In the past, I have added them to my tank, but I do not have them in my tank currently. They do this by changing their center of gravity by stretching as far as they can out of the opening in their shell. Yes, they are quite adept at righting themselves if they fall over. The challenge with keeping them in your tank is that they may help clean up excess meaty foods, but if you don’t have a lot of excess food (probably a good thing) they may starve. The fact that these cleanup critters zoom out from the sand bed at the first sign of feeding your tank is a signal to me that they will and do eat excess (I assume meaty) foods. As if they are starving they can also turn cannibalistic.In all seriousness, the nassarius snail can be a bit helpful. If there isn’t enough food in the tank to feed your snails then you can also supplement their diet with different sorts of meaty food, like frozen brine and mysis shrimps and cut up pieces of fish and other seafood. Nassarius snails are very good at scavenging and will eat leftover food and detritus from other tankmates. This is because in the wild if they are gathered around a food source for a long time they are more likely to become a meal for something else themselves. For example, biologists calculated that some species could consume between 50 to 60% of body weight on average 8 – 12 minutes. The body weight to food consumption rate for these snails is surprisingly high. If you notice them looking for food on top of the sand then this is a sign that there is insufficient food present for them in the tank. They eat all the leftovers and detritus at the bottom of your sand bed. Nassarius snails are opportunistic eaters of dead organic matter. Also avoid Triggerfish, Filefish, Sharks, Rays Parrotfish and Pufferfish as these all too may eat these snails. It’s best to not mix snails and crabs as the crabs may eat the snails. These peaceful snails are usually fine with Seahorses and Pipefish. So Cardinalfish, Chromis, Damselfish, Dartfish, Dragonetts and Tangs all make good choices.Īngelfish and Frogfish, Boxfish, Butterflyfish, Eels, Groupers, Wrasse are also usually fine. Most fish will work well with these snails, other than those which see them as a food source. Generally, it’s also not a good idea to mix snails and crabs/hermit crabs as the crabs may also eat the snails. They should do well with most fish with the exception of Triggerfish and other snail eaters. These snails like most others are sensitive to copper-based medications and high nitrate levels. It’s also recommended that the tank is well established with live rock and algae.

They don’t have many requirements, but they do need a sand substrate of at least 10cm as they do like to spend most of their time buried, sifting through it looking for food. Don’t overstock your tank as this can lead to them starving. You can add up to 1 Nassarius snail per 2-3 gallons (7.5 – 11.5 litres) of aquarium water. Their easy care requirements make these snails a great choice for beginners. Nassarius snails are very hardy and do well in a wide spectrum of water conditions. These snails are originally found in Indonesia, Mexico and the Caribbean. They have distinct male and female individual organisms, but, it isn’t easy to sex them. Then once they have finished their meal they’ll rebury themselves. They do have a good sense of smell and can detect food from around 1.5-2m away and will move pretty quickly to get to the food they smell. This is when you get to see why they got their nickname of the Zombie sail as it rises to the substrate surface to track down the food source and feed. Often the only time you will see more than siphon out of the sand is when it comes up to eat dead organic matter such as leftover food. As it searches for food in the substrate, the Nassarius Snail will help to prevent compaction and aerate the aquarium substrate. The Nassarius Snail spends most of its time burrowing in the sand, usually with its long, tube-like siphon being the only part of it protruding from the substrate. They’re very easy to care for so long as your tank is invertebrate friendly and they have enough to eat. They will eat various kind of organic material including leftover food and fish waste as well as helping to aerate the sand substrate in your tank.

These scavenging snails are also great sand sifters. They also use it for breathing and smelling. The Nassarius snail’s mouth is a proboscis/siphon, which is similar looking to an elephant’s trunk. Their shells are heavily sculpted with a flaring lip near the opening of the shell, and usually sharp, unworn tip. Colours can include white, yellow, sandy and light and dark browns. The shell colouration of the Zombie snail depends on the particular specimen.