Sent the wrong snail - is this a whelk?

[waitwut]

I ordered several turbo snails from a store and they sent me this instead of one of them. To me it clearly looks like a whelk - I have a number of nassarius snails and this is substantially larger than them. It also has the lurching gait that you'd expect from a whelk (as opposed to the gliding of a nassarius).

I emailed the store and asked them to identify it - they said that they'd run out of turbo snails so they sent me this instead. They didn't seem to know exactly what it is but they insisted that it had been a good algae eater for them.

It's in my QT right now because I'm worried it will eat the other snails - am I right to be concerned? Is this a predatory whelk?

 

[Borat]

..we ran out of torch corals that you ordered, so we sent you aiptasia instead...

 

[twentyleagues]

I ordered several turbo snails from a store and they sent me this instead of one of them. To me it clearly looks like a whelk - I have a number of nassarius snails and this is substantially larger than them. It also has the lurching gait that you'd expect from a whelk (as opposed to the gliding of a nassarius).

I emailed the store and asked them to identify it - they said that they'd run out of turbo snails so they sent me this instead. They didn't seem to know exactly what it is but they insisted that it had been a good algae eater for them.

It's in my QT right now because I'm worried it will eat the other snails - am I right to be concerned? Is this a predatory whelk?

Wow thats terrible customer care. I'd be really mad. Even if its a great algae eater it's not what I ordered or wanted. Im sorry I can not identify this for you hopefully someone can. That would be like ordering a supercar on line and them saying oops we are out of Lamborghini so you get a ford van.

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

What State was this sent from? I have Sea Shore Guides, but it would help to know what coast, it’s from.

 

[waitwut]

I agree - I'm really unimpressed. Not just that they sent me something different without telling me - but that they don't even seem to know what it is!

I'm in Germany, not in the states. They do not have a snail that looks like this one on their website so I've got no idea where the animal would have come from originally.

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

I guess you could go to a Seafood Market and get a Saltwater, Small Live, Oyster, Clam, or Mussel. Drop it in the tank and see what happens.

 

[Goaway]

Looks very much like a (predatory) whelk.

 

[Tavero]

Can you so a closeup of the house? Looks to me like a predators whelk. Had a similar one that killed all of other snails.

Gruss aus Deutschland und viel Glück bei der Rückerstattung.

 

[waitwut]

I can tell you're German because you called it a house

Here's a couple of photos. It made some half-hearted attempts to bury itself in the sand (I have a very shallow sand bed in the QT tank) and now spends most of its time wedged in cracks in the rockwork. Very un-nassarius-like behaviour...

I guess I'll throw it in the sump if it's definitely predatory. Not much else I can do with it, it was posted from Bavaria so I can't easily return it to the store.

Edit: I'm not even bothering to ask for a refund - the snails were only €3 but more importantly they would only give me store credit and I'm OBVIOUSLY not going to order from them again.

 

[paragrouper]

The consistent pattern on its trunk is worrisome. I wouldn’t put it in our tank just yet.

 

[Borat]

I guess you could go to a Seafood Market and get a Saltwater, Small Live, Oyster, Clam, or Mussel. Drop it in the tank and see what happens.

I regularly drop live oysters from supermarket into my sump.. there is no harm in doing it and they live for a few months possibly up to 6-9months..

 

[piranhaman00]

Cool snail

 

[Tavero]

I can tell you're German because you called it a house

Here's a couple of photos. It made some half-hearted attempts to bury itself in the sand (I have a very shallow sand bed in the QT tank) and now spends most of its time wedged in cracks in the rockwork. Very un-nassarius-like behaviour...

I guess I'll throw it in the sump if it's definitely predatory. Not much else I can do with it, it was posted from Bavaria so I can't easily return it to the store.

Edit: I'm not even bothering to ask for a refund - the snails were only €3 but more importantly they would only give me store credit and I'm OBVIOUSLY not going to order from them again.

Good call. The stripes on the trunk are suspicious. When i started with reefing 15 years ago a similar one came in my live rock as a hichhiker. I was wondering why i couldn't keep any snails alive in my tank until i caught it snacking on a bunch of euplica that i got from a friend.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I ordered several turbo snails from a store and they sent me this instead of one of them. To me it clearly looks like a whelk - I have a number of nassarius snails and this is substantially larger than them. It also has the lurching gait that you'd expect from a whelk (as opposed to the gliding of a nassarius).

I emailed the store and asked them to identify it - they said that they'd run out of turbo snails so they sent me this instead. They didn't seem to know exactly what it is but they insisted that it had been a good algae eater for them.

It's in my QT right now because I'm worried it will eat the other snails - am I right to be concerned? Is this a predatory whelk?

Regardless of the ID, the nassarius we want in our tanks are not algae eaters. There are MANY snails in the whelk/nassarius "family" that have made their way into the hobby in recent years that aren't the obligate scavengers we assume we're ordering... I'd get rid of this one for sure.

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

Your Snail looks like a Giant Western Nassa, (Nassarius Fassatus) They can Range from Baja Mexico all the way up to Canada. This would make it a Cold Water Snail, and a Predator, if that’s what it is. Do you have Red Leg Hermit Crabs? They will go after Nassarius, eat them and use their Snails. It’s behavior, maybe from trying to avoid being a Hermit Crab Meal.