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So does anyone have a moonsnail in their tanks? What are everyones thoughts on these? The info I have found on them says they are "good" for the tank. Also Coquina? its a small clam, again any good in the tank? And now the big question what about wild caught? Went to the beach today and they were everywhere.
Thanks:D
moon snails are a temperate water snail that are extremely short-lived at temps above 68*F. not a good fit unless you're running a cool water tank.
Not only that but, the Moon snail is a predatory snail, preying on other snails and clams. It grabs their prey and holds it, drilling a hole through the shell and eating the meat. Not all things found at the seashore are cool in our reef aquariums.
Thanks both of you! I guess their diet explains why we found so many with all the Coquina in the surf. I dont need anything else killing things thats for sure.
Dick,
are we talking about the same snail here? i'm referring to Norrisia norrisii, which usually comes from Mexican waters, hence the temperate lable. They inhabit kelp forests (in fact, one of their common names is "kelp snail"), and they are closely related to "Turbo" snails, in fact, they are classified in the family Turbinidae. i've never heard of them being predatory...can you point me to any info about this?
Well, he didn't ID it other than a common name but he is from Central Florida, so I guesed it was from the warmer waters of the Atlantic. More details and a pic would have helped.
Dick
Here you go Saxman,
Found here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NaticidaeQuote:
Naticids are predatory, feeding mostly on bivalves. They will also attack almost any other shelled mollusk they encounter in the sand, such as scaphopods and other gastropods, including other moon snails.
The moonsnail envelops the prey and then bores a hole through the shell using their radula and an acid secretion. Once the shell is bored open, the proboscis is used to consume the flesh of the prey.
ah...thanks Dick. i suspected as much...it's that "common name" thing again. i run into that all the time as a scorp-keeper...very few fish are properly ID'd and many share common names, so the use of binomials is pretty much a must.
I had a hard time finding exactly what they were, I did alot of web surfing to find they are commonly called Moon snails. I found them on Flagler beach in the surf, we found about 6 and brought 2 home. I put them in an isolation tank until I could find out if they would be good for my tank. I ended up calling my LFS to see if they would be interested in moon snails since they were predators. They sold them both in a couple days. Worked out ok for me, they traded me a couple pepermint shrimp and said if I got anymore they would give me store credit. Anyway thanks for the help
I hope they are selling them with full disclosure.
They sell wild caught as well as tank bred stock. He had some fish I was interested in and he told me they were wild caught and not easy for a beginer to keep. He said there were tank bred on order and I should wait for those. He seems very legit as far as that goes and sells some pretty exotic stock. I don't know if he disclosed the fact that they are predators but I would think he would. I had no idea until Dick posted about them so if I had bought them I would have had a problem.
What are the three most important words in reef keeping??? Research, research research! All I did was type Moon Snail into Google and there was the answer.
If everyone did that before asking here, you’d all be as smart as me! :showoff: :rotfl: :cool: LMAO!!!
Google Search is your friend. Use it!
It sounds like that is the kind of LFS that values you as a repeat customer. Once your experience confirms that make sure you let other people know.
My one time favorite LFS was sold. I had a gift certificate that was bought before the store changed hands that I had been saving for something special. (My husband has been laid off for over a year and I am only buying necessities for my tanks.) Even after it changed hands I was in this store every couple weeks and bought most of my supplies there. Imagine my surprise when I went to use the gift certificate and the new proprietor refused to honor it. She said that they were only being honored while the original owner was involved with the store. There was never a notice posted at the store or on our local forum. Later I ran into the original owner and he said it was in their sales agreement that she was to honor all gift certificates for a year. You can bet that I have told everyone I know to avoid Down Under since they don't value their customers.
We are kind of lucky here because we have 2 really good shops within 10 min of my house. Money is tight around here as well so I am thankful when I am told to wait or its not what you want. In truth I had no idea what type of snails we had found, they were everywhere. When I got home I searched Florida Atlantic snails and that was the best match. Someone on ebay wasselling them for $17 each and had some really good photos to compare against. They also said they are a great addition and amazeing to watch. But I guess they were just after a quick $$$. I will have to get some new photos soon, the tank is progressing slowly. You have all been a great help.