The one thing that got me into the marine aquarium hobby wast he Nassarius Snail, sometimes better known as a Dog Whelk. I never seen them labeled as that, but they are Dog Whelks according to Wikipedia.
Something I always liked to do was to get as many Nassarius Snails as possible for my aquarium. I love seeing these guys emerge out of the sand when I offer them a meaty treat just for them. I purposely offer a silver side every now and then to supplement their diet as well as my own personal entertainment of seeing them pile onto the food and reduce it to fish bones.
There is one issue though that I come across: Species. Nassarius Snails are almost never labeled other than "Nassarius Snail" and almost no other name. I see "Super Tonga" on occasion and they usually are a bit more expensive. On occasion I see the Red Blotch Snail or sometimes its called the Babylon or Babylonia Snail, which is a larger species and is utterly gorgeous, but it fetches for like five dollars. That is a lot for a single snail.
Recently I bought 150 snails off Ebay labeled Nassarius snail. The seller had whole store of them in many numbers and for cheap. He went as high as 5000 snails for like eighty dollars or so.
The snails I got were for sure Nassarius, but not the ones I am familiar with... They're smaller, shells completely black, and they are not very mobile. I would compare them to Bumblebee Snails, who are also slower critters, but ravenous feeders who will find anything dead in the aquarium and eat it. Not that others wouldn't mind you, but many are a bit larger and can't get into smaller crevices.
The snails I bought are effective and seem nocturnal as well. At night they tend to congregate together in one spot before slowly digging themselves back into the sand by daylight.
Another snail species I saw was something called and Olive Snail, I think. I was told it was not reef safe, or at least in the sense it will prey on other snails and clams. I found this snail about the size of a fighting conch. I definitely wanted this snail badly, but I didn't want to risk my population of snails in my aquarium already especially after having new hermit grab prey on a number of them before it mysteriously vanished. Loved that Hermit Crab, but he had to go badly...
So here is my issue.
I don't know snail species. All of the snails I think I mentioned are Nassarius, including that larger Olive Snail. I do notice shell patterns and colors stand out, and I know very few by actual name. From what I learned, Nassarius are found in almost all the worlds oceans. There are clearly different species, and I do believe some will attempt to prey on each other. I'm willing to risk testing that idea, but first I need to learn what I am getting.
Red Blotch/Babylon Snail: Large snail with a white shell and red patterns. Really pretty.
I often see one species that has a turquoise kind of shell with lateral grooves on it.
The slow ones I got in the mail are black as goal and relatively small.
I also have some slightly larger members who have a pale colored shell.
I need names and pictures. No links please, just try to provide such pictures here on the thread if you would please.
And overall let us talk about Nassarius and other flesh eating snails in this thread.
Something I always liked to do was to get as many Nassarius Snails as possible for my aquarium. I love seeing these guys emerge out of the sand when I offer them a meaty treat just for them. I purposely offer a silver side every now and then to supplement their diet as well as my own personal entertainment of seeing them pile onto the food and reduce it to fish bones.
There is one issue though that I come across: Species. Nassarius Snails are almost never labeled other than "Nassarius Snail" and almost no other name. I see "Super Tonga" on occasion and they usually are a bit more expensive. On occasion I see the Red Blotch Snail or sometimes its called the Babylon or Babylonia Snail, which is a larger species and is utterly gorgeous, but it fetches for like five dollars. That is a lot for a single snail.
Recently I bought 150 snails off Ebay labeled Nassarius snail. The seller had whole store of them in many numbers and for cheap. He went as high as 5000 snails for like eighty dollars or so.
The snails I got were for sure Nassarius, but not the ones I am familiar with... They're smaller, shells completely black, and they are not very mobile. I would compare them to Bumblebee Snails, who are also slower critters, but ravenous feeders who will find anything dead in the aquarium and eat it. Not that others wouldn't mind you, but many are a bit larger and can't get into smaller crevices.
The snails I bought are effective and seem nocturnal as well. At night they tend to congregate together in one spot before slowly digging themselves back into the sand by daylight.
Another snail species I saw was something called and Olive Snail, I think. I was told it was not reef safe, or at least in the sense it will prey on other snails and clams. I found this snail about the size of a fighting conch. I definitely wanted this snail badly, but I didn't want to risk my population of snails in my aquarium already especially after having new hermit grab prey on a number of them before it mysteriously vanished. Loved that Hermit Crab, but he had to go badly...
So here is my issue.
I don't know snail species. All of the snails I think I mentioned are Nassarius, including that larger Olive Snail. I do notice shell patterns and colors stand out, and I know very few by actual name. From what I learned, Nassarius are found in almost all the worlds oceans. There are clearly different species, and I do believe some will attempt to prey on each other. I'm willing to risk testing that idea, but first I need to learn what I am getting.
Red Blotch/Babylon Snail: Large snail with a white shell and red patterns. Really pretty.
I often see one species that has a turquoise kind of shell with lateral grooves on it.
The slow ones I got in the mail are black as goal and relatively small.
I also have some slightly larger members who have a pale colored shell.
I need names and pictures. No links please, just try to provide such pictures here on the thread if you would please.
And overall let us talk about Nassarius and other flesh eating snails in this thread.
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