what the heck is this snail?

minitrucke

Member
My dad found this in the lfs tank and he asked what it was and they didnt know. He got it for free because nobody knew what it was. I am hoping that you guys can figure it out. I know these are not the best pics but its all I can get for right now untill I find my cameras battery charger.
Thanks, Josh
 

minitrucke

Member
Is that a good thing? My camera batt is charging now so Ill take better pics in a little bit. The snail hardly moves but when it does its very active .
Thanks, Josh
 

bang guy

Moderator

Originally posted by minitrucke
Is that a good thing?

Nope. They're pretty snails though. Perhaps a species-only tank.
 

minitrucke

Member
Hmm, what do they eat and why are they not a good thing to have in the tank? I have it in a nano tank and i have different types of corals on there like some sort of leather and sun coral and orange tree sponge and zoos and mushrooms. Any of this in danger?
 

pwnag3!!

Member
well that was fast... this is a whelk which i beleive they are closely related... anyways you get the idea
 

bang guy

Moderator
That Snail looks like a Cone Snail. I doubt you're going to find on in an aquarium unless your rock came from Australia.
 
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bigdogzack

Guest
I went to GOOGLE and entered "cone snail" in the "anvanced search" option and the second site on the subsequent list has the video submited along with a discription...
Envenomation by a cone snail
Venomous cone snails use a highly developed projectile apparatus to deliver their cocktail of toxic conotoxins into their prey. In fish-eating species such as Conus magus (seen below) the cone detects the presence of the fish using chemosensors in its siphon and when close enough extends its proboscis and fires a hollow harpoon-like tooth containing venom into the fish. This immobilizes the fish and enables the cone snail to wind it into its mouth via an attached filament. The fish is then digested.
A cone shell, Conus magus is seen with siphon (upper) and proboscis (lower) extended towards a small fish (gobie).
This animated GIF of 11 frames (228 KB) is an excerpt from a 2.2 MB QuickTime movie available on the Neurex Corp. homepage (Movie Duration = 12.33 seconds - takes approx. 18 minutes to download via 28.8K modem). You can download the movie here.
The photography was carried out in Dr. Baldomero Olivera's laboratory aquarium in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Permission to display this excerpt kindly given by Neurex Corp., Menlo Park, California.

[hr]
Reference :
A Cone Shell Catches Dinner - including Quick Time Movie 2.2 Mb . This movie shows the envenomation of a goldfish by Conus magus, using its proboscis to fire a poison dart (radula) into the small fish. The fish is then eaten ! (From Neurex Corp -Science and Publications - Articles). - [original article in Worth magazine].
Read about The Discovery and Development of SNX-111, the conotoxin from Conus magus that is being trialled for the treatment of chronic pain. [This article is excerpted from Worth Magazine "Pain, Profit and Sweet Relief - the story of a biotech company on the verge". by Craig Canine. Worth magazine, USA, March issue, 1997 pp.78-158. ]
 
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bigdogzack

Guest
also, murix snails drill a hole in there victom's shell (e.g. clams) and then eat them...
 
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