Open Brain eats Turbo

[broomer5]

I've got an Open Brain Coral - Trachyphyllia geoffroyi
This evening I walked by and did a quick look into the tank - and saw one of my large turbo snails being engulfed by the brain. There's a small ledge of live rock just above the coral, and I'm guessing it just fell in.
This is third time this has happened, although the other 2 times it was small hermit crabs - shell and all.
I feed the brain silversides or small shrimp pieces twice a week or so .... and it's doing very well since I got it about a year ago.
Anyone else ever have this happen ?
Will this cause any harm to the coral that you are aware of ?
Just curious - <img src="graemlins//confused.gif" border="0" alt="[confused]" />
Life's tough in the mini reef

 

[deuce_bigalo]

Does it spit the shell back out ?
I have a friend who was having a christmas party
at his house. He was showing his tank to some people and he fed his giant cup mushroom some frozen food.
When the mushroom closed up it happen to get his clown fish along with the food!!!
Needless to say he needed a new clown!!!
<img src="graemlins//eek.gif" border="0" alt="[eek]" />

 

[twoods71]

No kidding. Shell and all?
That must be a pretty good size open brain to suck up a large turbo.
I have a red open brain and he is no where near big enough to do something like that.

 

[lordofthereef]

life on the reef!! isn't it great??!!!!

 

[kris walker]

Hey broomer, does he spit the shell out?
sam

 

[broomer5]

twoods71,
It's a pretty good size brain coral when fully expanded. I had two, but one fell off, ripped the tissue, and it never did recover. You can see the one remaining on my webpage - 30 gallon tank - the one on the right.
Deuce_Bigalo, Surfin Sam and others.
YES it eats the whole thing - shell and all.
The brain sits on a rather large flat piece of live rock, about the size of a frisbie. There are no other corals even near it. As I mentioned, there's rock behind it, like a shelf, and the brain is sorta under this ledge. I placed it there closer to the lighting. The 3 times this has happened, there are never a sign of a shell around it - I've looked closely - nothing.
I checked it out this morning - nothing.
Oh well ........ funky !!!!
Think they natually live on sandy bottoms. Better move it down to the sand and watch it.
Thanks all

 

[von_rahvin]

WOW that is amazing!! i never heard of that before.
also that guy just let the mushroom eat his fish?? I think i would have chased the fish out of it or something.

 

[templar]

Since I got my green open brain I've been feeding him pieces of krill or silversides maybe once every 2 weeks. When I first bought him he had a nice round oval base. The other day I wanted to move him over a little and to my surprise, roughly 2 months later, his base had expanded downward into the sand, like straight down it's weird. Needless to say I just pushed him over a little not to disrupt his base. So I think that they really flourish best in sandbeds, and with the company of my cinnamon clown that prefers the brain over the bubble tip!