snail info needed

[buckshot1977]

I have been seeing these on ebay by the ton for cheap. they are Ilyanassa obsoleta snails does any one know any thing about them. are they cold water or warm water snails i was thinking about getting some for my refugium sand bed they say they don't eat hair algae witch is fine. i just want them to stir the sand up and clean the glass a little. just wondering if they are woth any thing. thank you all for your help and time.

[rwdandald]

I researched them a lot and got a lot of conflicting info. Some on some forums claim they are cool water snails and die after a few months due to the warmer water in tanks, most siad they are good for detritus but not algae eaters , and some said they were great for algae and detritus, and a couple people insist they will eat soft corals, so after posting this question in several forums and doing a lot of googling I do not know any more now than when I started researching .
FWIW I ordered 50 of them , they were shipped yesterday and I plan on dropping some into the fuge and kepping the rest in a extra QT until I decide if they will eat anything I do not want them too and if they are ok for my tank. The price is good and since I keep crabs also all of my snails (exceppt a few huge turbos and a couple of conches) become crab food over time anyway. Maybe I will have a little better idea in a week or two if they are worth it or if they are a nightmare .

[iamdickie]

Originally Posted by rwdandald

I researched them a lot and got a lot of conflicting info. Some on some forums claim they are cool water snails and die after a few months due to the warmer water in tanks, most siad they are good for detritus but not algae eaters , and some said they were great for algae and detritus, and a couple people insist they will eat soft corals, so after posting this question in several forums and doing a lot of googling I do not know any more now than when I started researching .
FWIW I ordered 50 of them , they were shipped yesterday and I plan on dropping some into the fuge and kepping the rest in a extra QT until I decide if they will eat anything I do not want them too and if they are ok for my tank. The price is good and since I keep crabs also all of my snails (exceppt a few huge turbos and a couple of conches) become crab food over time anyway. Maybe I will have a little better idea in a week or two if they are worth it or if they are a nightmare .

I have them, my girlfriend and her father have them. ME and her both have TONS of softies, and i have never seent them eating them. They have been in for 2 months now, and have had no problems, if they were eating a softie, that softie was more than likely dieing. I have seen them on the glass at night with thier mouths moving, buy cannot confim that they were eating algae. They do eat detritis and dead things like wood chippers. I like them

[Spanky]

They are whelks.

[buckshot1977]

well thank you every one for the help i t have done a ton of research on them and have yet to come up with a true anwser i geuss well just have to order and learn.


hey spanky care to go in to a little more detail about the whelks thing does that make them good or bad. or should i move this to the think tank.

[Fish Lips]

Good luck, rwdandald let us know how it goes.

[iamdickie]

Originally Posted by buckshot1977

well thank you every one for the help i t have done a ton of research on them and have yet to come up with a true anwser i geuss well just have to order and learn.


hey spanky care to go in to a little more detail about the whelks thing does that make them good or bad. or should i move this to the think tank.

scavengers or detravors is what a whelk is

[DAN THE MAN]

Ilyanassa obsoleta are common mud snails found by the Billions in the inter-tidal zones on the east coast from North Florida to Nova Scotia. They are temporate scavenger/detravoires, not herbavoirs. They are reef safe, but there is some debate as to how long they last in an aquarium given they're not tropical. Many of those sold on Ebay are harvested by hobbiest close to the Atlantic. I've heard some local hobbist here in coastal NC harvest and used them, but I have not tried them and have gotten little reliable feedback on there longevity, with only one person trying them stating that they didn't last very long and were all gone after 6 months, which may not mean anything give the number of hobbist that can't keep the tropical reef snails alive in there tanks. I guess you can be our guinea pig. Good Luck

[buckshot1977]

well guinea pig i am i just order 150 of them for only 15 dollars at that price will see. i figure it is a good time to live and lrean sence all i have in the tank now are a few frags this way if it turns out real bad i'm not out much. lets hope for the good i will post on them ever week after i get them for a few to let you know how it is going. maybe we can make it a archive or some thing for all to learn from.

[DAN THE MAN]

I hope you get good news in your experament, sence I live only 20 min form the ocean good free snails would be great. Good luck. And keep us posted.