reefmontalvo May 12, 2009 Share May 12, 2009 (edited) This past weekend I upgraded from a 75 gallon to a 120 gallon tank. In the process of moving everything over discovered I had some good things and bad things. Got a few frags I'm most likely gonna place for sale but more importantly I came across a snail I remember buying at an establishment here in VA ( Dont ask I will not disclose). Some time back I purchased what I thought were 15 or so nassarius snails, but one of them was really huge and had a different pattern on its shell and the salesman and I thought maybe he was just a good eater since it had the trunk like the other just a shell looking a bit differnet then the rest. Thinking nothing of it I threw it in the 75g tank. I even placed a queen conch in the 75g tank and have had no problems, but I did notice after making the new transfer to a larger 120g tank I only had about 10 large nassarius snails from the 30 or so I have purchased in the past and I saw no signs of the babies they were once roaming around. My thing is after seeing that snail last week and picking it up I did a quick examination and then threw him in the new tank not realizing the snail could have killed me with one sting. I did some research and realized I have what believe is a cone snail in my tank. My question is how would I get him out of the tank with out literally breaking the tank down? O r should I just leave him alone since it has never caused any threat to the fish in the tank? Edited May 12, 2009 by reefmontalvo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k May 12, 2009 Share May 12, 2009 All Cone snails aren't deadly. If you are careful while playing in the sand, you'll be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan May 12, 2009 Share May 12, 2009 This past weekend I upgraded from a 75 gallon to a 120 gallon tank. In the process of moving everything over discovered I had some good things and bad things. Got a few frags I'm most likely gonna place for sale but more importantly I came across a snail I remember buying at an establishment here in VA ( Dont ask I will not disclose). Some time back I purchased what I thought were 15 or so nassarius snails, but one of them was really huge and had a different pattern on its shell and the salesman and I thought maybe he was just a good eater since it had the trunk like the other just a shell looking a bit differnet then the rest. Thinking nothing of it I threw it in the 75g tank. I even placed a queen conch in the 75g tank and have had no problems, but I did notice after making the new transfer to a larger 120g tank I only had about 10 large nassarius snails from the 30 or so I have purchased in the past and I saw no signs of the babies they were once roaming around. My thing is after seeing that snail last week and picking it up I did a quick examination and then threw him in the new tank not realizing the snail could have killed me with one sting. I did some research and realized I have what believe is a cone snail in my tank. My question is how would I get him out of the tank with out literally breaking the tank down? O r should I just leave him alone since it has never caused any threat to the fish in the tank? If it were me and I were uncomfortable or unsure of what I had. If I thought it was something that could harm me, I'd err in the side of caution. I'd remove the snail when I saw it again. I'd be very careful when having to sift through or manipulate the sand in anyway until I caught the snail. After I caught it I'd offer it to an aquarium or someplace that knows how to handle it, not the LFS that would sell it. I would not feel comfortable saying that it isn't what you think it is unless I were a marine biologist or some other professional along those lines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugar Magnolia May 12, 2009 Share May 12, 2009 Are you sure it's a cone snail? Could it be an olive snail? They look very similar to cone snails, and it's pretty rare to find a cone snail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leishman May 12, 2009 Share May 12, 2009 Removal should be easy: Put your hand in the sand 'till it sticks you remove hand from tank remove pest from finger flush said pest down the toilet Have a family drive you to the ER (or call 911) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amuze May 12, 2009 Share May 12, 2009 Lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan May 12, 2009 Share May 12, 2009 Removal should be easy: Put your hand in the sand 'till it sticks you remove hand from tank remove pest from finger flush said pest down the toilet Have a family drive you to the ER (or call 911) There you go. Fast and simple....LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k May 12, 2009 Share May 12, 2009 (edited) If you'd like to get rid of the potential cone snail, I'll give you a zoa frag for it. Edited May 12, 2009 by zygote2k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami May 12, 2009 Share May 12, 2009 Chris, can you get a picture of it to post? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefmontalvo May 12, 2009 Author Share May 12, 2009 Are you sure it's a cone snail? Could it be an olive snail? They look very similar to cone snails, and it's pretty rare to find a cone snail. I will do more research on seeing if it's an Olive snail. Removal should be easy: Put your hand in the sand 'till it sticks you remove hand from tank remove pest from finger flush said pest down the toilet Have a family drive you to the ER (or call 911) Yeah funny you said that I had a dream the sucker jabbed me. They do expel a harpoon tied to a venom sac. I was checking my finger all night looking for a sore spot. If you'd like to get rid of the potential cone snail, I'll give you a zoa frag for it. Depends on what you got I got some pretty neet zoas colonies. That are both colorful and rare. Chris, can you get a picture of it to post? Tom, I will try to find him and take a photo. Somethign told me to take its photo the day I was moving him from the old tank. But it is a good size snail about 3.5" in length and about an inch wide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L8 2 RISE May 12, 2009 Share May 12, 2009 If you'd like to get rid of the potential cone snail, I'll give you a zoa frag for it. Beat me to it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman May 12, 2009 Share May 12, 2009 This past weekend I upgraded from a 75 gallon to a 120 gallon tank. In the process of moving everything over discovered I had some good things and bad things. Got a few frags I'm most likely gonna place for sale but more importantly I came across a snail I remember buying at an establishment here in VA ( Dont ask I will not disclose). Some time back I purchased what I thought were 15 or so nassarius snails, but one of them was really huge and had a different pattern on its shell and the salesman and I thought maybe he was just a good eater since it had the trunk like the other just a shell looking a bit differnet then the rest. Thinking nothing of it I threw it in the 75g tank. I even placed a queen conch in the 75g tank and have had no problems, but I did notice after making the new transfer to a larger 120g tank I only had about 10 large nassarius snails from the 30 or so I have purchased in the past and I saw no signs of the babies they were once roaming around. My thing is after seeing that snail last week and picking it up I did a quick examination and then threw him in the new tank not realizing the snail could have killed me with one sting. I did some research and realized I have what believe is a cone snail in my tank. My question is how would I get him out of the tank with out literally breaking the tank down? O r should I just leave him alone since it has never caused any threat to the fish in the tank? Do you have a picture?? The only cones that could probably really hurt you are Conus Textilus and Conus Gloriamaris. If it is a Gloria-Maris, I'll give you $50 for it. At one time the dead, empty shells sold for $2000. Handle by the blunt end only, and you have nothing to worry about. I have many cone shells in my seashell collection, and most of them can only kill minnows. On a good day. But I reckon it would still hurt. And yes - they do like to kill snails. bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefmontalvo May 12, 2009 Author Share May 12, 2009 Do you have a picture?? The only cones that could probably really hurt you are Conus Textilus and Conus Gloriamaris. If it is a Gloria-Maris, I'll give you $50 for it. At one time the dead, empty shells sold for $2000. Handle by the blunt end only, and you have nothing to worry about. I have many cone shells in my seashell collection, and most of them can only kill minnows. On a good day. But I reckon it would still hurt. And yes - they do like to kill snails. bob Well so far I only found the Queen. But I plan on trying to find the guy on my days off. I really have no plans to sell him but crazier things have happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefmontalvo May 13, 2009 Author Share May 13, 2009 After sifting thru the photos and doing lots of research I did some searching in the tank and found the snail. Now how do I upload the pictures? I know this is silly but I never posted photos on here and when I try to system always has some type of fault. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blaze98 May 13, 2009 Share May 13, 2009 I normally host to photobucket and just paste the Img tag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami May 13, 2009 Share May 13, 2009 I set up an album in the members' gallery area (there's a quick link near the top of my page that says "My Albums"). Then, I "Insert Gallery Image" using one of the icons in the Fast Reply or Reply box (it's the one that looks like a picture with the number "2" shown). When you click on the icon, it brings up another pop-up window where you can select the image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefmontalvo May 13, 2009 Author Share May 13, 2009 I set up an album in the members' gallery area (there's a quick link near the top of my page that says "My Albums"). Then, I "Insert Gallery Image" using one of the icons in the Fast Reply or Reply box (it's the one that looks like a picture with the number "2" shown). When you click on the icon, it brings up another pop-up window where you can select the image. Tom, I made the album now how do I post it on the forum? I called it "Possible Cone Snail". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L8 2 RISE May 13, 2009 Share May 13, 2009 easiest way is to use photobucket, otherwise, Jason explained it best: http://www.wamas.org/forums/index.php?show...photo+uploading Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman May 13, 2009 Share May 13, 2009 +1 ... I wrestled with it until I got onto Photobucket. They have a pre-built image tag, you just click on to copy. bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefmontalvo May 13, 2009 Author Share May 13, 2009 easiest way is to use photobucket, otherwise, Jason explained it best: http://www.wamas.org/forums/index.php?show...photo+uploading I tried that way but it was way too confusing since the photos arent there. +1 ... I wrestled with it until I got onto Photobucket. They have a pre-built image tag, you just click on to copy. bob And I think I will need to get a photo bucket account. But I was able to load them to the my albums section. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefmontalvo May 13, 2009 Author Share May 13, 2009 (edited) This is after I sifted in the sand and found him. The snail mainly stay under the sand. I knwo it moves fast becasue after these photos were taken it the period of about 2 minutes or less the snail was gone. And there was no trace in the sand of were it could have gone. Edited May 13, 2009 by reefmontalvo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan May 13, 2009 Share May 13, 2009 Seems as though you definately have a cone snail. I found these articles and photos for you to read. See the shell on the bottom left http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt...sa%3DN%26um%3D1 See the shell on the top right http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt...sa%3DN%26um%3D1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan May 13, 2009 Share May 13, 2009 Olive snail? Looks more like an Olive snail http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt...t%3D20%26um%3D1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnybv May 13, 2009 Share May 13, 2009 looks like an olive snail to me, the shape is different than the pictures of the cone snails. I would still handle with care, but it looks like you are already handling it in the pictures, and I think you are still alive.... john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefmontalvo May 13, 2009 Author Share May 13, 2009 Yup that's what I got the articel was pretty neat. I guess this whole time it was eating bristtle worms and anything else it wanted. It has never gone after any of the fish. with my luck I probably jinxed my self and will have residents come up missing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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