nassarius or welk?

Shibaken3 · Oct 13, 2022

I took one of them out and I think his snout is a solid color ??

I have three of them for about a month now would they eat each other if there whelk?

vetteguy53081 · Oct 13, 2022

Shibaken3 said:
I took one of them out and I think his snout is a solid color ??

I have three of them for about a month now would they eat each other if there whelk?

wont eat each other

Shibaken3 · Oct 13, 2022

I think ill go with they are safe for now and see what happens once I get a clam. If they go after my clam ill get rid of them. Everyone that helped me out thank you I appreciate it.

WheatToast · Oct 13, 2022

Shibaken3 said:
I took one of them out and I think his snout is a solid color ??

I have three of them for about a month now would they eat each other if there whelk?

Not sure if they would start eating each other, but it looks exactly like my Nassarius margaritifer and is definitely a keeper.
Went back for more pictures of mine:

EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal · Oct 13, 2022

SaltyT said:
Have you seen this snail bury in the sand? If so, it's not a predatory whelk

This is not 100% accurate, unfortunately.

Tamberav · Oct 13, 2022

vetteguy53081 said:
To confirm - see snout color - Whelk is on the right. Whelk has no trailing tail

its has a tail in his video. It is just covered in sand in the picture.

Tamberav · Oct 13, 2022

Looks like a nass to me. Doesn't look like my whelks. The tattoo on my whelk is extremely obvious... like he got a intricate tribal tatoo done. It isn't just brown and white blur.

Nassarius Vibex is my guess.

Nassarius Vibex

Resides : Substrate, will burrow in sand if available Consumes : Detritus, Leftover Fish Food Max Size : 3/5 or 15mm Origin : Caribbean Availability: Always Warnings...

www.reefcleaners.org

Nassarius Black Snail -Nassarius Vibex - 25 Pack

Combine crabs, snails, shrimp, star fish, sea cucumbers and urchins with a nudibranch to build an efficient cleaning crew. See the table for recommended packages for each tank volume. See compatibility chart for participant interaction in your aquarium. Category Invertebrate Care Easy Diet...

tropicalfishplus.com

Spare time · Oct 13, 2022

WheatToast said:
From one of my other posts:
Not predatory whelks. The dark ones are Nassarius margaritifer; I have them in my tanks and they have been model citizens and great CUC.

Nassarius margaritifer (left), possibly Nassarius distortus or a related species (middle), and possibly Nassarius limnaeiformis (right) in my Anti-Reef:

Nassarius margaritifer in my Anti-Reef:

Whelks (right) have distinctive siphon patterning:
https://www.melevsreef.com/blogs/whats-whelk

Wait what is an anti-reef tank lol

WheatToast · Oct 13, 2022

Spare time said:
Wait what is an anti-reef tank lol

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/wheattoasts-anti-reef-aqueon-40-gallon-breeder.852228/
That’s my macroalgae/seagrass system where I have been avoiding corals, anemones, and all other sessile cnidarians… except for Aiptasia, ball anemones, hydroids and probably a few other hitchhikers.

SaltyT · Oct 13, 2022

Erin1971Texas said:
This is not 100% accurate, unfortunately.

I concur, but it's still a good indicator that you're dealing with a carrion feeding nassarius not a predatory whelk.

EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal · Oct 13, 2022

vetteguy53081 said:
To confirm - see snout color - Whelk is on the right. Whelk has no trailing tail

This is 100% false!!!
Nassarius snails are types of whelks, and all have a "tail" with an operculum attached!

Tcook · Oct 13, 2022

Erin1971Texas said:
This is 100% false!!!
Nassarius snails are types of whelks, and all have a "tail" with an operculum attached!

I was thinking about this too. Maybe he was pointing out that the tail doesn’t extend beyond the whelk's shell. The tails on all of my nassarius extend well beyond the shell. Of course the tattooed siphon is a slam dunk.

EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal · Oct 13, 2022

Tcook said:
I was thinking about this too. Maybe he was pointing out that the tail doesn’t extend beyond the whelk's shell. The tails on all of my nassarius extend well beyond the shell. Of course the tattooed siphon is a slam dunk.

No, he's just wrong... as usual