Id/Whelk?

[Frigideus]

From TBS Live Rock. Is this a whelk or something else? It hasn't harmed any of my other snails but the snout looks patterned so sadly I think it is a whelk. What should I do with pests like this?

 

[ReeferDog]

From TBS Live Rock. Is this a whelk or something else? It hasn't harmed any of my other snails but the snout looks patterned so sadly I think it is a whelk. What should I do with pests like this?

Never heard the term whelk, but looks like a nassarius snail to me. Good CUC member, burrows in the sand quite a bit and you can see the snorkel sticking out.

 

[Head-High and Glassy]

I got a few of these on my tbs rock a couple months ago. Haven't harmed anything that I can tell. They do seem to like tangoing with each other though.

 

[Frigideus]

here is one more photo. in this photo its easier to see its foot and snout.

 

[Gone Reefin’]

May want to tag TBS. They are active here. It does look like a whelk to me with the mottled snout. They list this as undesirable on their critter id.

 

[DJF]

Looks like one to me; can you flip it and get a pic?

 

[Frigideus]

Looks like one to me; can you flip it and get a pic?

flip it how? on its back?

 

[Frigideus]

flipped it over as best I could. @DJF

 

[DJF]

flipped it over as best I could. @DJF

ok I don’t see the curl of the shell I was expecting- I’m sort of leaning towards nassarius now but definitely let some others chime in.

 

[DJF]

Ref. https://www.melevsreef.com/articles/whelk-versus-nassarius

The tatttoed skin comment points to whelk

 

[Frigideus]

How do people dispose of pests? Watching it slowly die if I simply pull it out is kind of saddening, but I will hopefully wait for a couple more opinions before I send it to die.

 

[kevgib67]

Snout gives it away, whelk. Unlike nassarius you’ll notice it doesn’t go under the sand unless you feed like a nassarius.

 

[billyocean]

Sump it?

 

[Frigideus]

Sump it?

i want to, but wont he just crawl back up to the display eventually? is it fine to keep him down there with copepods?

 

[billyocean]

Not sure....nothings impossible but probably quite improbable

 

[painter1982]

How do people dispose of pests? Watching it slowly die if I simply pull it out is kind of saddening, but I will hopefully wait for a couple more opinions before I send it to die.

You can put in in a bag then freezer, Vinegar bath, smash it, or 91% rubbing alcohol.

 

[LiverockRocks Verified Sponsor]

Great photos!
Whelks are very common hitchhikers and thankfully easy to remove.
Sump it, donate to a LFS or give to someone with a mantis shrimp.

 

[Sophie"s mom]

I am almost certain it is a whelk! Sump it! Maybe @ISpeakForTheSeas can comment here!

 

[IceNein]

Nassarius snails ARE whelks. Most whelks are predatory. Nassarius species are not. Nassarius is a genus, and there are like hundreds of different species of them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nassarius

Nassarius, common name nassa mud snails (USA) or dog whelks (UK), is a genus of minute to medium-sized sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Nassariidae.[1] They are scavengers.

I saw this post earlier and didn't respond, because frankly given that there are so many different species of Nassarius, I am not qualified to tell you whether this one is one or not.

 

[BryanM]

Definitely an undesirable whelk.