Wife's pet Whelk?

[Kratos1]

Oh boy do I have a problem…. I was taking a look around my wife’s reef tank last eve and I saw something that needed to go…. a whelk. Well needless to say I popped the little bugger into a plastic container. My wife comes up to me and asks ‘what are you doing with snuffy?’ in a very concerned voice. Shocked I told her that Snuffy was headed for the freezer. She didn’t believe me that her ‘snuffy’ was a bad thing to have despite the 4 or so empty Nassarius shells. I showed her pic’s of whelks on the net, and even came across one that is an exact match of her little pet. Her reply: ‘not my Snuffy’. I don’t normally poke my hand in her tank but I take a look from time to time and see how she is making out. So before I put my wife’s beloved Snuffy into the freezer I told her that I’d post that pic and see if others agree that Snuffy is a whelk. So… do I have freezer friend or does Snuffy get to go back into the tank?

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

If it's been snacking on nass snails like the whelk I finally evicted, then snuffy's got to go. Hell, if she's that attached to it, boil it's flesh out, drill a small hole near the top of the shell and attach it to a gold chain. Then she can have snuffy with her always.

 

[wade1]

Ha!

You are mean Sugar Magnolia.

Its true though, it most likely is a predatory whelk. I just found (thread in this forum) a whelk that was feeding on my sps corals! In general they are predatory though.

 

[wade1]

BTW- These frequently are included with Nassarius from the east coast (the Illyanasa snails) since they prey on them naturally. Something to be aware of.

 

[danmhippo]

However, you should know better not to mess with your wife. When she said her snuffy is unique, believe her.

I wouldn't touch that whelk if I were you. Even if it take out the entire tank's worth of snails, and end up starve to death. Haven't your poppy ever teach you not to mess with woman's pet?

 

[Anonymous]

So paint a safe snail to look like snuffy.

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

Here's a link for you to peruse to see if you can get an exact scientific name for Snuffy by browsing through the shells. http://www.gastropods.com/Taxon_pages/Group_Whelk.html

 

[HClH2OFish]

Buy a cheap 10 gal tank and dump Snuffy in it. Or leave it in and make her go to the LFS to keep buying nassarius for Snuffy. If it's her tank, make it her problem :lol:

Best not to mess with the wife in regards to 'special' tank critters... 8O 8O