Whelks

daven · 02/06/2008, 07:59 AM

I ordered Nassarius Vibex for my tank. Apparently some of them were actually Whelks. They breed quite prolifically.

I have read on Melevsreef.com that they are generally harmless unless you have clams.

Any experiences with them you can share?

I do want to add clams eventually.

pagojoe · 02/06/2008, 09:16 AM

Hey daven,

There are a lot of different kinds of "whelks," and they have a wide variety of feeding habits. The name probably gets way overused in the aquarium hobby, and gets applied to just about any snail that is carnivorous.

The truest form of buccinid whelks mostly kill and eat other molluscs. Some prefer clams, and some prefer gastropods. Some of the most vicious predatory snails are in the same superfamily, Buccinoidea, and some are even called "whelks," but they aren't closely related. Closer relatives to the true buccinid whelks include both Nassarius snails and columbellids, or Dove Snails, neither of which is usually a problem in an aquarium. If the whelks you have in your tank are no larger than Nassarius vibex, they probably won't be much of a problem. They will certainly be predatory on something in your tank, whether it be worms, barnacles, vermetid snails, or your cleanup crew, but chances are you won't notice much in the way of casualties. If they are Cantharus or Pollia species, which get up to about an inch long, these guys may kill off any larger snails that you put in the tank, and some species have been implicated in the deaths of tridacnid clams.

If you want to take pics and post them here, I may be able to give you a little better idea of whether they are likely to cause trouble in your tank.

Cheers,

Don

Sk8r · 02/06/2008, 09:21 AM

White nassarius are well-behaved.
Somebody on ebay has taken to collecting east coast dog whelks and selling them as brown nassarius.
Go for the snowy white guys and you won't have any problems, by my experience. Pagojoe is absolutely dead on.
I love the dove snails. They're great little cleaners.

daven · 02/06/2008, 09:40 AM

Okay. These aren't pics of my snails but are from Melevsreef. They are what I have. Both the Nassarius on the left and what I (and Melev) call a whelk on the right.

daven · 02/06/2008, 04:34 PM

bump

daven · 02/06/2008, 05:26 PM

What has me worried is that these guys propagate like mad. I have a LOT of them (the ones on the right) in my tank now. There are many small ones that are too small to identify but I am assuming the worst.

pagojoe · 02/07/2008, 01:06 PM

Hey Dave,

I've been fishing the last couple days, sorry to be slow getting back to your post.

That's the species that I figured you had, Cantharus tinctus ("Pisania tincta" in less recent sources) and they are true buccinid whelks. The scientific literature says this species feeds exclusively on barnacles in some specific locations in Florida, but photos of this species attacking larger snails in a reef tank were posted recently either on this forum or one of the other reef forums. This didn't surprise me, as they differ very little from their close Indo-Pacific relatives in the same genus (Cantharus fumosus and Cantharus undosus). I've seen the Indo-Pacific species attacking and killing other molluscs.

It may be that your snails won't eat other animals in your tank, but if they don't have barnacles to eat, they'll either find something else to eat or they'll starve. If you catch them killing something else, please post it here.

http://www.gastropods.com/8/Shell_3228.html

Cheers,

Don

daven · 02/08/2008, 08:03 AM

Sigh. Well, I'm going to start removing them this weekend.

I'll watch them to see if they are attacking anything.

Thanks for your time. I appreciate it.

02/06/2008, 07:59 AM	#1
daven Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 283	Whelks I ordered Nassarius Vibex for my tank. Apparently some of them were actually Whelks. They breed quite prolifically. I have read on Melevsreef.com that they are generally harmless unless you have clams. Any experiences with them you can share? I do want to add clams eventually.

02/06/2008, 09:21 AM	#3
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	White nassarius are well-behaved. Somebody on ebay has taken to collecting east coast dog whelks and selling them as brown nassarius. Go for the snowy white guys and you won't have any problems, by my experience. Pagojoe is absolutely dead on. I love the dove snails. They're great little cleaners. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

02/06/2008, 09:16 AM	#2
pagojoe Team RC Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Conroe, TX Posts: 2,761	Hey daven, There are a lot of different kinds of "whelks," and they have a wide variety of feeding habits. The name probably gets way overused in the aquarium hobby, and gets applied to just about any snail that is carnivorous. The truest form of buccinid whelks mostly kill and eat other molluscs. Some prefer clams, and some prefer gastropods. Some of the most vicious predatory snails are in the same superfamily, Buccinoidea, and some are even called "whelks," but they aren't closely related. Closer relatives to the true buccinid whelks include both Nassarius snails and columbellids, or Dove Snails, neither of which is usually a problem in an aquarium. If the whelks you have in your tank are no larger than Nassarius vibex, they probably won't be much of a problem. They will certainly be predatory on something in your tank, whether it be worms, barnacles, vermetid snails, or your cleanup crew, but chances are you won't notice much in the way of casualties. If they are Cantharus or Pollia species, which get up to about an inch long, these guys may kill off any larger snails that you put in the tank, and some species have been implicated in the deaths of tridacnid clams. If you want to take pics and post them here, I may be able to give you a little better idea of whether they are likely to cause trouble in your tank. Cheers, Don

02/06/2008, 09:40 AM	#4
daven Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 283	Okay. These aren't pics of my snails but are from Melevsreef. They are what I have. Both the Nassarius on the left and what I (and Melev) call a whelk on the right.

02/06/2008, 04:34 PM	#5
daven Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 283	bump

02/06/2008, 05:26 PM	#6
daven Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 283	What has me worried is that these guys propagate like mad. I have a LOT of them (the ones on the right) in my tank now. There are many small ones that are too small to identify but I am assuming the worst.

02/07/2008, 01:06 PM	#7
pagojoe Team RC Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Conroe, TX Posts: 2,761	Hey Dave, I've been fishing the last couple days, sorry to be slow getting back to your post. That's the species that I figured you had, Cantharus tinctus ("Pisania tincta" in less recent sources) and they are true buccinid whelks. The scientific literature says this species feeds exclusively on barnacles in some specific locations in Florida, but photos of this species attacking larger snails in a reef tank were posted recently either on this forum or one of the other reef forums. This didn't surprise me, as they differ very little from their close Indo-Pacific relatives in the same genus (Cantharus fumosus and Cantharus undosus). I've seen the Indo-Pacific species attacking and killing other molluscs. It may be that your snails won't eat other animals in your tank, but if they don't have barnacles to eat, they'll either find something else to eat or they'll starve. If you catch them killing something else, please post it here. http://www.gastropods.com/8/Shell_3228.html Cheers, Don

02/08/2008, 08:03 AM	#8
daven Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 283	Sigh. Well, I'm going to start removing them this weekend. I'll watch them to see if they are attacking anything. Thanks for your time. I appreciate it.