Baby mystery snail/whelk ID please

Petrichor

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Found this guy on my glass today and was wondering what it could be. I haven't added anything in probably 2-3 months, one which was a clump of Dragons' Breath/Chaeto macroalgae.

Current list of snails is as follows:
5-7 Ceriths
1 Bumblebee
1 Magherita (maybe 2?)
2 Money Cowrie

It looks almost like a Nassarius just by the shell shape and proboscis (mouth end?), but I haven't had a Nassarius for years. All my corals look fine as well, so I assume if it's a nasty snail then it's out on my glass looking for something tastey.

(Ignore the chalice behind it. It was a freebie that did not survive shipping and I haven't taken it out yet).
 
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Petrichor

Petrichor

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whelk2.jpg


Of course right after posting the little guy decides to give me a good profile view. It is on the back of an empty Nerite snail shell (for scale). On further note, it appears to be eating algae off the glass? That section is right behind my frag rack, so it hasn't been cleaned in a while.
 

Isopod80

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The pics are really tiny but from the profile it looks like a nassarius snail to me. Sometimes they can hitchhike in. Detritivore/scavenger not algae eater. There's always a possibility it could be a predatory whelk as well. Could you post some larger pics?
 
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Petrichor

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The pics are really tiny but from the profile it looks like a nassarius snail to me. Sometimes they can hitchhike in. Detritivore not algae eater. Can you post some larger pics?
Sorry, here's each photo blown up twice as large. They're the best I can take at the moment due to combination crappy phone and dirty glass/algae. Right now the snail is in an even worse picture location, so if it ever moves over to cleaner glass I'll try to grab more photos.
 

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Isopod80

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Search Nassarius vibex for comparison. Young vibex tend to have a white shell that darkens slightly as they age. That's my guess from what I can see.
 
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Petrichor

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Finally got a non-algae blocking picture. I'm pretty sure you're right and it's some sort of nassarius, with a second guess being a cerith since it's on the glass munching algae. Either way it can stay in the tank, and I'll see if it survives to adulthood.
 

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Isopod80

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It's definitely not a cerith. They don't have the tubelike mouths. I still think it's N. vibex.
 

Isopod80

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The problem is that the shell is one of the best identifiers. Photos of the underside make it tougher.
 

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