Whelks your experience???

[goldenmean]

I have a handful of Whelks that came in on my TBS LR from the Gulf of Mexico.
I have read that they can do damage to corals
I have seen separate articles that they are a threat to other snails and mollusks.
I have been watching my whelks pretty closely and have not noticed any un-welcomed behavior. I am wondering how much of this is reefer myth and how much validity there is to these claims.
What is your experience with whelks???

[prow]

take them out bad little guys. the only whelks that are ok are nassariids like Nassarius. here is more info than you ever wanted on them.
Whelks by Ronald L. Shimek, Ph.D. - Reefkeeping.com

[Woodstock]

Bad, bad coral eaters they are! Here is what they do!!

This is a whelk that I brought back from a florida snorkling trip. It was found eating a xenia colony!

Notice the serrated edges on its shell?? That is a very good indicator that it is a meat eater.

[Dentoid]

Jeff, I have several of these as well. They have never been a problem that I can see. I always see them grazing on the LR. Never seen them attacking or mounting snails. I posted a few months back about this and couldn't get a positive ID or anyone that would commit to if it was reef safe or not. Also, Chuck's Addiction says that all whelks are predators and carnivorous. Mine are still in the tank.

Here is some reading on the Whelk.

Whelks by Ronald L. Shimek, Ph.D. - Reefkeeping.com

[goldenmean]

So I guess the first question is whether the snails I have are Whelks or not.
Dentoid has this same HH from the same LR source and did not get a positive ID.
hitch-hiker-snail

My snails are not active during the day. They crawl into a hole in the rock and stay there until the MH goes off. I have only seen them on the rock and once in a while on the side of the tank. I need to get a pic of one when he is on the side of the tank to get a pic of his underside. They have been on the Ric Rock but never bothering or touching the Rics at all.

I really don't want to remove them unless I am certain that they are in fact Whelks and are an actual threat to my corals.
They cant be more of a threat to the mollusks than my mantis are. lol

btw Woodstock that is a great pic of the whelk chowing on the xenia.
Thanks Prow and Scott for the link. That was one of the articles I was referring to.

So I need Better pics from the snails underside to try to get a positive ID.
I will continue to keep a close eye on them.

[waucedah_joe]

From personal experience, I know that they like clams.

[Witfull]

Originally Posted by prow

take them out bad little guys. the only whelks that are ok are nassariids like Nassarius

and they are predacious critters,,,they smell weakness and feast~

[michael_cb_125]

I had a gang of 4 super tongan nassarius snails kill and eat my male seahorse. He was very weak from an infectinon. I walked into the room, and he was being eaten by a gang of ninjas.

[BigAl07]

Originally Posted by michael_cb_125

I had a gang of 4 super tongan nassarius snails kill and eat my male seahorse. He was very weak from an infectinon. I walked into the room, and he was being eaten by a gang of ninjas.

Most likely in that case they were just "opportunists" as opposed to Assassins

[goldenmean]

I like opportunists! Better that a dead or dying animal be consumed by the CUC than possibly going unnoticed in the tank and messing with the water quality.
That is one reason why I like hermits so much.

[reefjitsu]

They look like oyster drills (Urosalpinx) to me. I have never known them to attack corals, but clams, snails, and other molluscs are definately on the menu. They are ok for FOWLR.

[goldenmean]

This eve I picked up on of my Are they Whelk or are they not to get some pics from below. I placed him on the front of the tank and he grabbed on and traveled down to the substrate. This allowed me to get some shots of his underside. His body is a beautiful blue and white brindle pattern.