Nassarius snails

[Albindia]

Picked up two nasarius snails and they are just completely non existent- I've seen one of them once in the past week, at night. Any ideas??

 

[JJ-MIK]

They burrow under the sand.. If you look around you may see there snout sticking out... They come out at night. And if you put food in your tank.. They will come out to eat..

 

[chenzo9999]

They bury themselves deep in the sand and eat whatever they can from there.

Mine come out at night sometimes - and sometimes when I feed.

If you look closely you may see there "snorkel" sticking out.

 

[JJ-MIK]

Actually from what i read. They dont eat diatoms or algae.. They eat food waste and whatever type of hand fed food that sits on the sand..

 

[marsh]

I got one of the same(wont try to spell it) and 2 black margarita snails, 2 white astrea, a big patchy turbo snail am a huge sand sifting thing. I have seen the N..... Snail like 5 times in 2 months in my 55, the others I can spot on a daily

 

[Albindia]

Can anyone tell me what the benefit of these snails are? They look cool but never come out, don't clean up the tanks? Where's the appeal??

 

[Mr. D]

They get a good size and sift the sand well with enough

 

[Leonardo7689]

They eat left over foods the the fishies missed and they also eat dead creatures in the tank. I had about 20 of them in my 20 gallon long reef before and during feeding time, they all come out of the sand. Really cool sight!

 

[MacDracor]

Correct that they do not eat diatoms! However, and here's where the confusion lies, they do help prevent diatom buildup by agitating the top half inch of sand. They are excellent scavengers, second only to bristle worms IMHO. They also add visual interest through their unique behavior. I will never have another sw tank without them personally.

 

[mr_X]

But make sure you have food enough for them, because they are carnivores. 20 of them in a 20 long and they were some hungry snails!