DChemist Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 I thought I'd share something I posted on Dr. Ron Shimek's forum... This snail shell is only about a cm long. It appeared to be lifeless within the branches of a medium size pocillapora colony for many months, never moving from its spot. Just recently I've seen it moved from that spot but within the same colony. More recently, many of the lower/inside branches started dying. Since I removed the snail, I haven't lost anymore branches. Is it possible (likely/unlikely) that this guy was eating it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DChemist Posted May 10, 2007 Author Share Posted May 10, 2007 The replies were... For years this snail was called Quadrula madreporarum, but the latest name applied to the species is Galeropsis monodontus. It either feeds primarily or exclusively on Pocillopora corals. http://www.gastropods.com/7/Shell_10017.html Cheers, Don and... Hi, Don has identified the snail for you (Thanks!). It is a member of a group that has been called Coralliophyllids, a name meaning "coral loving." This is "coral loving" in the sense of loving your food!! They are relatively neat snails, so sacrificing some corals to maintain it would probably be a reasonable suggestion. Cheers, Ron Here's the rest of the thread. http://forum.marinedepot.com/Topic67351-11-1.aspx Thought it was interesting... Has anyone here had a similar experiance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted May 11, 2007 Share Posted May 11, 2007 Dang, lucky you found the culprit. I've never heard of those snails before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted May 11, 2007 Share Posted May 11, 2007 I love the response. Was he serious about keeping the little monster? I hope that was a joke. You could have shipped the snail to the guy that wanted you to keep it. Let him feed his corals to it! I'm glad it is out. Let's hope that it didn't lay any eggs that will hatch to give you more problems later! dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluecheese Posted May 12, 2007 Share Posted May 12, 2007 Thanks for the info and the warning Darren. Very interesting info. I'll keep my eyes open! Hope all is well in yoour tank now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DChemist Posted May 13, 2007 Author Share Posted May 13, 2007 impur- Dang, lucky you found the culprit. I've never heard of those snails before. That's why I posted it- I've not run across this sort of thing before either. dsoz- I love the response. Was he serious about keeping the little monster? I hope that was a joke. You could have shipped the snail to the guy that wanted you to keep it. Let him feed his corals to it! I'm glad it is out. Let's hope that it didn't lay any eggs that will hatch to give you more problems later! I thought he was serious about it (despite the smilies). I don't suspect there aren't anymore on the coral- I've been watching it closely and it's looks like there isn't any additional damage. What's amazing to me is that the snail was motionless on that coral for many months. I seriously thought it was a pebble lodged within the branches. Only recently did it start feeding. And that destruction occurred rapidly over several weeks before I was able to identify the cause. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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