Snail ID
- Thread starter Fatboy
- Start date
charlesr1958
New member
these are the snails I have. I read the article in the link, good article. I was told that these are narcissus snails and that they are reef safe. It does look like a welk. Mine have been in the tank for several months, they seem to bury themselves in the sand and I have not have any damaged corals. I can't deny they do look like welks.
I read in "Natural Marine Aquarium Volume 1 - Reef Invertebrates by Anthony Calfo and Robert Fenner" page 202.
"Nassarius species are useful, safe and remarkably uncharacteristic of the predatory snail family. They are superb detritivores for reef aquaria. Nassarius actively burrow and agitate live sand and feed voraciously on dead (meaty) organic matter. They seem to place no significant burden on desirable infauna by predation"
However the book does not offer any way to distinguish between members of the family. There are some pictures that seem to look like the pictures i posted. Mine seem to display the behavior described.
"Nassarius species are useful, safe and remarkably uncharacteristic of the predatory snail family. They are superb detritivores for reef aquaria. Nassarius actively burrow and agitate live sand and feed voraciously on dead (meaty) organic matter. They seem to place no significant burden on desirable infauna by predation"
However the book does not offer any way to distinguish between members of the family. There are some pictures that seem to look like the pictures i posted. Mine seem to display the behavior described.
Last edited:
charlesr1958
New member
I just found out recently that nassarius and whelks all belong to the same superfamily, their being reef safe or not would depend upon the individual species diet. I suppose keeping an eye on it and its behaviour as with all hitch hikers would be prudent, who knows, it may turn out to be harmless towards the livestock that is within your specific setup, or it could have them for lunch..lol
Chuck
Chuck
thanks. I'm not too experienced so it's nice to have confirmation that I didn't make a total blunder by adding nearly 20 of them to my 2 tanks. I was a little worried. :eek2: I think the one posted by Fatboy has a different shape/pattern on the shell more like the one on the link you posted.
DonavonsReef
New member
It's a Babylonia Whelk & is just a big Nassarius snail. I have 20 of these in my tanks & they DO NOT prey on other snails. They are housed with 4 maxima clams & a few conchs. They stir up the detrious & burry themselves in the sand & I have them in all my tanks they are scavengers. I don't know why that site has them listed as predator I have never had a problem. Maybe my tanks are an exception but I doubt it.
