Twice now I have seen snails for sale on apparently Australian facebook shrimp auction page that are selling Assassin snails now a zebra nerite that I am sure is only sold overseas. I have heard from other Australians that they have managed to buy Assassin snails off gumtree. My quandary is this are these snails supposed to be in Australia? Surely with all the other fish species banned the powers that be wouldn't suddenly allow in at least one of the snail species, the nerites I can understand being let in since they are so tricky to breed in fresh water.

Edited August 27, 20169 yr by Baccus

They were probably smug_gled into the country just like how Sulas might have been, which in theory would not have been allowed into the country.

Eggs in a bit of wAter is not easy to detect.

All smuggled in illegally - like most of the shrimp and half the aquarium plants that are in this country.  Snails in particular are a no-no to import because they are often the intermediate host for parasites that infect people. 

Should also be noted some of these parasites are quite intimidating.

there was an article/thread showing an assassin snail killing a shrimp on facebook so potentially lethal to more than just other snails. It's a worry if they ever get into our waterways!

Because of the risks involved with illegal imports both for our own (and our tanks) health and the environment I am really surprised to start seeing these "known not allowed" species being openly sold in social media sites.

I know one person who did purchase an assassin snail who later had it die in their tank, and I know they are supposed to be slow producing but there is still a huge potential for them ending up being either deliberately or accidently released.

It always surprises me how people want privacy and hide behind aliases on forums yet on Facebook they don't seem to have an issue publishing these illegal imports [emoji23]

Its even funnier when these same people that wanted "privacy" and a way of obscuring their identity get all bent out of shape when suddenly the powers that be track them down (possibly by posing as a buyer) and ruin their little illegal endeavours.

Actually it poses a grey area in who has consumer law on their side when the seller of an illegal item eg snail, marimo moss ball fails to deliver on the promised item. True the buyer should have been aware that the item might not be allowable in the country but lets face it plenty of people never really look into if something is supposed to be here. Instead they see it for sale on Facebook, Gumtree etc and assume it must be legit to own.

2 hours ago, Baccus said:

Its even funnier when these same people that wanted "privacy" and a way of obscuring their identity get all bent out of shape when suddenly the powers that be track them down (possibly by posing as a buyer) and ruin their little illegal endeavours.

Actually it poses a grey area in who has consumer law on their side when the seller of an illegal item eg snail, marimo moss ball fails to deliver on the promised item. True the buyer should have been aware that the item might not be allowable in the country but lets face it plenty of people never really look into if something is supposed to be here. Instead they see it for sale on Facebook, Gumtree etc and assume it must be legit to own.

That's what so good about this forum the moderators and member keep this in check, job well done moderators ?? should be acknowledged more.

Does this forum have an article on illegal trading and or items @NoGi  ?

Best to continue SKF sales discussions here:

We are currently looking at the future of the sales forum and which direction to take it. This all feeds into that discussion.

Marimo is banned as it is protected in their homeland: 

Exotics are still a grey area as a black and white ban would include cherries, CRS, etc.... everything but natives.

1 hour ago, NoGi said:

Marimo is banned as it is protected in their homeland: 

Is there recent info on them?

I **THINK** it's listed as ok to import now when I tried to look it up... but I may have been looking at the wrong thing.  I do know you're not supposed to go to their lakes and fish them out, but considering the volume that is likely already out of the native lakes and being propagated in other settings and countries, it's rather like banning farmed fruit trees.

4 minutes ago, Kaylenna said:

Is there recent info on them?

I haven't seen any but happy for someone to try and track down

I think the only definitive way of finding out if Marimo moss balls are allowed into the country is to talk directly to AQIS, some how I doubt it is allowed since not only is it now protected in its native lakes in Japan(?) because of the concerns with its slow growth in the wild, but also I believe there was some concern with being able to properly quarantine the moss balls and being sure that no hitch hikers come in with it without using harsh chemicals to kill potential hitch hikers that could/ would also kill the moss ball.

I do know there have been many fake marimo moss balls being sold online, being made out of some sort of fake grass or florists fake moss even fibreglass. I have usually seen marimo moss balls being sold on ebay and gumtree, for me the dead give away that the balls are most likely fake is the asking price. If the marimo moss ball had gone through the quarantine requirements I cant see it being flogged off for as little as $10.

After a bit of quick searching online it appears that the powers that be in Tasmania are pretty sure that Marimo moss balls are in the state

http://www.ifs.tas.gov.au/news/marimo-or-moss-balls-are-declared-unwanted-quarantine-pest-in-tasmania

 

But in the same search I came across this Australian seller

http://www.exoaquaristic.com.au/products/big-marimo-moss-ball-4-5-cm?variant=26785399747

I am guessing still a grey area then on the legalities.