Ilyanassa obsoleta..Snails

[saltjunkie]

i see these all over ebay for 10 - 30 bucks....
are they worth it?
are they suited for warmer tanks? i did a search on the net and see that they live on the east coastline all the way to florida...
i site reffered them to the nassa family... like the nassarius snail?
would like to buy the 50 of them for 30 bucks including shipping.. unless there is good reason not to...
thanks in advance!

[Ninong]

i did a search on the net...

Why didn't you just do a search on Reefland? Here is a reply I posted on Reefland in April 2004:

Information on Ilyanassa obsoleta:

Ilyanassa obsoleta is the valid classification. The synonym Nassarius obsoletus is invalid and has been for decades.

This mudsnail is native to the western Atlantic from Nova Scotia to northern Florida. It was transported to San Francisco Bay in 1907 and it is now extremely abundant there. In fact, it is the dominant mudflat gastropod in San Francisco Bay (Nichols & Thompson, 1985b). Carlton (1979a) suggests that it was probably introduced there on Atlantic oysters between 1901 and 1907. Atlantic oysters were cultivated in Alameda (SF Bay).

From San Francisco Bay it has spread north as far as British Columbia.

It has been intensively studied in the Atlantic where it has been shown to have significant effects on mudflat community structure and sediment composition (Grant, 1965; Sibert, 1968).

Grodhaus and Keh (1959) found it to harbor five species of trematode flatworms, including the schistosome Austrobilharzia variglandis which is responsible for "swimmers' itch."

Race (1979, 1982) demonstrated competitive displacement and predation of the native hornsnail Cerithidea californica.

Interesting threads on this topic:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...light=obsoleta

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...light=obsoleta

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...light=obsoleta

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...light=obsoleta

Nassarius spp. snails became popular for reef tanks with deep sand beds a few years back when Dr. Ron Shimek wrote an article recommending them. He was talking about true Nassarius, such as Nassarius vibex that are commonly available from the Florida Keys. True Nassarius snails do not eat algae and they are not predatory; they are scavengers that eat only carrion and meaty detritus.

50 Reef Fish Tank Snails - Free Shipping!

[saltjunkie]

Why didn't you just do a search on Reefland? Here is a reply I posted on Reefland in April 2004:

Information on Ilyanassa obsoleta:

Ilyanassa obsoleta is the valid classification. The synonym Nassarius obsoletus is invalid and has been for decades.

This mudsnail is native to the western Atlantic from Nova Scotia to northern Florida. It was transported to San Francisco Bay in 1907 and it is now extremely abundant there. In fact, it is the dominant mudflat gastropod in San Francisco Bay (Nichols & Thompson, 1985b). Carlton (1979a) suggests that it was probably introduced there on Atlantic oysters between 1901 and 1907. Atlantic oysters were cultivated in Alameda (SF Bay).

From San Francisco Bay it has spread north as far as British Columbia.

It has been intensively studied in the Atlantic where it has been shown to have significant effects on mudflat community structure and sediment composition (Grant, 1965; Sibert, 1968).

Grodhaus and Keh (1959) found it to harbor five species of trematode flatworms, including the schistosome Austrobilharzia variglandis which is responsible for "swimmers' itch."

Race (1979, 1982) demonstrated competitive displacement and predation of the native hornsnail Cerithidea californica.

Interesting threads on this topic:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...light=obsoleta

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...light=obsoleta

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...light=obsoleta

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...light=obsoleta

Nassarius spp. snails became popular for reef tanks with deep sand beds a few years back when Dr. Ron Shimek wrote an article recommending them. He was talking about true Nassarius, such as Nassarius vibex that are commonly available from the Florida Keys. True Nassarius snails do not eat algae and they are not predatory; they are scavengers that eat only carrion and meaty detritus.

50 Reef Fish Tank Snails - Free Shipping!

just what i needed to hear..........

thanks...
i need to remember to use the search... i always forget!

[jbicb3]

i see these all over ebay for 10 - 30 bucks....
are they worth it?
are they suited for warmer tanks? i did a search on the net and see that they live on the east coastline all the way to florida...
i site reffered them to the nassa family... like the nassarius snail?
would like to buy the 50 of them for 30 bucks including shipping.. unless there is good reason not to...
thanks in advance!

Did you ever get any of those snails? And if so, how are they working for you?

Is this the same person you ordered from?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...334553969&rd=1

Thanks

[saltjunkie]

i actually did get 100 of them....
as i thought would happen... some died, others crab food.. etc..
i put some in my sump and main tank.....
they burrow in the sand and move around down there.... when i feed brine or prime reef they all surface to eat....
some cruise around the glass on my live rock etc...
they dont bother any corals, nor my fish or shrimp....
my tank stays at 84- 86 degrees... and i would/ will buy more when the need arrises!

I got mine from I believe Atlantis snails.....
or something of the sort...

here do not buy those he is too expensive


http://www.atlantissnails.com/cyanobacteria.htm

[jbicb3]

i actually did get 100 of them....
as i thought would happen... some died, others crab food.. etc..
i put some in my sump and main tank.....
they burrow in the sand and move around down there.... when i feed brine or prime reef they all surface to eat....
some cruise around the glass on my live rock etc...
they dont bother any corals, nor my fish or shrimp....
my tank stays at 84- 86 degrees... and i would/ will buy more when the need arrises!

I got mine from I believe Atlantis snails.....
or something of the sort...

here do not buy those he is too expensive


http://www.atlantissnails.com/cyanobacteria.htm

Thanks, I'll order some next week!

Jerry

[thumb]

These are great snails but watch out, a lot of people that have no backround with them are bad mouthing people who buy them for no reason. Easy to find and buy on Ebay. Most sellers of this snail on Ebay have only good feed back except shipping problems, new guys and know it alls, none from owners!

[thumb]

One more thing; I have bought these for as little as 3 dollars for 300 + 8.50 shipping and handling! Look around Ebay you can great prices on these.
And the only bad thing about the snail are all the Dr Ron ditto heads that are posting unfounded comments about it.

[Ninong]

For whatever reason, thumb has decided to dig up five very old threads that discuss Ilyanassa obsoleta snails. Some of the threads he has posted to go back to July 2001 so his comments can't be taken as a serious attempt to offer timely advice. His comments about Dr. Ron Shimek seem to me to be a gross exaggeration of the facts.

Dr. Shimek wrote an article several years ago recommending Nassarius vibex snails as a good choice for people who choose to have deep sand beds in their reef aquaria. These snails are carrion eaters and because they burrow in the top layer of the sand bed, they provide beneficial bioturbation of the substrate.

Some hobbyists have asked Dr. Ron if the related species, Ilyanassa obsoleta, would be a good substitute for N. vibex and Dr. Ron has offered his professional advice that I. obsoleta is not a good choice.

Here is a typical response from Dr. Ron to someone asking this question:

Well, Ilyanassa obsoleta are not Nassarius, but close relatives.

They are partially predatory unlike true Nassarius, and they normally live at lower than reef temperatures. When placed in a reef tank their life span is dramatically lowered as they basically are running at about 180% to 200% of their normal metabolic rate.

Secondly, they may well attack sessile animals if not well fed.

Thirdly, in a number of areas these high intertidal animals are vectors for a number of flukes that parasitize birds. The fluke intermediate life stages will infect the snails, and then exit them "en masse" when they reach the end of that life stage. It is quite likely that if you have your hands in the tank at those times you will get an aquarium version of "swimmer's itch."

The parasite stages will not survive in your or your other aquarium animals, nonetheless they may well burrow into the skin of fish or yourself.

They are a cheap alternative to an animal that is already inexpensive. Tossing them into an reef aquarium is deterimental to them, and may be detrimental to the aquarium in general.

I'll add this for your consideration: Ilyanassa obsoleta is the natural host for at least 9 different species of detrimental trematodes. Studies indicate that more than half of the adult snails will contain these parasites.