SteveC Posted November 28, 2002 Share Posted November 28, 2002 As I mentioned in another thread, my lettuce slug was chewed on by what I thought was a Nassarius snail going after an old injury. Well, last night a found another Nassarius snail chowing down on my poor little slug, and yet another one zooming across the rock with its snout in the air, going straight for the slug! I also saw one try to grab onto the arm of a brittle star, and had to yank it off. Well, this is odd, I thought. So I wondered if Nassarius snails could be predatory against certain critters, and some searches revealed the following message by Dr. Ron Shimek on ReefCentral about predatory Nassarius lookalikes being sold by none other than etropicals.com, the same people I bought mine from! Apparently this happened and they corrected the problem, but I'm guessing that was before DrsFosterSmith bought 'em out. I wonder if they went back to the same collector? <-- this emoticon does not express my anger. I need one with fire shooting out its ears and a thunder cloud over its head (or maybe a mushroom cloud) Anyhow, I can't find an article detailing the difference between the real Nassarius and the nasty guys, and I'd like to know for sure before I call etropicals and rip them a new one. I managed to find four of the six little buggers and put them in the cornfield (the tank where bad things go), but the other two are still at large. Any information would be most appreciated. I'll also ask Dr. Ron after the holidays. Happy Thanksgiving! Steve Link to comment
SteveC Posted November 30, 2002 Author Share Posted November 30, 2002 I managed to find this article which gives identifying information for Nassarius snails. Mine match this description. That's probably what they actually are, then, and they just went for the lettuce slug because it was already injured or sick. So eTropicals is not to be blamed. At least, until I find out otherwise! Link to comment
OscarBeast Posted December 1, 2002 Share Posted December 1, 2002 They are still whelks! They just seem not to actively seek out and kill, but will happily eat anything on its way out. In a way, this is desired, and it keeps stuff from decaying in your tank and polluting the water. If you have a weak animal in the tank that you really want to pull through, it should be in a hospital tank with no detrivores. They are about as reef safe as a whelk can be, but don't forget that they are still whelks and will feast on the dead or dying. Link to comment
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