nassarius or not!

[jordan19]

so i know this has been in a million threads across the internet but they never seem to match mine aha so i bought 3 "nass" snails from big als and just wondering if they are really nass snails before they leave my sump and are moved into the display tank. 3 pictures of each snail first 3 are snail 1 next 2 are snail 2

[jordan19]

first 1 is also snail 2 and next 3 are snail 3

[flixxx]

Definitely Nass, you can tell with that antenna thing on its head. He'll dig himself in the sand bed and just have that antenna sticking out from it

[whosurcaddie]

Heres a picture of a whelk and a nassarius. The whelk witch is bad has the colored pattern on its tube.



Your good to go

[devimik]

The other big difference between predatory Whelks and Nassarius is the Whelk has a trap door shell that lays on it's trailing foot, which it can use to completely seal up its shell. A Nassarius does not have this shell door.

[jordan19]

ah ok but the nass still has the snail foot right? in pic 4 the yellow disc. also so nass arnt completely white its ok for them to have those black dots?

[devimik]

Originally Posted by jordan19

ah ok but the nass still has the snail foot right? in pic 4 the yellow disc. also so nass arnt completely white its ok for them to have those black dots?

In that pic, it looks like it has a shell on it's tail or foot, which could be used to seal up the shell when withdrawn into it. That would mean it's a Whelk. Pick it up with some tweezers or tongs and look closely at the foot. If there's a shell on it, I'd leave it in the sump.

[jordan19]

kk thanks man ! also whelks dont burrow into sand right?

[devimik]

From what I've read, not as much as Nassarius. My Nassarius spend most of their time in the sand with just the proboscis sticking up out of the sand. When any food hits the sand, they spring into action and search for it. Otherwise, they are in the sand. Whelks spend more time on the sand or glass or rocks, I believe.

[jordan19]

ah alrighty ya i looked closer from what i can tell its just a snail foot no shell

[DM1975]

Nasarrius snails also have that shell piece on their foot I thought. Every single one in my tank seems to have it. Can you elaborate more on this? Maybe with photos showing this difference? I'm curious.

[devimik]

Originally Posted by DM1975

Nasarrius snails also have that shell piece on their foot I thought. Every single one in my tank seems to have it. Can you elaborate more on this? Maybe with photos showing this difference? I'm curious.

No, Based on all the reading I've done, Nassarius snails do not have a little round shell disc attached to the top of their foot, but predatory Whelks do. Here is a picture of the Whelk with the shell door on its foot.
http://www.melevsreef.com/id/whelk.html

It can be very hard to tell the difference because they are in the same family.

[DM1975]

All of mine look like this and all of the ones I have ever seen has this piece on their foot.

[devimik]

Perhaps we're talking about different Nassarius species. I am referring to Nassarius Vibex, which are small - a few cm long. There's also a Nassarius distortus, which is called a Super Tongan Nassarius. I searched for pics of this and they seem to have the shell cover on the foot, like the Whelk, but they are larger than Vibex. None of the Vibex I have, nor any I've seen have the shell on the foot. Perhaps the OP has the distortus species too. One thing about the predatory Whelk pics I've seen is that they are all usually darker than Nassarius species.

[cody6766]

All of my nass snails have a little something on their foot that looks very much like a 'door seal.' It's not just the snails I have now, but every nass snail I've ever had. I've never pulled them out to tap on it to see if it's hard, but there's something there. Could it be that whekls have a more robust door and nass snails have one that is less developed or even fleshy?

Also, I've had nass snails that are darker than others and with different shell patterns. They all behaved the same (typical nass behavior) and never bothered any other inhabitants, they just looked a little different.

[DM1975]

That may be it. I've had both species but I only ever see the super Tongans anymore. I don't recall what was on the smaller ones.

[devimik]

It is interesting that the more I search pics, the more I see that some snails, which appear to be Vibex, have the little shell cover disc on their foot. So, perhaps that isn't a foolproof way to ID a true Whelk from a Nassarius. There are tons of Nassarius species, so no wonder it's tough to ID them. I'll have to do some more research on this.