Unknown type of snail

rkscrapaddict · Oct 3, 2022

Yesterday I picked up a tiny shell on the beach, thought it was empty. Carried it in my hand an hour, rinsed it with fresh water and then it was in a plastic bag for like the next 8 hrs. When I got home, I took it out & was looking at it & thought wow, what is that red inside? I touched it with my fingernail & it sort of flinched. Now it’s been in a cup of our saltwater from our tank for 24 hrs with a little flake food. It’s currently almost at the top of the cup & idk what to do with it! I wish I had seen it had something living in it earlier so I could’ve left it on the beach. Any ideas what it is? I don’t want to put it in our tank if it’s dangerous for our fish.

tbrown · Oct 3, 2022

Look up Horse Conch. Kinda small for it, but looks pretty similar.

Edit: Horse Conch is a Tulip Snail variety. Maybe it's a Tulip Snail.

WheatToast · Oct 4, 2022

tbrown3589 said:
Look up Horse Conch. Kinda small for it, but looks pretty similar.

Edit: Horse Conch is a Tulip Snail variety. Maybe it's a Tulip Snail.

+1.
These are all predatory snails that feed on other mollusks. Returning it to the ocean is no longer an option, as it may have come in contact with nonnative pathogens from the aquarium. It could be a nice sump inhabitant if you have one.