Will a nassarius starve in a 15 gallon?

[One fish]

I just watched my nassarius snail kill my hermit crab and start eating him. He was my favorite blue legged hermit and my nassarius has killed a bumblebee snail last week. Do I need to remove these guys in a 15 gallon?
316305

[One fish]

I just watched my nassarius snail kill my hermit crab and start eating him. He was my favorite blue legged hermit and my nassarius has killed a bumblebee snail last week. Do I need to remove these guys in a 15 gallon?
316305



This is a column tank** so like 15 by 15?

[Coelli]

Did you actually see it killing the hermit, or could it have been eating a molt? The molts look exactly like dead hermits. I have 3 nassarius snails in my tank, which is bigger than yours, but I have lots of little blue-leg hermits and the snails have never paid any attention to them.

As for whether a snail would starve - if you're concerned, feed the tank a little more. The snails will find the food.

[Coelli]

One more thing - are you sure it's a nassarius and not a whelk? :)

[A sea K]

Now there is a switch. Usually its the hermits killing the snails for the shells. It must be some sort of predatory snail such as Coelli suggested.

[Martini5788]

Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought people referred to the all black nassariys snails as assassin snails.

[Mythicalelf]

I've never had those snails kill anything.
They do look similar to the Assassin Snail (Clea helena) but they are not the same.

[zn00py]

never seen a nassarius snail kill a hermit.If anything hermits are the biggest bully of a clean up crew

[AdamNC]

If anything my Nass Snails "run" away from my hermits.

[Sk8r]

30 gallon and above for the really big nassarius. Depends on size of snail, and some varieties are the size of your little fingernail max, which would do fine in a 15, but a larger one, about the length of a quarter, is about 3 snails per 50 gallon tank, but those are hard to get lately. Yes, if you don't feed them, they will seek food.

[cloak]

Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought people referred to the all black nassariys snails as assassin snails.

These?

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-11/mg/index.php

On a side note, does a Nassarius snail even have the ability to kill a hermit crab? When they eat things like pellets, mysis, black worms etc is looks as if they're slurping the food up with a straw. I'm not sure how this would work with those strong exoskeletons the hermit crabs have.

[BigCountry74]

Now there is a switch. Usually its the hermits killing the snails for the shells.

x2 :bum:

[Sk8r]

I admit I'm skeptical that it could kill a crab: snails don't suck---per se. They have a radula, as I recall, kind of like a raspy tongue, that might bore through a soft spot---then they sort of suck-- and the entire class of whelks does contain some predatory ones. I've been sold all sorts of things claiming to be nassarius, and so far have not gotten an ill-behaved one, but it might be useful for people to look up 'whelk' and understand there are varieties.

[Martini5788]

These?



http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-11/mg/index.php



On a side note, does a Nassarius snail even have the ability to kill a hermit crab? When they eat things like pellets, mysis, black worms etc is looks as if they're slurping the food up with a straw. I'm not sure how this would work with those strong exoskeletons the hermit crabs have.


Yes. These. I have these everywhere along the coast . I have fed a few to my mantis shrimp. But I saw them kill a scallop( a couple worked together and got it open and slurped it out). So if it's this snail, then I have no doubts it could kill a hermit

[cloak]

What? I highly doubt the snails have the strength, much or less the dexterity to pry open an otherwise healthy scallop. Odds are that it was probably already open, dead or dying in the first place. It's pretty much the same with the hermits crabs too. The meat is on the INSIDE of that exoskelton & getting to it is no pick nick. (hence the mallets that are sometimes used at restaurants)

[CStrickland]

I think that compared to other kinds of whelk, nassarius have weak mouths so that's why they are ok to have in a tank. Other whelks can bore through the shells of clams, or get up under them and eat the foot or something. But a hermit ought to be able to get away, or shake it off I would think.

maybe you can find one that looks like yours in here, your pic is kinda dark on my screen.http://www.chucksaddiction.com/Hitchsnails.html or just get rid of it, even if it is actually only eating them after they're dead there's no point being worried about it.

PS oh man, I hope my snails don't start teaming up like martini's, kind of a scary thought :0

[Martini5788]

Yeah I was really shocked when it happened too. I think when they attacked it it was slightly open and filtering, and it may not have been in great health, I honestly don't know. But I do know that they murdered that thing

[Martini5788]

Either way, the snails got smashed to bits by the mantis so no big deal as far as I'm concerned

[anthonys51]

maybe the hermit was already dead. i know a lot of times you see something eating something else and you play it, but sometimes it died on its own.

[sfoister]

If your nass snail killed a hermit, that's a whelk baby, yeaaahh... Austin Powers.. you know

Also, I have a shallow sand bed and a 90 gallon reef. I killed a hand full of nass snails due to starvation. I may try again when my fish load is on the heavier side.

[CStrickland]

I may try again when my fish load is on the heavier side.

yeah, I did that noob thing where you are so excited cause your tank's "cycled" that you buy a big ole clean up crew as soon as your nitrate hits 0. I wound up feeding nori to a tank full of snails for almost a month before there was enough algae for the herbivore ones, and feeding betta pellets to the nassarius for about as long until I got up the nerve to buy a fish :uhoh3:

I noticed I don't have a lot of bristleworms. Wonder if they eat the same stuff so my nassarius are keeping them from getting a leg up...