On the topic of nassarius snails

[Mac Inger]

I understand that they are scavengers, but they still dont let my clams be.

I got 3 new clams last night. This morning, 2 or 3 nassarius would bore under the sand where the foot is. The clam would contract and shoot water out of the bottom making a sand storm trying to push them away. They are NOT whelk. At least from all the reading i have done. And my clams are NOT dying.

Case in point,..i have another clam that has been with me for a month now. I put it first day on the sandbed. Nassarius started crawling around her. I put her up in the rockwork and she has been fine. Contracts swiftly to light changes, fish swimming above her, is nice and open, no gaping mouth etc.

I d like to spread some of these clams on the sandbed and i dont want to get rid of the nass,..they do a great job at cleaning up. Anybody have any opinions ? more links to whelk, nassarius comparisons in case i am missing something

thanks

mac

 

[acrodave]

I have clams and nassarius snails and have never had any issues

 

[Mac Inger]

Which kind do you have ? I have the so called super tongans.

I think mine might be getting hungry. Do you feed yours regularly ?

 

[ezcompany]

a nassarius snail will not harm a healthy clam, even if its a juvenile. if you're absolutely sure your clams are healthy, then you may have a different type of snail closer to whelks. i am not sure on the species, but it would help if you could post pictures of your snails and clam for people here to identify buddy

 

[Mac Inger]

Ok chief ill take some pictures tonight : )

but basically they look like this :
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=971261&highlight=whelk+nassarius

Seems the basis of Nassarius theory point mainly to two articles. One by dr Ron Shimek the other by Melev on his website.

From what i understand the dr, doe not agree with one of melevs points being that the proboscis on the whelks is tatoo like.
Anyway, dr Shimek in his article deals with two species : Nassarius Albus and Vibex. He does not mention the so called Super Tongan Nass. which are the more common in LFS (also the ones i have and the one pictured in the link above). Oh,..he also mentions Illynassa obsoleta, which he agress to as not being a carrion eater. These have black shells,..i dont have these.

Another member of RC here, seemed to be very knowledgeable about snails, was mentioning an interesting fact :

How do we know what the nassarius feels as dead or decaying matter,...wouldnt maybe the secretions of a moved, stressed, sick clam be the same ?

I tended to agree with the generalisation that the Nass. will not eat living matter. But this last episode makes me feel a bit different.

That snail kowledgeable guy (will find him) also mentioned the fact that if starved the Nass Will go after live food and i think that is my case. I have too many i think, about 12 or 14 in a 120g tank and i havent fed them in a long time. I will start feeding them and see what happens,..would be a cool experiment.


edit : another image of the Nass. i have
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/73065Nassarius.jpg

 

[ezcompany]

12 or 14 in a 120 gallon tank is very little. as long as you are feeding fish, they should not be starving at all.

 

[a4twenty]

interesting, i have both the reg. nassarius and the super tongan and they have never gone near my clams. i don't "feed" them, they just scavenge off the bottom and occasionally cruise the glass at night.

i have to agree with easy too, 12 - 14 is nothing in a 120g

 

[Mac Inger]

it is interesting indeed. Maybe its the secretions they release when just moved and are stressed that makes the nassarius think they are dead/dying ?

I know it happened with my first clam,..so i moved it up in the rock and its been fine ever since. It is healthy from what i can tell,..no pinched mantle or overextended mantle, it opens up and reacts immediately to all light changes etc. I guess will see how it goes with these.

At least you kids cant accuse me of not doing my clam homework : )

Jin,..you should pass by to hang out and for a beer. you live like two blocks from me.

PS with all due respect i think i disagree with you guys on 14 being very little in a 120,...that would be my max and IMHO i think it might be a bit too much. I dropped in a store clam (food store, ralphs type) and they devoured it in 5 minutes. These guys are big and they can eat a LOT

 

[Telal]

My nass snails always check out any new additions. It seems like they always wait until the newb has gotten settled and started to open before running around all over it. If they are staying on the shell they are probably just checking it out but if you see them on any fleshy parts your clam is probably already a goner.

 

[Mac Inger]

They were burrowing under the sand towards the foot,...so as Telal says, the general consensus is that the clam is a goner already. I dont think i agree but theres only one way to find out. Wait and see....

 

[Telal]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10814846#post10814846 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mac Inger
PS with all due respect i think i disagree with you guys on 14 being very little in a 120,...that would be my max and IMHO i think it might be a bit too much. I dropped in a store clam (food store, ralphs type) and they devoured it in 5 minutes. These guys are big and they can eat a LOT

This all depends on what and how often you feed your tank. For some 14 is overstocked for others 14 wouldn't even make a difference.

 

[Mac Inger]

Telal,..you are stating the obvious

 

[Telal]

I knew I was. Your post was ignoring the obvious.

 

[Mac Inger]

Lets get back on track shall we ? .... Comments like your clam is a goner and other generalisations are of no interest to me. Please provide an explanation, links to an article, what have you.

I said that i personally feel 14 is maxing a 120 tank and i stand by that. I feed pretty heavily, about 3 cubes of frozen food a day. What is not consumed by the fish (plus fish excrement etc) i think is not enough to keep 14 nass well fed. But this is not the point of thread.

 

[nauticac4]

I had the same problem with my clams. I moved them into the new tank and next morning my deresa and crocea were gone. I'd also like to know what is going on. I have the larger nass. snails and they cleaned both clams out in a matter of hours. so I have seen it also and mine were as healthy as could be.

 

[mbbuna]

the most obvious thing would be that what you think is a nassarius isnt. nassarius are in the whelk family and you could have something that looks very similar.

i would take one out of the water and get a few good clear photos of the top of the shell and the shell opening and then PM greenbean or pogojoe for an ID

 

[Mac Inger]

btw that clam,..is still doing just fine

 

[Canarygirl]

I moved a stressed crocea clam into my second tank because it was being bit-on by a new blenny in my main tank. I witnessed my tonga nasarius snail go after this clam with full gusto. I got him off before he did any damage, and moved the clam onto the rocks from the sandbed. He is doing okay now and the snail hasn't bothered again to my knowledge.