Need help ID'ing Nassarius vs Whelks

[MelissaB.]

Hey everyone! Last Friday I got the 1st part of Tampa Bay Saltwater "The package lite" to start my tank with. I found a few snails, which 2 of the dark colored ones in the pic below in the cup on the right look to be Whelks as they have a mottled proboscis. I found the 2 whelks at night time cruising the rocks and took them out. But during the day today, I spotted the snail in the left cup crawling on the glass. I can't tell if the light colored one is a Nassarius snail or if its another Whelk? Both the shell and it's proboscis/body is much lighter than the 2 Whelks on the right and I found it during the day on the glass instead of at night when I found the Whelks. Can someone please help me ID the light colored one, as I'm not sure if I should put that one back in the tank or not? Thanks!

 

[Baldyreef]

any closer photos? the resolution make its hard the details needed to identify when zoomed in

 

[MelissaB.]

any closer photos? the resolution make its hard the details needed to identify when zoomed in

Thanks for your reply! I really SUCK at taking photos, I don't know how to take a good pic lol... I have a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, so you'd think the pics would come out better. When I zoom in more, I feel like the pics just get more blurry. I can try to take a better pic, but I doubt I'll be able to

 

[Baldyreef]

what kind of behaviour have you seen out of the possible nassarius? has it been burying itself in the sand or more of a glass/rock climber
does the ligher one have a trapdoor attached to its tail?

 

[MelissaB.]

what kind of behaviour have you seen out of the possible nassarius? has it been burying itself in the sand or more of a glass/rock climber
does the ligher one have a trapdoor attached to its tail?

It buries itself it the sand then I've found them climbing the glass. I just found a second one now that looks like the other one but smaller. I just added that one to the collection cup too and tried taking better pics

 

[Baldyreef]

It buries itself it the sand then I've found them climbing the glass. I just found a second one now that looks like the other one but smaller. I just added that one to the collection cup too and tried taking better pics

smaller one is definitely a whelk, as for the larger one its hard for me to see the proboscis but it seems to have a trapdoor (operculum) like the others which is something nassaruis snails lack so id say just a interestingly lighter whelk

 

[MelissaB.]

smaller one is definitely a whelk, as for the larger one its hard for me to see the proboscis but it seems to have a trapdoor (operculum) like the others which is something nassaruis snails lack so id say just a interestingly lighter whelk

Thanks so much for your help!

 

[Aqua Ultraviolet]

Hey everyone! Last Friday I got the 1st part of Tampa Bay Saltwater "The package lite" to start my tank with. I found a few snails, which 2 of the dark colored ones in the pic below in the cup on the right look to be Whelks as they have a mottled proboscis. I found the 2 whelks at night time cruising the rocks and took them out. But during the day today, I spotted the snail in the left cup crawling on the glass. I can't tell if the light colored one is a Nassarius snail or if its another Whelk? Both the shell and it's proboscis/body is much lighter than the 2 Whelks on the right and I found it during the day on the glass instead of at night when I found the Whelks. Can someone please help me ID the light colored one, as I'm not sure if I should put that one back in the tank or not? Thanks!

Tough to tell from these photos, but the pale one doesn’t look like your dark whelks. A clear shot of the underside (foot) and the shell opening would help. Nassarius usually bury in the sand with just the siphon showing and have a split, two-pointed back end on the foot. Until you know for sure, I’d keep it in the cup rather than risk putting a predator in your tank.