Randy's 180G Reef-Photo Journal
- Thread starter rdmpe
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rdmpe
New member
Boy would I be happy if these are not whelks! I took some pics but they didn't turn out. Will have better ones in a few minutes!
I got them with my LR from Rock455, not sure where he got them
Hey Rock if you see this, do you know for sure what kind of snails these are? Did you buy them from a fish store?
I got them with my LR from Rock455, not sure where he got them
Hey Rock if you see this, do you know for sure what kind of snails these are? Did you buy them from a fish store?
mcdonaldtj
New member
They look like v obsoletta snails, infamous ebay nass snails like Melev said.
rock455
New member
I got them with a tank that I bought from a guy in Jax. He said that they were nassarius -- I still have quite a few of them in my 110 -- haven't had any problems with them but I don't have a clam
You now have me nervous about them -- I look forward to seeing what people think they are.
You now have me nervous about them -- I look forward to seeing what people think they are.
rdmpe
New member
Well, I've been searching around for opinions and pictures of the "ebay nass" snails (Ilyanassa obsoleta). It is sometimes spelled with two t's but I've found more info when spelled with one t.
After seeing more pictures, I think that these are the Ilyanassa obsoleta snails. I do not think they are Whelk snails. But I definitely would like to hear what others think as well.
From what I can tell, the main trouble with the Ilyanassa obsoleta snails is just that they are found in cooler waters and so may be short lived in our warm tanks. I don't think they attack live animals the way Whelk snails do. Again, this is just from finding other posts about them. I haven't come across any posts about Ilyanassa obsoleta killing other livestock.
Rock455 - If you've had these for a long time, I think they must be pretty well acclimated. Do you think they are reproducing in your tank?
After seeing more pictures, I think that these are the Ilyanassa obsoleta snails. I do not think they are Whelk snails. But I definitely would like to hear what others think as well.
From what I can tell, the main trouble with the Ilyanassa obsoleta snails is just that they are found in cooler waters and so may be short lived in our warm tanks. I don't think they attack live animals the way Whelk snails do. Again, this is just from finding other posts about them. I haven't come across any posts about Ilyanassa obsoleta killing other livestock.
Rock455 - If you've had these for a long time, I think they must be pretty well acclimated. Do you think they are reproducing in your tank?
rdmpe
New member
Well that has to be a good sign then that these snails are acclimated to the higher temperatures. I can't remember - do you have any clams? I saw on another thread where Melev put a small clam in his tank one day (a crocea?) and the next morning the Whelk snails were just finishing it off 
So I'm feeling very relieved that these don't appear to be Whelks!
Also some good news on the temperature front!
I am such an idiot sometimes! I still haven't set up any venting of my stand, so I have to leave the doors open at each end and I have a desktop style fan on a controller that blows air through the stand. It was sitting on the floor blowing air in on the "pump" side of the stand and the air was exiting on the "sump" side of the stand.
Well, yesterday I sat the fan on an overturned bucket, angled it down and put it on the other side of the stand so that it was blowing into the sump/fuge. What a difference! At the end of the light cycle (still only 2.5 hrs each, staggered by 1/2 hr) the temps were only at 82.1 (the day before, the house was a little warmer but the temps got up to 84.5). So I think that once I have fans set up, my temps will probably be OK.
:bounce1: :bounce2: :bounce3: :dance: :bounce3: :bounce2: :bounce1:
So I'm feeling very relieved that these don't appear to be Whelks!Also some good news on the temperature front!
I am such an idiot sometimes! I still haven't set up any venting of my stand, so I have to leave the doors open at each end and I have a desktop style fan on a controller that blows air through the stand. It was sitting on the floor blowing air in on the "pump" side of the stand and the air was exiting on the "sump" side of the stand.
Well, yesterday I sat the fan on an overturned bucket, angled it down and put it on the other side of the stand so that it was blowing into the sump/fuge. What a difference! At the end of the light cycle (still only 2.5 hrs each, staggered by 1/2 hr) the temps were only at 82.1 (the day before, the house was a little warmer but the temps got up to 84.5). So I think that once I have fans set up, my temps will probably be OK.
:bounce1: :bounce2: :bounce3: :dance: :bounce3: :bounce2: :bounce1:
shane 1111
Premium Member
they look like Whelk?
tgunn
Active member
Randy, glad to hear that the temps are stabilizing with air blowing onto the sump. That'll definitely help encourage more evaporation (and thus cooling).
So you're going to stick with the two Darts hey? Probably a good choice. They're such nice little pumps. I only wish I could've used mine in my configuration...
Do you find the dart and more silent than the tarpon?
Tyler
So you're going to stick with the two Darts hey? Probably a good choice. They're such nice little pumps. I only wish I could've used mine in my configuration...
Do you find the dart and more silent than the tarpon?
Tyler
rock455
New member
Here is a good post
http://www.melevsreef.com/id/whats_a_whelk.html
Looking at these pic and the description of their behavior I would suggest that they are ebay nassarius -- if you look closely at melevereef pics the whelk has an extremely narrow foot and a highly speckled (tattooed) pattern while the ones in my tank have more of a random pattern and spend their days in the sand bed as described.
wishful thinking???
http://www.melevsreef.com/id/whats_a_whelk.html
Looking at these pic and the description of their behavior I would suggest that they are ebay nassarius -- if you look closely at melevereef pics the whelk has an extremely narrow foot and a highly speckled (tattooed) pattern while the ones in my tank have more of a random pattern and spend their days in the sand bed as described.
wishful thinking???
rdmpe
New member
They look very much like a whelk. That's why I was so concerned. But the whelk seem to have a darker, more defined pattern on their "trunk". Also, accoring to Melev, whelks don't bury themselves. These guys bury themselves a lot. I'll see maybe a dozen of them at any one time, but as soon as some food goes in the tank I'll see four times as many... Also, I got them from Rock455 and he has had them in his tanks for a long time with no appearent trouble.
rdmpe
New member
At this point I'm planning on sticking with two darts. Although the tarpon isn't very loud at all, the dart is even more quiet. Those two darts together hardly make any noise and this tank is sitting right in my living room behind the couch facing the TV. Now if only I could install some vent fans and close the stand doors it would really be quiet!!!
melev
Well-known member
The Ebay Nassarius are fine, they just don't live long. If you really want the 'good' ones, I'm almost positive you'll want the I. vibex nassarius, but those don't appear on Ebay to often.
Just so you know, I have some of the I. obselletta in my tank too, and they've worked out perfectly well. So no worries.
Cooling your tank by having a fan blow on the sump's water is what I've done for years. The other way you had it set up, blowing on the hot pump just pushed more heat over the sump area and didn't help with cooling. Be sure to top off to make up for evaporation to avoid increasing salinity levels.
Just so you know, I have some of the I. obselletta in my tank too, and they've worked out perfectly well. So no worries.
Cooling your tank by having a fan blow on the sump's water is what I've done for years. The other way you had it set up, blowing on the hot pump just pushed more heat over the sump area and didn't help with cooling. Be sure to top off to make up for evaporation to avoid increasing salinity levels.
rdmpe
New member
I could cut some 4" holes in the side for the vent fans. But since that is a load bearing portion of the stand, I'm considering other spots for the vent fans. The back of my stand has the same openings as the front but doesn't have any doors. Instead, it has a large sheet of plywood over that whole side (hidden by the couch). So I could put the fan holes in that back piece of plywood and use dryer vent to bring the air around to the side or out toward the front. I don't want that warm moist air blowing on my leather couch
I would like to work on it this weekend if I have time...Thanks Marc, I'm glad I don't have to try to pick all of those snails out of my tank! Plus they are doing a pretty good job of dealing with my algae outbreak.
As for top off - I have been doing that every day or two. I have just been slowly pouring rodi water into the sump where the return pump intake is. Is that OK? I was woried about adding the rodi water too fast... I'll probably be adding 2 gallons/day or so I'm guessing.
Eventually I'm going to set up an auto topoff system that delivers kalk. Here's a pretty good thread on what I'm thinking of doing http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=294913
melev
Well-known member
It is fine. I've topped off with 5g and 10g at a time with my 55g and my 280g reef. But it is better if you top off daily at least to keep salinity stable. As water evaporates, the water becomes more and more salty.
I know that some state that RO/DI water has lowered pH (but ime you can't test for pH with water that pure), and they buffer it up. If you top off in smaller amounts, it will have less impact on the pH of the tank.
I know that some state that RO/DI water has lowered pH (but ime you can't test for pH with water that pure), and they buffer it up. If you top off in smaller amounts, it will have less impact on the pH of the tank.
rdmpe
New member
I went to the LFS after work todayI brought these guys home:
2 Camelback Shrimp
8 Blue Leg Hermit Crabs
4 Emerald Crabs
3 Sally Lightfoot Crabs (about 2"+ each)
1 Horseshoe Crab (I think this was a mistake)
The horseshoe is very small, maybe an inch across at most. He is too light to be in my display tank, the currents just sweep him around. He can't stay anchored. So I put him in the refugium. However, he doesn't seem to be doing very well there either. He keeps trying to swim and ends up upside down at the water surface. I'm not sure if he's going to make it.
I acclimated them by floating for 15 min and then adding just a little bit of tank water to the bag every five minutes or so for over an hour. I would have drip acclimated but I had 5 different bags to deal with. I wasn't sure if I could drop them all in one bucket and then drip into that or what. Also - would I need to worry about the water temp dropping while I'm dripping into their bucket?
Everything else seemd to be doing fine. The Sally Light Foot crabs are really fun to watch because they are so big and spidery. Everything seemed to get right to work going over the liverock picking at things. I was surprised to see the clownfish acting pretty aggressive. He seemed very tempted to try to eat the new tank mates. When the small horseshoe crab got swept around the tank, the clownfish tried some nips at him. I think I need to feed the clownfish more often.
Temperatures today got up to 82.4. I'm still just cooling by having a desk fan blow on the refugium / sump area. This weekend I'll bump the light period up another 1/2 hour I guess. I've been getting a little algae but not any real problems with it. The snails seem to take care of it almost as quick as I start noticing it. I've only had to clean the glass once so far. I'm hoping that if I ease into the full photo period slowly the algae will never have a sudden huge jump and I can stay ahead of it.
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