Nassarius snail

Care at a glance

The nassarius snail lives buried in the sand with only a siphon sticking up, like a periscope. The moment food enters the water they emerge by the dozen and slide through the sand towards the source surprisingly fast. That spectacle alone makes them worthwhile.

Unlike most reef snails it eats not algae but carrion: leftover food, dead animals, decaying matter. That fills exactly the gap turbo and trochus snails leave open. The burrowing also keeps the top layer of sand turned over, which helps against compaction. It does need a sand bed — on bare glass or coarse gravel it can do nothing.

Good to know

• Digger — needs fine sand

Related species

• Cerith snailCerithium sp.
• Trochus snailTrochus histrio
• Bumble bee snailEngina mendicaria
• Margarita snailMargarites pupillus
• Astraea snailAstraea tecta
• Fighting conchStrombus alatus