Astrea or Trochus

[Gillybaby]

I have quite a few of these snails. They were sold as Turbos (as usual) but they appear to be either Astrea or Trochus. Can anyone give me a definitive ID.

http://www.trapper300.co.uk/photos/albums/uploads/old%20tank%20pics%20for%20webpage/turbosnail2.jpg

http://www.trapper300.co.uk/photos/albums/uploads/old%20tank%20pics%20for%20webpage/turbosnail.jpg

Ta

[trik]

i would say Trochus as they have more of a point to the top of the shell compared to the Astraea, but i may be wrong.

James !!!!

[Macca]

Its foot looks like a Trochus as does it shell. If you have an empty shell the Trochus (Turbos) have a small indent at the bottom smack in the middle.

Trochus (Turbo family) snails have a pyramid shell, Astreas have a sloping shell and true turbos have a round shell with a turban like top.

James

[Gillybaby]

Thanks guys, I can now definitely put their name on my website. Its been bugging me for years which ones I had. I wished lfs's would use the correct names for these guys.

[Macca]

There is a massive (AND I MEAN MASSIVE) difference in price between Astreas, Trochus and Turbos.

Unfortunately there is a lot of turbos bought in again from Indonesia that have no real benefit in the home reef aquarium. I am going to put a list online for what ones to look out for that are beneficial to our setups IMHO.

Another word of warning is one of themain outlets in Florida that supply the UK with inverts are now selling Turbo castanea as Turbo fluctuosa. To the untrained eye including most pet shops you could never tell the difference. The difference is one will eat most bryopsis the other will not. As well as the Fluctuosa costing around 3 times the cost of a castanea. The other worrying trend (This is shocking) Is some wholesalers are selling setosus as fluctuosa. :eek:


James

[Gillybaby]

Yikes. I think the main problem is a lot of lfs's couldn't tell the difference and don't take the time to double check what they actually get in their orders. I'm glad I've definitely got Fluctuosa's - I can tell cause they eat all the stuff they're meant to ;)

An online list of how to ID snails (and hermits for that matter) would be very very useful.

[Pinkfish]

An online list of how to ID snails (and hermits for that matter) would be very very useful.

I second that, thanks in advance