davelin315 August 12, 2012 Share August 12, 2012 I found that the whelks have a pretty tough shell for the mantis shrimp to break through unless they are significantly different in size, meaning the snail wouldn't make much of a meal for the mantis. When I did feed them to mantises, I would crack them so that it could get into the shell itself to eat them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan August 13, 2012 Share August 13, 2012 Yes, I definitely have an infestation. I caught them all at 3am. the only way I could see so many was hours after lights out. That one shell at about 3 o'clock was empty that's why it's part of the mix. Yes, it was a different snail. What I read was that there will be 6 rings on the shell of a dog whelk. I caught 3 more large ones tonight. I'm planning on baiting the tank at night and then turning on the lights a couple of hours later to see what surfaces. I don't know of another way to catch them. I had no idea these were bad snails. Thanks If you've got that many, you've got an infestation. You'll see them at night crawling around and they are very good at hiding during the daytime. FYI, one of the shells pictured may not be the "bad" whelk based on the shell. They usually have some sort of lip on the shell, at least the ones we commonly see, and one shell on the middle right facing up didn't seem to have it. You can see some of the other shells have that "hairy" appearance as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icecool2 August 13, 2012 Share August 13, 2012 They aren't toooo "bad" per se. They can be though. The problem with whelks is that they can bore into the shells of your other snails and eat them. I used to just toss them in my sump to keep it clean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimlin August 13, 2012 Share August 13, 2012 whelk only snail clean up crew would be ok then? They wont hurt the corals? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaddc August 13, 2012 Share August 13, 2012 Whelks have a taste for meat, so I don't think they be very effective at eating algae and detritus -- but someone should check me on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der ABT August 14, 2012 Share August 14, 2012 ok so are these whelks or ok snails...im hoping ok but guessing whelks...thankfully they havent touched my clam but still wondering....they are out all day every day not just night. sorry for the crappy cell pic...hopefully i dont have to go crazy to help curb the stupid things... (also the snail eggs are like little white circles not like the ones jan posted well the eggs ive seen at least) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icecool2 August 14, 2012 Share August 14, 2012 Whelks have a taste for meat, so I don't think they be very effective at eating algae and detritus -- but someone should check me on that. They are 100% carnivorous. They are effective at cleaning up meaty scraps that may wind up in your sump. If that isn't likely to happen, they will starve. ok so are these whelks or ok snails...im hoping ok but guessing whelks...thankfully they havent touched my clam but still wondering....they are out all day every day not just night. sorry for the crappy cell pic...hopefully i dont have to go crazy to help curb the stupid things... (also the snail eggs are like little white circles not like the ones jan posted well the eggs ive seen at least) You can ID a whelk most easily by its eye. If you can see a well-defined eyeball, it is NOT a whelk. If you just see the dot of the eye, it is a whelk. Now, keep in mind that nassarius vibex is a whelk species, but it very welcome in our tanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der ABT August 14, 2012 Share August 14, 2012 (edited) Adv Aq Collumbellid snail think i may have found my own id for these guys based mainly on the eggs sheesh maybe i could make a business out of these things...they reproduce like crazy in my tank Collumbellid ill have to look for the eye when i get home Edited August 14, 2012 by Der ABT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hbh August 14, 2012 Share August 14, 2012 Well, to add to the discussion, I have the black ones pictured at the beginning. They ate the red slime/mat/film that had developed in my tank and brought it under control. I had tried other things like removing it or scrubbing but to no avail. Put 6 of these in and in a week it was gone. They bury themselves at night and come out when I turn the lights on fully. I have another tank with both tiny snails and these but haven't seen any predatory or overly reproductive issues. On the other hand my nassarius don't ever last more than a month while both of these types last and reproduce reasonably. Do we have a pinned topic with photos.and descriptions for good vs. bad vs. caution with these parameters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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