Nassarius snails, good or bad??

jer77 · 05/18/2006, 12:14 AM

I have had some for a while, but I was wondering what the good and bad effects of having them are. I know there are some because some people love them and some wish they have never got them. I have noticed that I have never had a big pod population in my sandbed like my other tanks so I'nm wondering if this is the reason why. I have them in my 55 gallon and I have about 6-8 of the giant ones.

bjonesjr1 · 05/18/2006, 12:16 AM

I have 5 of them as well in my 55gallon tank, & I think they do a great job in my tank, they keep the sand sitirred up and such, so I think they are a good addition to a tank.

Blown 346 · 05/18/2006, 12:18 AM

They are great to have they will eat detritus, uneaten food, and decaying organics.

Honigbiene · 05/18/2006, 12:21 AM

I think there a great cleaner

jer77 · 05/18/2006, 12:48 AM

I know I've read somewhere that they are bad for some reason or another.

pufferpoison · 05/18/2006, 12:52 AM

i have them, i like them. You can always tell where they've been. the glass in clean

spline9 · 05/18/2006, 02:22 AM

Love em.

techreef · 05/18/2006, 07:07 AM

i've read nothing but good things about nass. snails. non-predatory, they eat only decaying flesh, and stir the sand. With snails you always have to ask yourself "is the snail someone is complaining about REALLY the kind of snail they think it is?" lots of smart people mis-identify snails all the time. but i think the verdict on nass. snails is that they are pretty great.

RicksReefs · 05/18/2006, 07:35 AM

true Nassarius vibex are only carrion eaters, they don't touch algae, pods, or detritus. if your sandbed is getting depleted you likely have a predetory whelk or Illynassa obsoleta (whelks are a type of nassarius too).

aiko670 · 05/18/2006, 09:43 AM

Nas snails rock, I want more!

NHMarine · 05/18/2006, 10:47 AM

I love them!!.....I have had mine for two years (7 of them)

Reeling Reefer · 05/18/2006, 11:17 AM

They are awesome, keep tank real clean!!!

mike89t · 05/18/2006, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by RicksReefs
true Nassarius vibex are only carrion eaters, they don't touch algae, pods, or detritus. if your sandbed is getting depleted you likely have a predetory whelk or Illynassa obsoleta (whelks are a type of nassarius too).

Rick has is correct. Nassarius snails are great if you have a lot of left over meaty food that makes it to the sand bed. Not to mention that they are fun to watch.

Amphiprion · 05/18/2006, 12:17 PM

I agree with RicksReefs and mike89t.

MyMonkey · 05/18/2006, 12:33 PM

I have had both Nassarius and Illynassa obsoleta. I would suggest against the Illyanassa. However, the Nassarius are great. I actually purposefully feed them a silverside once in a while. They jump from the sand when I feed the anemone or the brain. I feel bad for them so I let them fight over a piece. I have 5 of them in a 58 gallon.

jer77 · 05/18/2006, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by RicksReefs
true Nassarius vibex are only carrion eaters, they don't touch algae, pods, or detritus. if your sandbed is getting depleted you likely have a predetory whelk or Illynassa obsoleta (whelks are a type of nassarius too).

I don't have the nassarius vibex kind, I have the larger ones that climb on the glass sometimes. They are about an inch long. I got them from liveaquaria.com, they were named super tongan nassarius snails. So I'm not sure if these are the Illynassa obsoleta you are talking about. A pic would help me to distinguish. I also say these tiny snails on my glass yesterday. There must have been like 20 of them. They looked like tiny neritids almost. I will get a pic.

Blown 346 · 05/18/2006, 12:55 PM

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...fm?pCatId=1133

jer77 · 05/18/2006, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Blown 346
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...fm?pCatId=1133

Yes, I know these are the nassarius vibex. I don't know what the other one looked like.

dodgersfan25 · 05/18/2006, 01:06 PM

mine are great! it's also interesting to see them slowly sink into the sand and dissapear

Nabber86 · 05/18/2006, 01:43 PM

Quote:

I don't have the nassarius vibex kind, I have the larger ones that climb on the glass sometimes. They are about an inch long. I got them from liveaquaria.com, they were named super tongan nassarius snails. So I'm not sure if these are the Illynassa obsoleta you are talking about. A pic would help me to distinguish. I also say these tiny snails on my glass yesterday. There must have been like 20 of them. They looked like tiny neritids almost. I will get a pic.

What you have sounds like Nassarius vibex. 1/2 to 1-inch long and cream to white(-ish) color. At least I bought some of the Tonga Nassarius from liveaquaria.com and I am pretty sure they are. They burrow into the sand and have rather prominent proboscus (snout). They do not eat algae (as RicksReef and Mike89t pointed out), but they will climb on the sides of the tank from time to time. If you put a small piece of meaty food on top of the sandbed, they should immediately "pop" out of the sandbed and attack the food (like zombies from Night of the Living Dead). These snails move really fast.

The Illynassa obsoleta are black/brown mud snails that are also are carion eaters, but they are no good because they come from cool waters and will not last long in a reef tank. Several idiots have been selling them by the 100's on e-Bay for the last year or so. Stay away from those.

Nabber86 · 05/18/2006, 01:52 PM

THese are they ones that you DO NOT want (mud welks):

http://cgi.ebay.com/75-GREAT-REEF-TA...QQcmdZViewItem

MyMonkey · 05/18/2006, 04:32 PM

Those are the ones I mentioned. They acctually lived for about 8 months in my tank. I kept several in their own 10 gallon tank after I heard they were cool water snails. They would actively hunt an injured fish. Scary little snails.

RicksReefs · 05/18/2006, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jer77
I don't have the nassarius vibex kind, I have the larger ones that climb on the glass sometimes. They are about an inch long. I got them from liveaquaria.com, they were named super tongan nassarius snails. So I'm not sure if these are the Illynassa obsoleta you are talking about. A pic would help me to distinguish. I also say these tiny snails on my glass yesterday. There must have been like 20 of them. They looked like tiny neritids almost. I will get a pic.

the tiny snails are probably collinista snails. cool little herbivores that do fairly well in reef tanks.

I've tried a couple of those super tongans. they seem to be very similar in habit to vibex, just 3-4 times larger.

HippieSmell · 05/18/2006, 11:33 PM

I've had 8 of the super tongans for about a year and they're great. They must have bred too, because I have one really little one.

mike89t · 05/19/2006, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by HippieSmell
I've had 8 of the super tongans for about a year and they're great. They must have bred too, because I have one really little one.

I've got 5 of the super tongan. Way more than enough for my 150. Sometimes I drop a pellet or two in to make sure they are getting enough to eat.

Here is a photo of one of mine looking for a pellet that I just dropped into the tank:

05/18/2006, 12:14 AM	#1
jer77 Phish Lover Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 2,642	Nassarius snails, good or bad?? I have had some for a while, but I was wondering what the good and bad effects of having them are. I know there are some because some people love them and some wish they have never got them. I have noticed that I have never had a big pod population in my sandbed like my other tanks so I'nm wondering if this is the reason why. I have them in my 55 gallon and I have about 6-8 of the giant ones. __________________ - Jonny -, 120g 5 Year Old Reef w/ SPS, BTA, Zoos & some Softies. 40g Frag Tank. 40g Sump. Super Reef Octopus XP 3000 External Cone Skimmer. 250W Radiums. TaoTronics LED. PanWorld 200PS w/SQWD

05/18/2006, 12:16 AM	#2
bjonesjr1 Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: St. Petersburg, FL Posts: 1,258	I have 5 of them as well in my 55gallon tank, & I think they do a great job in my tank, they keep the sand sitirred up and such, so I think they are a good addition to a tank. __________________ Bobby Current Tank Info: 75gal, LifeReef CLF1 Sump & SVS2-24 Skimmer

05/18/2006, 12:21 AM	#4
Honigbiene Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Ogden, Utah Posts: 56	I think there a great cleaner __________________ Check your Bumps Cancer Sucks! www.canceradvocacy.org http://homepage.mac.com/honeybeeac/Menu1.html Current Tank Info: 150 Shallow Reef Flat Polish Lee-Mar, 65 gallon Shallow Water Reef, 15 gallon Nano, 26 Octi Tank

05/18/2006, 12:48 AM	#5
jer77 Phish Lover Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 2,642	I know I've read somewhere that they are bad for some reason or another. __________________ - Jonny -, 120g 5 Year Old Reef w/ SPS, BTA, Zoos & some Softies. 40g Frag Tank. 40g Sump. Super Reef Octopus XP 3000 External Cone Skimmer. 250W Radiums. TaoTronics LED. PanWorld 200PS w/SQWD

05/18/2006, 12:17 PM	#14
Amphiprion Premium Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Mobile, AL Posts: 6,611	I agree with RicksReefs and mike89t. __________________ You've done it now, haven't you? Current Tank Info: 40g breeder patch reef w/ seagrass; 2-250w XM 10K; Vortech MP40wES & MP10wES; BM Curve 7 skimmer; carbon & occasional GFO

05/18/2006, 12:18 AM	#3
Blown 346 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Rockford, Illinois Posts: 6,596	They are great to have they will eat detritus, uneaten food, and decaying organics.

05/18/2006, 12:52 AM	#6
pufferpoison Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: S.E. Kansas Posts: 684	i have them, i like them. You can always tell where they've been. the glass in clean

05/18/2006, 02:22 AM	#7
spline9 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Ventura County Posts: 808	Love em.

05/18/2006, 07:07 AM	#8
techreef Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Montclair, NJ Posts: 1,046	i've read nothing but good things about nass. snails. non-predatory, they eat only decaying flesh, and stir the sand. With snails you always have to ask yourself "is the snail someone is complaining about REALLY the kind of snail they think it is?" lots of smart people mis-identify snails all the time. but i think the verdict on nass. snails is that they are pretty great.

05/18/2006, 07:35 AM	#9
RicksReefs Moved On Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: In America's Dangling Junk State. Posts: 6,413	true Nassarius vibex are only carrion eaters, they don't touch algae, pods, or detritus. if your sandbed is getting depleted you likely have a predetory whelk or Illynassa obsoleta (whelks are a type of nassarius too).

05/18/2006, 09:43 AM	#10
aiko670 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Deerfield, IL Posts: 5,409	Nas snails rock, I want more!

05/18/2006, 10:47 AM	#11
NHMarine Premium Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 682	I love them!!.....I have had mine for two years (7 of them)

05/18/2006, 11:17 AM	#12
Reeling Reefer Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Annapolis, MD Posts: 445	They are awesome, keep tank real clean!!!

05/18/2006, 12:33 PM	#15
MyMonkey Persona Non Grata Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Oklahoma City Posts: 2,106	I have had both Nassarius and Illynassa obsoleta. I would suggest against the Illyanassa. However, the Nassarius are great. I actually purposefully feed them a silverside once in a while. They jump from the sand when I feed the anemone or the brain. I feel bad for them so I let them fight over a piece. I have 5 of them in a 58 gallon. __________________ The worst thing about an unwritten law is that you don't know where to go to erase it. Current Tank Info: 20 Long.10 months to my 240 In wall with Fish Room.

05/18/2006, 12:55 PM	#17
Blown 346 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Rockford, Illinois Posts: 6,596	http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...fm?pCatId=1133

05/18/2006, 01:06 PM	#19
dodgersfan25 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Valencia (So Cal) Posts: 757	mine are great! it's also interesting to see them slowly sink into the sand and dissapear __________________ -rich Current Tank Info: 90 Gallon Mixed Reef

05/18/2006, 01:52 PM	#21
Nabber86 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Stalewater Kansas Posts: 408	THese are they ones that you DO NOT want (mud welks): http://cgi.ebay.com/75-GREAT-REEF-TA...QQcmdZViewItem

05/18/2006, 04:32 PM	#22
MyMonkey Persona Non Grata Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Oklahoma City Posts: 2,106	Those are the ones I mentioned. They acctually lived for about 8 months in my tank. I kept several in their own 10 gallon tank after I heard they were cool water snails. They would actively hunt an injured fish. Scary little snails. __________________ The worst thing about an unwritten law is that you don't know where to go to erase it. Current Tank Info: 20 Long.10 months to my 240 In wall with Fish Room.

05/18/2006, 11:33 PM	#24
HippieSmell Occupy Reef Central Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Orbiting Posts: 4,141	I've had 8 of the super tongans for about a year and they're great. They must have bred too, because I have one really little one. __________________ Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like bananas. Current Tank Info: 78"x36"x27" acrylic, 6 Orphek Atlantik V3+ Compacts, MRC Orca Pro II w/washdown, CalcFeeder Pro AC3, Emperor Aquatics 80w UV, 80/20 aluminum stand, Vortech MP60's, Theiling Rollermat, GHL Profilux 3.1T EX, Kessil H380