Unwelcome Whelk?

[BigCitySmallReef]

I just picked these guys up from the LFS. They were sold as nassarius and I was pretty clear that I wanted nassarius to help keep my sand bed stirred a little. I snapped this photo when I thought they were fighting or, *eh hem*, making babies, and now I’m not sure if they’re the infamous clam eating whelks or the actual snails I wanted. The pattern is what made me question the type. Any snail experts out there?

 

[aKlevans]

Looks like whelks to me. Notice the small foot.
The exact same thing happened to me not that long ago. It killed off half of my snails before I even realized something was wrong. luckily it was only one.

 

[TheEngineer]

Hmmm. The tattooed looking skin says whelk, but I don’t see eyes on those stalks (or whatever they are called). Another clue is their door. Do they have a trap door attached to their foot or attached to their shell?

Can you get a better picture of the shell?

 

[John3]

From my experience whelks don’t dig into the sand. Nassirus snails pretty much live in the sand and only come out when food goes into the tank or when the tank is dark.

So where have these snailsbeen hanging out?

 

[BigCitySmallReef]

Yeah, they haven’t once dug into the sand. Pretty much moving around on the rock and glass. Not sure if this picture will help.

 

[TheEngineer]

Nope Need to see it from the top down

 

[BigCitySmallReef]

Nope Need to see it from the top down

Best I could do for now. Almost dropped my phone in the tank [emoji28]

 

[TheEngineer]

Well don’t do that!

I can’t say definitely but that does look like a whelk to me. Nassarius snails don’t have sharp points like that. They don’t have tattooed skin either. If you can see the trap door that would seal it.

 

[BigCitySmallReef]

Well don’t do that!

I can’t say definitely but that does look like a whelk to me. Nassarius snails don’t have sharp points like that. They don’t have tattooed skin either. If you can see the trap door that would seal it.

[emoji24]

 

[TheEngineer]

So very blue!

Pretty sure that’s a whelk. Hard to see but that door does not look attached to the shell. Suggest you take them back.

 

[BigCitySmallReef]

Haha, this late at night my tank is almost all blue so my color correcting app has a hard time keeping up. Yeah, it was def not attached to the shell. I'll call tomorrow and see what they can do. Thanks to everyone for the input!

 

[BigCitySmallReef]

per LFS:
In the first picture you sent over you can see a small gold or yellowish plate that is the trap door. These are all nassarius snails. Tongan variety are light in color this is not a tongan just another color from another area of the globe.

 

[Jose Mayo]

Whelk (Nucella lapillus), for me.

 

[BigCitySmallReef]

The *******!

 

[TheEngineer]

Whelks eat other snails. It’s a whelk.

 

[Ranjib]

Its definitely not a nassarius snail. Take it out

 

[reef lover]

Wow!! Show that pic to the lfs...someone needs to school them...

 

[BigCitySmallReef]

Wow!! Show that pic to the lfs...someone needs to school them...

Yeah, it's killed that astrea snail by this morning. Showed the LFS the photo last night and gave them this thread to follow, and they still say they're nassarius but offered to take them back and replace the astrea

 

[TheEngineer]

That’s good they’re taking it back and replacing the killed snail. Best bet is to be very certain of what you buy in the future. Don’t trust a label.

 

[Brad Vaughn]

They will multiply. Get them out. They hide on the underside of rocks, fyi.