Turbo snail with spikes? Eggs?

[Helms Reef]

Attached is a pic of my turbo with spikes on the shell. Is this normal? Also, I have millions of white specs everywhere. Are these eggs or something else bad? The specs are concerning as they are hard and seem to dissolve when removed.

 

[Isopod80]

Can you take some closer photos? The white specks are possibly Spirorbid worms, harmless filter feeders. The spikes on the snail could be vermatid snails or possibly colonial hydroids based on the description.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I see many spirobids when expanding your pic and they can be scraped off with an edge of a credit card into a net. Theyre also short lived.
The spiky things mention may be algae but the photo is too blue to confirm.

 

[Helms Reef]

How do I get rid of the spirobids? Also, I'll try to get a better pic tonight

 

[Isopod80]

How do I get rid of the spirobids? Also, I'll try to get a better pic tonight

You can just scrape them off. A credit card works well like vetteguy said.

 

[Helms Reef]

I see many spirobids when expanding your pic and they can be scraped off with an edge of a credit card into a net. Theyre also short lived.
The spiky things mention may be algae but the photo is too blue to confirm.

 

[Helms Reef]

 

[Isopod80]

They could be a colony of tiny colonial feather dusters but they're awfully small and dense. I'm betting on a colonial hydroid species. Here's an example of a similar hydroid species for comparison.

 

[Goaway]

They could be a colony of tiny colonial feather dusters but they're awfully small and dense. I'm betting on a colonial hydroid species.

Looks like they have calcium tubes. Feather worms is my vote. Harmless buggers

 

[Isopod80]

Looks like they have calcium tubes. Feather worms is my vote. Harmless buggers

Yeah, very possible. It's still hard to tell from the pics.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Wow- Bunch of tube worms !!
They use the fans to capture food and in this instance have colonized.

 

[JGT]

Pretty cool looking. Looks like a tribble from Star Trek.

 

[JGT]

For you younger folks

…

 

[Helms Reef]

Wow- Bunch of tube worms !!
They use the fans to capture food and in this instance have colonized.

Is that a good thing?

 

[Isopod80]

Is that a good thing?

Tubeworms are harmless filter feeders.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Is that a good thing?

Theres a point where they get to be Too many but of no harm to system