Nassarius dropping like flies

ggNoRe

Reefing newb
I have seen more and more dead nassarius snails everyday in my tank for the last week or 2. I also have nerites, ceriths, turbos, and a conch all of which are doing fine. Nothing in my tank has died recently except for tons of nassarius. Given I do have like 40 of them in my 29G tank, but it does seem like there is plenty of gunk to feed all of them in my sand. Any suggestions as to why they are dying?

:frustrat:
 
You'd be surprised at how much food it actually takes to feed those little guys.Especially when you've go so many in a fairly small area.
They could be starving.
 
Thanks for the input guys! Guess I overdid it. Just kept buying more and more hoping they would clear up my cyano and diatom problems which never happend. The conch is taking care of that now though. :mrgreen:
 
Something most folks dont think about,is Nass. snails dont eat algae.:D They are scavengers in the welk family that feed on the dead and dying along with biological waste from the fish.They just happen to be great for turning over the top layers of the sand bed,which is another reason they are so popular in the hobby.
 
I have 80 of the small nassarius snails myself.I drop a couple of silverside a week and watch them go to town.They feed on dead animals and fish food,I'm doubting they are detrivores at all.
 
This is a great thread because it highlights that tank size isnt a reliable factor in choosing the size of your squad. And that Nass dont eat algae so you only need a few to eat the scraps, if you even have any scraps.
 
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I have 80 of the small nassarius snails myself.I drop a couple of silverside a week and watch them go to town.They feed on dead animals and fish food,I'm doubting they are detrivores at all.

Holy sh** :shock: That sounds like a Hitchcock movie. I can imagine like this swarming bee or locust sound coming from Reefreaks tank. Could you post a picture of that? That would be pretty cool to see them swarm.
 
That sounds like alot but they are barely bigger then a ladybug.I thinking of ordering another 80 from Reeef2go.com.Really cheap from them and free shipping.My tank is a shallow 214g which has a larger footprint then most tanks that size.
 
Daaang! Dcan those are nice! :mrgreen:

This is a great thread because it highlights that tank size isnt a reliable factor in choosing the size of your squad. And that Nass dont eat algae so you only need a few to eat the scraps, if you even have any scraps.

I agree, very informative. :^:
 
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