Flamingo Tongues (the name of this snail) are fun to photograph and look at, but they are a menace to soft corals, secreting chemicals to dissolve the coral so they can digest it. They often leave a trail of destruction behind them as in this image. The snail is moving upward to devour more polyps.
@webcubus When I learned about taking reef health surveys, we were taught that the number of flamingo tongues was a good indicator of reef health (because it takes a relatively healthy reef for them to be supported).
@psa I hadn't heard that, but the reef was pretty healthy in both Saba and St. Kitts. I guess it makes sense because they're not super mobile so they would need good coral density.
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