Conflicted over Tongan Nassarius Snails

[Court_Appointed_Hypeman]

I have 3 Tongan Nassarius snails. They are very pretty, but I have a feeling they may be at fault for taking out a CBS and cleaner shrimp during their molt.

These snails, were misidentified when I bought them. They are huge, and aparently need a large amount of meaty foods, but I can hardly find any information on them.

I was planning on pulling them after the shrimps, but was not 100% sure they did it. However, they disappeared for 3 weeks, I thought they ended up starving.

Last night I saw one of them turn up, 2 hours after lights out, on the glass barely moving. I left it alone.

I come home from work today, and see this where it was.

99% sure they are Tongan Nassarius snail eggs.

What should I do? Does anyone have a good resource on this species? Should I let them be? Should I cull the eggs and remove the snails?

I like these snails a lot otherwise, and I would love to bread them if they are not the monsters I think they may be. I think i have found a total of 2 posts on them in the past.

 

[Court_Appointed_Hypeman]

Not the best pic, but it just showed up.

Measures just under 3 inches excluding the snorkel

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

The eggs will not survive and become snails in the tank. They will become fish/snail/shrimp food...

 

[Court_Appointed_Hypeman]

The eggs will not survive and become snails in the tank. They will become fish/snail/shrimp food...

No shrimps left, and currently the snail is tending them. Idk if it will be diligent enough, but I've seen these guys knock a hermit a foot away by wipping their shells, so if the threat is predators, they might make it. I see the snorkels of the other 2 nassarius right below, I do not know if they are waiting for a chance to eat, or if they are communally protecting. But I am 80% sure the snail tending them is the one that laid them.

But I guess, i should shift the focus of this, to, does anyone have any information on this species of nassarius?

 

[tautog83]

They are scavengers and arent hunting anything thats not dead or dying . The snail eggs wont live , dont put too much thought into this .

 

[Court_Appointed_Hypeman]

Case closed then.

Thank you all

 

[Scooters Reef]

I have a pair of these Tonga Nassarius in my tank and successfully had a bunch of babies. Now most of the babies have been picked off by my hawk fish but the eggs hatched and hundreds of little Nassarius grew out. It was fun to watch. I never saw there eggs but since that event I have noticed one of them will occasionally come to the top of glass in a corner and spend the night before returning down to the substrate. They are fascinating and I'd let them be. They make great clean up crew.

 

[Court_Appointed_Hypeman]

I think i have hundereds of baby snails now.

I see these all over the place near the sand on rock and glass.

Ignore the spirobids

 

[Court_Appointed_Hypeman]

Also, these snails are laying eggs every day non stop.

 

[bee144]

Breeding typically only happens under ideal conditions where the species are happy. Looks like you’re doing something right.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I think i have hundereds of baby snails now.

I see these all over the place near the sand on rock and glass.

Ignore the spirobids

Looks like limpets.

 

[19Mateo83]

I had what I thought was two super Tongan nassarius snails and the first night they killled my six line wrasse and a snail. The next night I caught it eating some zoanthids and following my clowns around.

Super Tongan snail NOT reef safe!

I have heard pretty much everyone say that the Super Tongan Nassarius Snails (Nassarius Distortus) are reef safe. In this video I watch one not only eat a piece of food stuck in a zoanthids mouth but it also eats the top of the polyp off too! I don’t think these are quite as safe as everyone...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Court_Appointed_Hypeman]

Looks like limpets.

I thought so too, but from what I am gathering so far, and the location, I think they might be from the trillions of eggs, the timing and size of the largest match up with the timing of the first clutch. I could be wrong though. I don't see a lot of info on these guys.

But my god, seriously every day one of them is on the glass, 2 days without scraping and there are like 6 clutches of whay appears to be a few thousand eggs.

 

[ReeferHD]

I think i have hundereds of baby snails now.

I see these all over the place near the sand on rock and glass.

Ignore the spirobids

those are 100% limpets

 

[Court_Appointed_Hypeman]

My only info are old forum posts on this species, and it seems like I might have the right conditions, nothing thay eats them aside from a nassarius, they are spread all around just above sand, i stopped using micro filtration, and skim incredibly dry.

They may be limpets though, i cannot find any info on baby appearance, and the only thing that flags them as nassarius appearance wis to me is when the larger ones move they have the same shape door on a very short tail, i have not seen any snorkels though come to think of it.

 

[BZOFIQ]

I think i have hundereds of baby snails now.

I see these all over the place near the sand on rock and glass.

Ignore the spirobids

These on the glass are limpets.