sundial snail?

[birdmandan]

Is this a baby sundial snail? Found him on the glass after the lights went out. The only other snails in the tank are astraeas and turbos. Thanks!

 

[Shep]

It could be, has the right shape and color pattern.

 

[fungia_fiend]

Looks like a collonista to me.

 

[davejep]

I'd say no. The sundial snail has a very bold distinct pattern. As well the "trapdoor" that the snail uses to seal himself in is cone shaped on the sundial.

 

[Mike J.]

No, it's not a sundial snail. It looks like a Collinista Snail. Look here to see the difference. Collinista = good. Sundial = bad.
LionfishLair.com - Hitchhiker Guide to your Aquarium

 

[Shep]

If the picture was zoomed in a bit we could tell for sure. Sundial snails' shells look like they are made up of tiny boxes, while collonista snails' shells look like they are made up of parallel bars.

 

[fungia_fiend]

Also, the sundial is much flatter shaped. The collonistas are more rounded like a pea. I really think it's a collonista, but yes, a better picture would help a lot.

 

[fungia_fiend]

Collonistas also usually have a pit in the operculum. I won't be able to see that from the picture, but you could look closely at it.

 

[birdmandan]

Thanks for the input! I figured it wasn't. It did not have the trapdoor. I was worried because I had just put some new frags in the frag tank a few hours earlier. I always dip with lugol's but one can never be too sure.

 

[Lionfish Lair]

That's 100% collonista. It's a friend, so don't get rid of them. Take a peek after dark, many more will become visible as their population climbs.

 

[Lionfish Lair]

Oh wait, you already said you found him after dark. Yup, that's when they come out.... like vampires. You'll be surprised at how many there will be in the future. I just removed 100 from a 12 gallon tank. They were removed because I was breaking down that tank.

 

[FLNewbie]

Snail ID?

 

[Bret Brinkmann]

Colonista. I recently had some pop out of no where myself. I haven't even added anything to the tank in at least 6 months.