Sundial Snail?

[Zakary2003]

I bought a mixed zoa colony from an online store I have no experience with. They threw in an extra frag. It had a snail on it. Is this a sundial snail? I used Coral Dip X. Will that kill it or any eggs that may be left behind?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I can't quite see the operculum clearly enough to say for sure, but it looks likely to be a Sunidal Snail, yeah:

Sundial snails prey on cnidarians like corals and anemones, but they do look fairly similar to Colloniid snails (and some others from the Trochoidea superfamily). That said, aside from their operculums which are a highly distinctive feature (the "horn"/"cone"/"rattlesnake rattle" shaped thing they close the entrance to their shells with - see the links below for examples), these are some other ways to differentiate them:

Also, for what it's worth, sundial snails (taxonomic family Architectonicidae) -even the more plain ones - are typically very, very ornate with their shell color, color pattern, shape, texture, etc. Many of them also basically have a flat, disk-like shell, and the ones that don't typically have shells that go basically straight up with their heads tucked in pretty far under their shells (so it'd be hard to see their heads/where their heads are popping out at under the shell in pics like the ones you've got above - with your snails, you can see the head pretty clearly despite it not sticking out very far at all). These are generalizations and probably don't hold true in all cases, but it's what I've seen across probably a few dozen species so far.

Sundial snails (Architectonicidae) on Singapore shores

Fact sheet with photos on flora and fauna of Singapore's intertidal shores

www.wildsingapore.com

Sundial Snails - tiny predators - Reef Central Online Community

Sundial Snails - tiny predators Reef Discussion

reefcentral.com

I doubt a dip would kill the snail outright, and I seriously doubt it would kill any eggs.

 

[Zakary2003]

I can't quite see the operculum clearly enough to say for sure, but it looks likely to be a Sunidal Snail, yeah:



I doubt a dip would kill the snail outright, and I seriously doubt it would kill any eggs.

Thanks! I tried taking a better picture of the operculum. Is this more usable?
What's the protocol for eradication? Just manually remove whatever you see?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Thanks! I tried taking a better picture of the operculum. Is this more usable?
What's the protocol for eradication? Just manually remove whatever you see?

Yeah - the operculum is still a bit blurry, but it looks like the typical "stacked circles" shape I'm used to with Sundials. So, I'd say that looks like a Sundial to me, probably a Heliacus species.

I'm not sure what the protocol would be other than manual removal (or sacrificing your other snails to add snail predators to the tank)l

 

[UMALUM]

I bought a mixed zoa colony from an online store I have no experience with. They threw in an extra frag. It had a snail on it. Is this a sundial snail? I used Coral Dip X. Will that kill it or any eggs that may be left behind?

I'll buy it from you if it's still alive

 

[Zakary2003]

I'll buy it from you if it's still alive

You'll buy the snail? Or the colony? The zoa colony is doing fine and I'm keeping it.

 

[UMALUM]

You'll buy the snail? Or the colony? The zoa colony is doing fine and I'm keeping it.

Snail

 

[Zakary2003]

Snail

Yeah, the snail is still alive. It was dipped in coral dip but seems unaffected. Why do you want it? I'd be happy to give it to you if you tell me how to get it to you. Just cover the shipping fee if it needs shipped. I actually prefer not to kill reef pests because they're still usually pretty neat critters.

 

[UMALUM]

Yeah, the snail is still alive. It was dipped in coral dip but seems unaffected. Why do you want it? I'd be happy to give it to you if you tell me how to get it to you. Just cover the shipping fee if it needs shipped. I actually prefer not to kill reef pests because they're still usually pretty neat critters.

I want him for the same reason you don't. I'll tell you what if you can get him here alive I'll send you a rock of these before I let him eat them.

 

[UMALUM]

Heck I'll send you a rock of these for trying. Lol

 

[Zakary2003]

Heck I'll send you a rock of these for trying. Lol

I sent you a message (I think? I'm not well versed at using r2r)