the OP's lfs is doing)? I haven't researched it, is the sale of these species legal? I'm guess that the toxic nature of the animal would have nothing to do with legality of sale, but more of "is X species on the protected species list." After all, we all know is this hobby that there are more than a few venomous species sold regularly. I personally have never seen a known toxic cone shell snail (such as Conus Textile) in any lfs. Has anyone here seen it? I would think, from the viewpoint of any lfs, that knowingly selling a deadly species to the public would be a very bad business model. What would their insurance/liability premiums look like? I'd shudder to think.
Like anything else, I'd suppose if there was a huge financial gain to be made, some lfs out there would be willing to risk it, I suppose.

I am thinking it was a mistake not so much on purpose

TritonsGarden · Jul 28, 2017

I'm thinking they did not send cone snails but maybe whelks. Better safe than sorry until you find out for sure.
I haven't seen any cone snails in your photos yet.