aggressive Nassarius killing Astraea

[wfournier]

Looking for info on this I have seen a few reports of some aggressive Nassarius but I was surprised to see this behavior and thought I would see if this is common or not. I have two large Nassarius and I recently added three Astraea to help mow down some algae. Well two of the astraea looked good when I added them, one looked a little iffy but was doing ok (not moving around as much). The one that was not moving around as much I saw one of the nassarius jump on and it never moved again. I then noticed one of the other astraea fell off the glass and then once again a nassarius jumped it and it again appears to be dead. So were these snails dying and the nassarius finished them off or do I have some brutal nassarius?

 

[EmdeReef]

Looking for info on this I have seen a few reports of some aggressive Nassarius but I was surprised to see this behavior and thought I would see if this is common or not. I have two large Nassarius and I recently added three Astraea to help mow down some algae. Well two of the astraea looked good when I added them, one looked a little iffy but was doing ok (not moving around as much). The one that was not moving around as much I saw one of the nassarius jump on and it never moved again. I then noticed one of the other astraea fell off the glass and then once again a nassarius jumped it and it again appears to be dead. So were these snails dying and the nassarius finished them off or do I have some brutal nassarius?

Unless you have whelks, nassarius snails generally won't kill a healthy snail. They'll go after dead or dying snails, clams, even fish.

 

[TheEngineer]

Unless you have whelks, nassarius snails generally won't kill a healthy snail. They'll go after dead or dying snails, clams, even fish.

+1 got a pic of the nass in question.?

 

[wfournier]

+1 got a pic of the nass in question.?

I can't totally fix the white balance in this pic but it should be good enough I think.

 

[ZachR32]

Not a nassarious! They do look like them. It's a tulip snail. Predatory on other snails! Remove him asap

 

[Ryan T.L.]

Hmm I’m no expert but doesn’t look like a tulip... #reefsquad?
That looks like a nassarius to me

 

[reeferfoxx]

Unless you have whelks, nassarius snails generally won't kill a healthy snail. They'll go after dead or dying snails, clams, even fish.

+1

It's not always a guarantee the snails you add will make it. Any thoughts or observations to why the snails didn't make it to begin with? Were they added to quickly? Possible pyramid snails attached to them? Low magnesium?

 

[ZachR32]

Hmm I’m no expert but doesn’t look like a tulip... #reefsquad?
That looks like a nassarius to me

I was told that predatory snails that looked like nass were tulips, my fault for not confirming this information. Upon doing some scouring you're right, it does not appear to be a tulip. My best bet is if it's not a nass then it's a type of predatory whelk, otherwise it could be fair game if the health of the snails before their demise is unknown

 

[Idoc]

I would bet the astreae snails were weak and unhealthy when you put them in the tank. The Nassarious snails won't kill a healthy snail, but they will start dinner early on a sick snail that is dying.

 

[TheEngineer]

That does look like a regular nassarius snail to me too. Sometimes it can be a toss-up if it is a whelk or a nass, but that's pretty clearly a nass IMO. I agree with the others that the other snails were likely already dead or nearly so. Were these snails new additions?

 

[wfournier]

Added within a week, the first one was iffy, the second looked fine imo but could have been on it's way out I guess.

 

[Maritimer]

That snail is a "Tonga Nassarius" - I've got a bunch, and they're fine. Astraea snails are like the old woman in the TV commercial "I've fallen, and I can't get up!". They fall often, and can't right themselves. Don't know how they deal with that in the ocean . . .

If they die, and the scent of rotting flesh drifts into the currents, the nassarius "zombie snails" will rise from their beds in the sand and seek out the source. I don't think they're attacking the Astraea.

~Bruce