Predatory Nass Snails?

[MTV]

Hi all,

I've been looking to put a nass snail or two into my little tank however here in Australia they are fairly difficult to source (as far as dealers are concerned, they exist all over the place in the wild). Apparently, there is some talk here that they are predatory? But after reading many foreign posts about how good they are at sand sifting, and never hearing mention of predation, I was wondering if anyone could substantiate this claim?

Any help appreciated!

[pagojoe]

There are some of us who believe certain species of Nassarius are predatory, particularly if they are hungry. The word that gets spread around is that if they attack something, it was either dead or dying. My contention is that there is no way to detect "death" or "dying," except by the stress chemicals that may be produced by animals, or the fluids that may be released when an animal is injured. I, and many others, have seen apparently-healthy animals attacked and killed by the larger Nassarius species. I seriously doubt they were all dying.

Cheers,



Don

[pagojoe]

By the way, if you want to add Nassarius snails to your cleanup crew, I don't know any of the smaller Indo-Pacific species that are predatory. I'd guess they should all be fine.

Cheers again,


Don

[greenbean36191]

Also, there are lots of species sold as Nassarius within the hobby that clearly aren't and are known to be predatory.

[ReidiLoverLinds]

I will second that they seem to be predatory when they are hungry. when i brought mine home from the lfs they seemed crazy for food heading right for it when i fed in my feeding station. weather they were buried or not. after a few days they really calmed down and are now a wonderful addition to the tank. Ime they will def only go for something if it is dead or dying. i pulled one off of a shrimp once but upon further inspection the shrimp was dying anyways. hth

[650-IS350]

Might be some predatory welks sold as reef safe nassarius.

[pagojoe]

Yes, that certainly happens. My fear is that occasionally-predatory Nassarius get sold as reef safe Nassarius, as well. I may test that theory one of these days if I get time.

Cheers,



Don