Rasping mouth parts of a Herbivorous Snail

    The Cerith Snails    Harmless herbivores and Detritivores

                                                                           A Cerithium species
     
    
        Unknown Cerithium species                        Cerithium punctatum
   

   The  Chitons    Depending upon the species of course, some are harmless algae grazers while others prey upon meatier items.
     
  Below a commonly found Cryptoplax larvaeformis, a harmless herbivore. (photos taken at night)
        
  Below, a species that prefers to remain below the substrate.
     

    Vermetid Snails (tubes & webs)  A prolific breeder and can become a pest.
      
     

     Star Snail (Astralium Calcar)  Members of this family group are the best suited for our rocky landscaped aquariums.
        

     Limpets  -  Members of this family group(s) are largely unknown as to their dietary needs. Some species can be omnivores and eat both plant and animal matter while others can be strict herbivores or can develop a taste for coral flesh.  If you find these snails in your aquarium, it would be wise to keep an eye on it to determine exactly what it is eating.  Some are Reef safe, others are not.   It is quite possible that these snails can become prolific breeders in our systems as they brood (keep) their eggs until fully developed. Upon hatching, fully formed tiny limpets are able to crawl away, avoiding any filtration or predators that their free floating snail cousins must endure as larvae within our systems.

     
        

                 Trochoidea                                                  Astrea                                              Turbo Snail    
     

               Euplica  versicolor                                       Conch                                          Pyrene testudinaria
      

      The Nerites
     

    Stomatella Varia. - A very commonly found hitch hiker. Harmless herbivore which has a unique way of fooling predators. When attacked or pulled off the glass by us, it will drop a large portion of its foot, much like some lizards that break off their tails in an attempt to keep a predator busy while it makes its escape.  Keeping to their descriptive species name, they are highly variable in colorations.
     
     
   
   

     Collinista  ( Harmless algae grazer )
     

      Scutus sp. -  One of the more unusual marine snails, related to limpets. Reef safe algae grazer.
      

      Abalone  - A harmless herbivore and is distinctive by its "holes" evident in its shell.
    Shown below is a Haliotis asinina  (  aka donkey ear abalone )
     

    UNKNOWNS - Called as such because these animals have very little known about them. Which means I have no way to determine whether they could be considered reef safe or not, and I quote "The columbellids are probably the worst family to deal with. They are abundant and diverse and appear to mimic in shape all other snail groups." - Dr. Ron Shimek.

    Triforid sp.  -  Related to Ceriths and have very little known about them. This species is at most 1/4th inch long and as shown, has two juveniles that stay on the adult at all times. If this is parental care, that is unknown as well.
     

            Mitrella circumstriata                                   Mitra pica                                             Mitrella sp.
      Possible Scavenger found in live sand                                 Unknown diet                                                         Unknown diet
                                                                                
     

        
                                                               
   Drupella Cornis ( Coral Predator )      Cantharid Whelk (mollusk,snail predator)   Coralliophila Sp  (coral predator)
      

   Melongena corona  ( predatory whelk)          Babylonia Whelk   (Predator)                     Coral Predator
      

              Engina zonalis   (whelk)                        Nassarius albescens                     Another snail predator (whelk)
                                                                Reef safe except for live sandbeds
        

                Bursa granularis                                 Maculotriton serriale  
    

     Cowry Snails -  These snails can be confusing since they are rarely seen as shown in these photos, the reason they are all nice and shiny looking is that they cover their shell with a mantle which gives them a fleshy appearance, but if you touch the mantle, it will retract and show the shell beneath.  While this family of snails has members that are reef safe, there are too few of such members as to consider this family as reef safe. I will though list by name those that are reef safe when possible.

           Ringed Cowry  (reef safe)                     Deer Cowry  ( reef safe)
       
     Example of Cowry snails mantle covering, of which all cowrys have in various colors and textures.
     

   The  Triviidae  - While very cowry like in appearance, they belong to a different family. Predators upon ascidians..
     

    The  Olive snails                   
   ( While normally considered scavengers and reef safe, they can predate upon the sand infauna )
      
   

     Vexillum (Costellaria) exasperatum   Its diet consists of polychaetes and gastropods,  not sand bed or reef safe.
     

     Thyca crystallina  - A Predator of Linkia Starfish   
                                                                                                                                      The damage done by this Snail
      

        Heliacus  ( Zoanthid Predator)  
      

          Sun Dial  ( Philippia Radiata)        Calpurnus verrucosus (coral predator)    Primovula sp. (gorgonian predator)
       

   Calpurnus lacteus (octocoral predator)  
 

              
     The Fasciolariids  ( Tulip Snails )

     Peristernia reincarnata, predator of other snails.
       


    The Conidae  ( Cone Snails )

      Conus ebraeus (worm predator)
  
               Unknown species
   



       

            Dendrodoris elongata                            Thuridilla gracilis                  Tritoniidae Nudibranch (coral predator)
     


    Melibe Fimbriata  - Filter feeding Nudibranch also capable of consuming copepods
       
    Feeding on Copepods
       

    Placida dendritica  -  A member of the Sacoglossa. The green inside the cerata and in the ramifying ducts that extend past the eyes & along the base of the cerata are chloroplasts that it has stolen from food algae & kept alive in the body which is used much like zooxanthellae are within corals.
       

          Plakobranchus ocellatus                       Chromodoris decora                              Berthellina citrina 
                                                                           ( sponge predator )                          ( coral , sponge predator )
       

       Berthella stellata - A Sponge predator that defend themselves by secreting sulfuric acid. Handle with care!
       

                Hypselodoris emma                         A Phyllidiid Nudibranch                              An Aeolid species
                  sponge predator                   Very toxic, will nuke your tank if it dies                 Predator of Corals