Jestersix

Fancy Nessarius, Babylonia Whelk...

goldielocke76

Supporting Member
Are these one and the same, just mislabeled? I bought a "tiger nassarius" last year from RAP. I love it, and wanted to add these guys in the 210, they are much better to look at, and they are little power houses when it comes to keeping the substrate clean.

Felicia sent me a link from saltwaterfish.com with a link to "fancy nessarius snails" and I was like "HOLY COW!! I'm not crazy!" LOL. Every time I asked about these in a shop, people weren't sure what I was talking about, so I thought I was losing my mind, hahahaha. So then, I googled "fancy nassarius snails" since googling "tiger nassarius" never brought back any viable results. I was reading through the overviews of the website, and for a while, they seemed pretty legit. I was getting excited, until I saw the overview for this website http://www.reefcleaners.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=48&Itemid=66 and saw the comment below the OP where it says "these are often mislabeled as Babylonia whelks..." /GASP. :eek:

So I then googled Babylonia Whelk, and my heart dropped until I saw this sight: http://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/362595/babylonian-whelk-is-a-fancy-nassarius where someone mentions that it's the shape of the shell that determines whether its a whelk or a nassarius. o_O

Can anyone please shed some light on this?? I really wanted to get these for the 210, but I do plan on having clams. I don't want to spend $$$ on these beautiful little predators if it means I can't have a clam or two. Are there are really such things as fancy nassarius snails? Or all they all mislabeled and they are therefore all whelks?
 
I'm worried they actually are the whelks and not nassarius. Here's what Saltwaterfish.com is selling as "fancy nassarius" (from the link I sent you):
thumbnail.asp


This is what another site (ThatFishPlace) is selling as a Babylonian Whelk. Personally, they look the same to me. But maybe there's some small difference.
Can't get the image to work, so here's a link:
http://www.thatpetplace.com/Babylonia-ivory-whelk-243967
 
Oh, and this is from ReefCleaners.org...concerning...

  • Babylonian Snails - This cream and brown spotted snail makes an attractive addition to the tank, but are predatory and feed on bivalves and other snails. They are often mislabeled and sold as "Fancy Nassarius", or "Speckled Nassarius" snails, but they are not related to Nassarius spp. and are not safe for the reef aquarium.
 
Back
Top