Tongan Nassarius Snail

The Tongan nassarius snail is a large nassarius species sold in the trade as "Super Tongan", with a shell reaching 2–3 cm. Its shell has knobby whorls and carries brown blotches on a cream and gray background. It spends most of the day inside the sand; only the thin siphon it raises like a snorkel is visible outside. When food enters the water it picks up the scent with this siphon and quickly emerges from the sand to rush toward the food. "Tongan" is a trade label; the species has a wide Indo-West Pacific range, and similar species may be sold under the same name. It is larger than the small Caribbean nassarius on this site (Phrontis vibex). Those on the market are wild-collected.

• At least 60 liters; a fine-to-medium sand bed at least 5 cm deep in which it can bury itself completely.
• Salinity specific gravity 1.023–1.026, pH 8.1–8.4, temperature 24–27°C; nitrate should be low.
• Reef safe; it does not touch corals or other animals.
• It should be acclimated by the drip method for at least 1 hour; copper-based medications are lethal.

A carnivorous scavenger; it feeds on leftover food, dead animals and organic matter in the sand. It does not eat algae. In aquariums with few fish, a small piece of mysis, shrimp or sinking granules should be dropped onto the sand a few times a week.

Peaceful. By constantly turning over the sand it aerates it and prevents detritus from building up. An individual that flips over easily rights itself.

Good companions: clownfish, gobies, cardinalfish; shrimp, other snails.

Avoid: hermit crabs, arrow crabs, triggerfish and pufferfish, large wrasses.