Sandsifting stars...Good or bad?

[Anonymous]

I'd also be very curious what this paper has to say, but the PC I'm on doesn't have Acrobat Reader... :roll: Can someone tell me what it says about the snails actively predating, if anything?

The natural diet and degree of hunger of Nassarius festivus...

mollus.oupjournals.org/cgi/reprint/69/4/392

It wants you to pay first, or type in a password.

 

[Anonymous]

I've yet to witness/hear/read about aquarium variety nassarius snails attacking healthy animals. The are obligate scavengers. I'm not speaking of an entire genus here, just ones that are likey to be purchased in groups, and end up in your reef tank. Those are after all the animals that we're concerned with.

Jim

Huh? Do you know what species of Nassarius snail you have in your tank? I sure don't. How does one know they don't have a N. clarus?

I'm not saying they all behave like this, just that one species (which was the only one that I could find a feeding study done on) in the genus definitely does, and that leads me to conclude that all in the genus at least have the possibilty of consuming live prey in the sandbed, until someone out there does a feeding study on others in the genus and proves otherwise. As you know, an organism's propensity to feed on things that it doesn't usually consume in the wild will increase if it gets hungry. When some folks stick 30 of these little guys in a newer tank without much detritus, I wonder what else they might decide to snack on.

I've yet to witness a sand sifting star eat a spaghetti worm either, but since it's all happening underneath the sand where I can't see it doesn't mean it's not happening. I just think it's a stretch to say with certainty that they only eat detritus, period.

 

[gabemerrill]

I used to have pods.... lots of them. But then I got a sand sifting star... looked so cool, kept the sand mixed up; but now I have no pods. I do still have spagetti and flat worms... he didn't eat them for some reason.

Never had a problem with nassarius snails, but the star and peppermint shrimp ate most of them, and the turbos.

-Gabe

 

[Anonymous]

I've yet to witness/hear/read about aquarium variety nassarius snails attacking healthy animals. The are obligate scavengers. I'm not speaking of an entire genus here, just ones that are likey to be purchased in groups, and end up in your reef tank. Those are after all the animals that we're concerned with.

Jim

Huh? Do you know what species of Nassarius snail you have in your tank? I sure don't. How does one know they don't have a N. clarus?

I'm not saying they all behave like this, just that one species (which was the only one that I could find a feeding study done on) in the genus definitely does, and that leads me to conclude that all in the genus at least have the possibilty of consuming live prey in the sandbed, until someone out there does a feeding study on others in the genus and proves otherwise. As you know, an organism's propensity to feed on things that it doesn't usually consume in the wild will increase if it gets hungry. When some folks stick 30 of these little guys in a newer tank without much detritus, I wonder what else they might decide to snack on.

I've yet to witness a sand sifting star eat a spaghetti worm either, but since it's all happening underneath the sand where I can't see it doesn't mean it's not happening. I just think it's a stretch to say with certainty that they only eat detritus, period.

Your points are well taken amigo. For the moment though I'll trust my own empirical data and Dr. Shemik's word on the matter. I don't agree with everything he says, but the man knows his molluscs. His writings on the matter jive with my observations, for the most part. Can I say that nassarius NEVER suck in a pod or two? Of course not. The post above references nassarius killing a healthy snail. Not going to happen my friend, not with the species I'm familiar with in my tanks, and the ones offered in stores. They lack any kind of apparatus to KILL a healthy snail. What are they going to do, suck it to death? They will, apparently sometimes attack dying or sick organisms. I've kept 10 nassarius in a 7 gallon tank, with an ich and a half of sand. The life in the bed was healthy. I'd think that if they were eating those critters, they'd be gone in short order. Again, I acknowledge your point that the genus comprises more than one species. There might be one that can kill and eat an orca, but that's not the one I'm used to seeing in reef tanks.

Jim

 

[Anonymous]

Point well taken as well, but it was clams, not snails, that they were eating

 

[Tackett]

There might be one that can kill and eat an orca

Now THAT would make some interesting discovery channel.