Fancy Nassarius Snails

I've had no problems. We even have a clam in one of the tanks. They're pretty good at cleaning up too.

 

That's good to hear. I'm tired of ugly snails and got really excited that these were so pretty. I'll keep an eye on them for the next week or so and seen how things go.

 

Yes, it's a Babylonia rather than a Nassarius, and yes, they can be predatory, although they mostly scavenge. Not too long ago they were considered to be IN the whelk family, now they have their own family and are considered to be RELATED to the whelks. They are capable of killing snails and clams, although I couldn't tell you how often they'd resort to killing (it's happened at least a few times in the last couple of years, you can find the threads by searching the reef forums). If you don't have clams and aren't worried about them eating your other snails, they make really cool aquarium residents.

Cheers,



Don

 

Well I guess I don't need to PM you now. Thanks! That's very informative information. They are beautiful and settled right down into the sand when I finally added them. I'll keep an eye on the snail population and search the forums as well to read about others experience with them.

 

So I've been waiting to see these guys pop up out of the sand and they hadn't yet. So today I made sure to put a piece of krill right by one of the them and what does the little bugger do? Instead of coming out of the sand to show me how pretty he is he drags the food under! Laziest snail ever!

 

electric blue hermits love thier shells, all 4 of mine are wearing babylonia shelly...10$ a pop for designer shells.

 

Thats how they eat. I have olive snails that do the same thing. Its how they protect their food.