Help ID this snail. They are eating all of my Turbo's

Charlene · 01/14/2014, 08:25 AM

Please help me to identify this snail. I bought 6 of them for my 400 gallon tank and they have eaten a bunch (over 20) of my turbo and other snails. I was told they were conchs however they don't seem to move like I would expect them to.

Spyderturbo007 · 01/14/2014, 08:36 AM

Looks like it may be a Crown Conch from the pictures I looked at online, which is predatory.

ReefCleaners has this to say about them:

Crown Conchs - A predatory snail that will eat other herbivorous snails, leaving your tank with algae. They are also cannibalistic. The largest online vendor has confused these with Fighting Conchs, and they have begun to give the correct species a bad name.

I would take them back and demand a refund for your lost turbo snails. That's ridiculous that the LFS didn't label them correctly or at least inform you that they will eat all your snails.

Lowefx · 01/14/2014, 08:40 AM

Charlene · 01/14/2014, 08:52 AM

Lowefx don't tell me you suspect this is a cone snail? They are very dangerous im told.

Rutrag · 01/14/2014, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charlene

Lowefx don't tell me you suspect this is a cone snail? They are very dangerous im told.

It's not a cone snail, I'm sure, but could be the aforementioned crown conch or perhaps some kind of whelk.

Charlene · 01/14/2014, 12:46 PM

Whatever they are. They REALLY enjoy eating my snails. I pulled all six of them out of the tank. I'm down to a handful of snails. Time to restock :-).

cloak · 01/14/2014, 01:02 PM

If you haven't already, you might want to post these pictures in the Other Invertebrates Forum. There's a few people there that are very good at identifying things for people.

Sugar Magnolia · 01/14/2014, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cloak

If you haven't already, you might want to post these pictures in the Other Invertebrates Forum. There's a few people there that are very good at identifying things for people.

Specifically PagoJoe. You can also send him a PM with a link to this thread and he'll ID the snail for you.

Breadman03 · 01/14/2014, 01:26 PM

That is a crown conch. I owned one for a bit and watched it chow down on almost all of my snails. Spyderturbo nailed the ID. It will happily eat every snail in your tank.

I can pull the empty shell from my sump if you would like to see a picture.

A rule of thumb for conchs is eyes that look like a person's eye are safe. The rest aren't.

Khemul · 01/14/2014, 03:02 PM

Yep, Crown Conch. Well, it's a Whelk, but the common name is Crown Conch, which does lead to a bit of confusion.

Breadman03 · 01/14/2014, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Khemul

Yep, Crown Conch. Well, it's a Whelk, but the common name is Crown Conch, which does lead to a bit of confusion.

I actually just came back to the thread to mention the "whelk" bit.

Misled · 01/14/2014, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Khemul

it's a Whelk

Yep.

KafudaFish · 01/14/2014, 07:36 PM

You should name him Lawrence.

Misled · 01/14/2014, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KafudaFish

You should name him Lawrence.

Does he blow bubbles???

Breadman03 · 01/14/2014, 07:57 PM

Lotsa Loungers escaping today!

PDBB got discontinued at work last week.

KafudaFish · 01/14/2014, 08:01 PM

Yes.

downbeach · 01/15/2014, 06:39 AM

Conch: Eye at the end of the stem

Whelk: Eye about in the middle of the stem.

Meanmike · 01/15/2014, 07:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spyderturbo007

Looks like it may be a Crown Conch from the pictures I looked at online, which is predatory.

ReefCleaners has this to say about them:

Crown Conchs - A predatory snail that will eat other herbivorous snails, leaving your tank with algae. They are also cannibalistic. The largest online vendor has confused these with Fighting Conchs, and they have begun to give the correct species a bad name.

I would take them back and demand a refund for your lost turbo snails. That's ridiculous that the LFS didn't label them correctly or at least inform you that they will eat all your snails.

Curious as to who the largest online vendor they are referring to? I thought that title belonged to Liveaquaria which IME does not sell crown conchs. Does anyone know?

Charlene · 01/15/2014, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by downbeach

Conch: Eye at the end of the stem

Whelk: Eye about in the middle of the stem.

Thanks. This is really helpful. I live and learn. I pulled another one out. That's number 7. Can't recall how many i purchased but I believe it was 8. One more to find or perhaps it's gone. I was shopping with 2 guys who have been in the hobby a long time and they didn't realize these were bad at the time. They went in as my initial cleanup crew. Tank is still pretty new. It's been running for about a year now. Look close in the middle of picture and you can see one of the welks.

Here's a picture:

pagojoe · 01/16/2014, 02:46 PM

I see you already got a bunch of good answers. Yes, it's a "Crown Conch" which isn't really a conch at all, it's a Melongena, which is related to the whelks (same superfamily). They're really effective snail killers.

Cheers,

Don

01/14/2014, 08:25 AM	#1
Charlene Certified Reef Fanatic Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Peoria, il Posts: 220	Help ID this snail. They are eating all of my Turbo's Please help me to identify this snail. I bought 6 of them for my 400 gallon tank and they have eaten a bunch (over 20) of my turbo and other snails. I was told they were conchs however they don't seem to move like I would expect them to.

01/14/2014, 08:36 AM	#2
Spyderturbo007 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: PA Posts: 2,564	Looks like it may be a Crown Conch from the pictures I looked at online, which is predatory. ReefCleaners has this to say about them: Crown Conchs - A predatory snail that will eat other herbivorous snails, leaving your tank with algae. They are also cannibalistic. The largest online vendor has confused these with Fighting Conchs, and they have begun to give the correct species a bad name. I would take them back and demand a refund for your lost turbo snails. That's ridiculous that the LFS didn't label them correctly or at least inform you that they will eat all your snails.

01/14/2014, 08:40 AM	#3
Lowefx Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Winchester, VA Posts: 695

01/14/2014, 08:52 AM	#4
Charlene Certified Reef Fanatic Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Peoria, il Posts: 220	Lowefx don't tell me you suspect this is a cone snail? They are very dangerous im told.

01/14/2014, 12:46 PM	#6
Charlene Certified Reef Fanatic Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Peoria, il Posts: 220	Whatever they are. They REALLY enjoy eating my snails. I pulled all six of them out of the tank. I'm down to a handful of snails. Time to restock :-).

01/14/2014, 01:02 PM	#7
cloak Moved On Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Stockton, CA Posts: 14,854	If you haven't already, you might want to post these pictures in the Other Invertebrates Forum. There's a few people there that are very good at identifying things for people.

01/14/2014, 01:26 PM	#9
Breadman03 New Old School Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Luzerne County, PA Posts: 3,293	That is a crown conch. I owned one for a bit and watched it chow down on almost all of my snails. Spyderturbo nailed the ID. It will happily eat every snail in your tank. I can pull the empty shell from my sump if you would like to see a picture. A rule of thumb for conchs is eyes that look like a person's eye are safe. The rest aren't.

01/14/2014, 03:02 PM	#10
Khemul Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL Posts: 988	Yep, Crown Conch. Well, it's a Whelk, but the common name is Crown Conch, which does lead to a bit of confusion.

01/14/2014, 07:36 PM	#13
KafudaFish Cyprinius carpio Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 4,496	You should name him Lawrence.

01/14/2014, 07:57 PM	#15
Breadman03 New Old School Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Luzerne County, PA Posts: 3,293	Lotsa Loungers escaping today! PDBB got discontinued at work last week.

01/14/2014, 08:01 PM	#16
KafudaFish Cyprinius carpio Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 4,496	Yes.

01/15/2014, 06:39 AM	#17
downbeach Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Smyrna, Delaware Posts: 3,767	Conch: Eye at the end of the stem Whelk: Eye about in the middle of the stem.

01/16/2014, 02:46 PM	#20
pagojoe Team RC Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Conroe, TX Posts: 2,761	I see you already got a bunch of good answers. Yes, it's a "Crown Conch" which isn't really a conch at all, it's a Melongena, which is related to the whelks (same superfamily). They're really effective snail killers. Cheers, Don