Ilyanassa obsoleta..Snails where is the beef?

[thumb]

Clearing the air on Ilyanassa obsoleta
I have found that this is a great snail for any reef tank. For some reason after a very good deep sand bed paper written by Dr Ron a lot of people mistook Ilyanassa obsoleta for Nassarius vibex. Since that time there has been many comments against Illyanassa obsoleta by Dr Ron untill these neg comments turned to him accusing sellers of this snail as immoral and not much better words for owners.
This is spear headed by a group of Dr Ron followers that attack sellers and owners with the same.
You can not bring up this snail on a marine forum without this group finding your post within minutes.
You are seen as having a personal problem with Dr Ron.
The next step is you are accused of the worst a seller of this snail.
Since the only person behind anything negitive on this snail is Dr Ron to object is to pit yourself against Dr Rons comments.
As far as being a seller of this snail, at this point that is kids and the handicap since it is hard to make even a few dollars a hour doing so.
I feel this snail has much to offer the marine tank owner and hate seeing the waste and bad feeling that follows just bringing it up.
P.S. I DO NOT SELL THIS SNAIL and I have no problem what so ever with Dr Ron except on this subject.
Thank you

[Steven Pro]

So, who are you thumb? I notice we are both from Pittsburgh. Are you a member of PMASI? Do we know each other?

[thumb]

If I tell you can I go to Atlanta with you?

[thumb]

You scare me Steve! You know what you are talking about, forget about me.

[Steven Pro]

You seem to have me at a disadvantage. You know me well enough to know I am away in Atlanta and yet you are a mystery to me.

[thumb]

OK I will tell you where I got my advantage, by reading your posts on this forum.
Another good thing to know is wear your Home Depot shirt down there.

[Reefland]

Here is my new speaking schedule:

Atlanta Reef Club
http://www.atlantareefclub.org/
Tuesday, December 27th
‘Reef-Safe’ Treatments

Posted in your speaking schedule.

[Ninong]

So, who are you thumb? I notice we are both from Pittsburgh. Are you a member of PMASI? Do we know each other?

Yes and yes!

Yes, you know each other and yes, he is a member of PMASI, which is where he may have met Dr. Ron Shimek.

In this Reef Central thread thumb (S.P.) thanked Dr. Ron for speaking at his reef club, PMASI.

In this other snail thread on Reef Central, thumb (S.P.) engaged some of the other board members in spirited discussions before the thread was closed by Dr. Ron.

[Steven Pro]

I am curious thumb as to why you didn't come to the PMASI meeting that Dr. Ron spoke at this past October and question him on this snail? Or, if you were there, why did you hold your tongue?

[sihaya]

::sigh:: Is this still a question? These snails are not warm water creatures. They belong in cool water tanks (i.e. not your typical reef tank).

[romunov]

It has been demonstrated that they negatively impact the sand bed fauna, which is a big no no for a DSB.
Being cold water animals and having a negative impact on the diversity make them bad reef tank inhabitants.

[Reefland]

This isn't really a new question, but the same question/argument from the same ole' person.

[greenbean36191]

Thumb, you ignore the numerous published journal articles on these animals. Are all of the authors I cited for you just Dr. Ron followers?

[Klondar]

Ok, I'm new here and don't want to any more fuel to this debate but I do also own several of these and they have been doing quite well for the last year or so. That being said, Romunov's statement about the dammage they do to the sand bed deversity is reason enough for me to start systematicly removing them. I got them before finding out they were cold water and have been siprized at their susvival. But I kenw somthing was ipacting my DSB and now I may have the answer.

-Glen

[sihaya]

Glen-- the thing is, these snails can like like 10 (maybe even 15) years in the wild. Just because they manage to survive a year or two in our tanks doesn't mean they can "adapt" readily to warmer water.

[Ninong]

Glen-- the thing is, these snails can like like 10 (maybe even 15) years in the wild. Just because they manage to survive a year or two in our tanks doesn't mean they can "adapt" readily to warmer water.

Hi Sara,

Ilyanassa obsoleta has a natural lifespan of 30-40 years on average although some specimens have been found that are 70 years old. If that age is correct, it would make it one of the oldest mollusks.

I found that some time ago using Google's advanced scholar search feature.

[sihaya]

Oh, well, if you used Google scholar I'm sure your source is better than mine. But the point is the same... they're supposed to live a looong time! ;)

[Ninong]

Oh, well, if you used Google scholar I'm sure your source is better than mine. But the point is the same... they're supposed to live a looong time! ;)

I'm in agreement with your post, just pointing out that their lifespan is even longer than commonly thought.

[sihaya]

No kidding! I knew they lived long.... but 70 years? wow! (thanks for the added info btw) That really is amazing. You just don't think of snails as living that long! I think that's the problem sometimes when people try to empirically determine if a given snail is appropriate for a reef tank environment. Too many hobbyists are content to see their animals live a couple years (not really thinking that maybe they're meant to live a lot longer).

[Klondar]

I am not in disagreement that they are having their lifespan shortened, I was only pointing out that I was one who had been conviced that these would be OK. I ave since learned diffrent, but to me the more important point is that they may be doing more harm than good in my sand bed.

-Glen