[Xena47r]

Strange thing when I turned on the lights this morning! This snail was crawling around my tank and I have no idea where he came from! The only thing I can even guess is that he was somewhere inside my new LR and I didn't notice him. I spent the better part of the day trying to get some decent shots but these are the best I could do. Any ideas as to what he is?

[Sueet]

Originally Posted by Xena47r

Strange thing when I turned on the lights this morning! This snail was crawling around my tank and I have no idea where he came from! The only thing I can even guess is that he was somewhere inside my new LR and I didn't notice him. I spent the better part of the day trying to get some decent shots but these are the best I could do. Any ideas as to what he is?

That's a Nerite snail..... very good to have, don't worry about him.
(they're very expensive to buy too, at usually near $1.50 - $2 ea. + shipping)

[Xena47r]

Originally Posted by Sueet

That's a Nerite snail..... very good to have, don't worry about him.
(they're very expensive to buy too, at usually near $1.50 - $2 ea. + shipping)

Yay...a bonus!

[Sueet]

Originally Posted by Xena47r

Yay...a bonus!

[zhenya]

Take a look at some of the Nerita shells here so maybe you can find one that matches yours.

Your images a bit too small for a blind guy like me to take a stab at ID.Although,I think Sueet might be right

[Xena47r]

Originally Posted by zhenya

Take a look at some of the Nerita shells here so maybe you can find one that matches yours.

Your images a bit too small for a blind guy like me to take a stab at ID.Although,I think Sueet might be right

The only similarity I find in these are the striations evident in the shells contained within the bottom group. None of them, that I can see, have the bright silver found on the shell of this particular snail. This silver is quite striking and I did a lot of searching before I even posted these pictures. Unfortunately, I did not find any that quite matched the colours but was somewhat convinced that it was a nerite myself. Mainly because of the shape of the shell. I will try again tomorrow for a better photo, just out of curiosity now! I have grown quite attached to him and find he is doing a great job of cleaning the glass!

Thanks to both of you for the replies!

[ricksreef]

i'd agree it's a nerite too. the silver & tan appears (to me)
to be shell damage. the odd colors may be the underlayment
of the exterior colors.

[Xena47r]

Originally Posted by ricksreef

i'd agree it's a nerite too. the silver & tan appears (to me)
to be shell damage. the odd colors may be the underlayment
of the exterior colors.

The tan, I think, is definately damage. Looking at it from where I sit, one can see that something took away the outer layer of the shell in that area. The silver does confuse me however and you may be right about it being part of that damage.

[ricksreef]

that silver is a fairly common part of some snails
structure (mother of pearl), although i've never
sanded down a nerite to find out if they have it

[Xena47r]

Originally Posted by ricksreef

that silver is a fairly common part of some snails
structure (mother of pearl), although i've never
sanded down a nerite to find out if they have it

Well, I tried again to get a good picture but my camera is just not good enough to get that close without losing focus. May have to look into a macro lens at some point. Anyhoo, upon closer inspection of the snail, I think you are right Rick, that the silver is part of the damage to the shell. I can see bits of it scraped away as well as the different layers of colour.