Let's Talk About ~Snails~

[reedman]

This seems to have slowed down a bit...can we intorduce hermits into the mix? They aren't snails, but they do eat them...he he he. Seriously, I'd like to hear some info on hermits, but don't want to hijack the thread.

 

[gobie]

I Had Added A Hermit To My Tank That So Far Seems To Be The Best Algae Eater I Have Ever Seen It Is The Halloween Hermit Comes From Hawii It Along With A Queen Conch Were New Additions To My Tank Both Seem To Be Veratious Eaters

 

[NaH2O]

Sorry, I spaced it on this - between the holiday and travelling, I'm lucky if my shoes match.

Reed, I was hoping to do the next topic of the week on shrimp and crabs, but feel free to continue - it is all good. There are still several types of snails to discuss. How about Nassarius Snails? How important are these critters to the health of a DSB? These guys are specialized to eat carrion. When they are in the sand, you can observe their little siphons sticking up in the sand. These siphons serve for olfaction in conjunction with conducting water into the shell for respiration.

Those with sand beds - do you keep Nassarius snails in your mix? How do they perform for you?

I'll see if I can dig up a picture....

 

[gobie]

Nassarius Snail Are Great If My Blue Leggs Would Quit Eating Them The Only Place I Can Keep Them Is In My Sump And Refugium. Sad Thing Is There Is Plenty Of Empty Shells To Go Around. But They Always Want The Ones That Alread Have Somebody In It. My Zebra Don't Do It And My Scarlets Don't Seem To Either.

 

[SaltwaterTeen]

I purchased 10 astrae snails, will they do anything bad?

 

[wrightme43]

I have nassisruis snails in all tanks I take care of, and mine at home. I love them. They are the neatest things to watch when I feed, they just come out of the sand like on a horror movie. They seem to keep my sand bed very clean, and any left over food is quickly consumed. I figure they (do thier business) LOL in the sand so I dont know how it will work out long term. LOL I have had the same experience with the small blue legs killing them for thier shells. I have a blue million shells in my tank for them but they seem to enjoy taking them from the snail.
I am also having a outbreak of sundial snails, Pg 108 J. Sprung invertabrates book. They are wiping out my zoos. I had ordered zoos from roes marine world and I think some got in as eggs. I have a ton of them, I pick them out every night but still see more every time. I diped the zoos in fresh water and shook them but I dont guess it was long enough. I may lose all my zoos and have to start over with them. Such is life in a reef tank. LOL
Any body having ideas on things and ways to get rid of them please let me know. I will appreciate it.
I have some turbos that have been alive in my tanks for over three years now. I will try to get a pic and post it. These guys are huge. I feed nori and kelp, since I see them eating on it, I know they must like it. LOL
Merry Christmas, Maybe santa will put a aqua G skimmer under my tree. LOL
Probley not because I have been bad all year. LOL
Steve

 

[gobie]

astrea snails are cheap for a reason they don't seem to last too long in the aquarium if you ever watch snails have a dendancy to just fall off the glass you often hear it at night. a light bang on the glass and in the morning it will be dead tthey cant turn themselves back over once they are on their backs.being on their bachs causes them to suffacate, othe snails like turbos can right themselves but often starve in a tank due to lack of fresh algae.

 

[SaltwaterTeen]

What would be the best snails to buy? I have nassarius and they are great! They go into my sand bed, climb on the walls, and they reproduce like mad! Ive seen both types of eggs in my aquarium, the swirl patterns, and the sack with the little white dots all over the place. Will hermits live long in a tank?

 

[gobie]

there are a lot of good snails to buy. I think a good mix of snails is better than a lot of the same. what survives in my tank might not in yours. our water chem is diffrent from the diffrent types of live stock that we keep.

 

[Angelscrx]

I am also having a outbreak of sundial snails, Pg 108 J. Sprung invertabrates book. They are wiping out my zoos. I had ordered zoos from roes marine world and I think some got in as eggs. I have a ton of them, I pick them out every night but still see more every time. I diped the zoos in fresh water and shook them but I dont guess it was long enough. I may lose all my zoos and have to start over with them. Steve

Anyone have a picture of the sundial snail. I have tons of zoos and would like to know what to look for if they start dissapearing. I used to keep Nassarius snails but like everyone else my blue leg hermits get to them. I love them and wish I could keep them and the blue leg harmoniously. They are great sand stirrers and it is fun to watch them come out at feeding time. I also think they are the fastest moving snails on the planet. In my 55g I keep two turbos, about 100 cerith and astraea mix, some bumble bee, found a couple of stomatellas, and some little brown and white snails that have appeared in my tank. Only see them at night. I also have an emerald crab (always on good behavoir) and have seen two acro crabs.

 

[Angelscrx]

Well I spoke to soon, last night as I logged out of here I went by my tank and caught my emerald crab eating a polyp of my new blue zoos. I sent him to the ghetto (Sump). He has never ever, ever bothered anything in the tank before so I don't know why start now. Oh well I may take him back to the LFS after Christmas. I got another little brown acro crab in with a coral frag and he is in the sump too. May move him up as soon as my corals grow big enough for him.

 

[gobie]

Here Is A Prime Example Of Creatures Not Behaving Normal Or As We Assume They Would. All Crabs Are Omnivores/ Scavengers At Best. Inthe 9 Or So Year In Donig This Hobby. I Have Come To One Conclusion Never Assume Too Much Of Creatures. I Once Had A Sailfin Blenny That Would Pick Up Snails/ And Crabs Up Off Of Rocks. Anemonies That Eat Their Clownfish( They Lived Together For 3 Years). I Hope That Your Blue Zoo's Will Be Ok. I Might Suggest To Try A Sally Lightfoot Crab They Will Eat The Same Algaes And Are Reef Friendly Usually( There Is Always An Exception To The Rule.

 

[wrightme43]

here is a picture of a three year old turbo and astera. They were tiny when I got them.

 

[middletonmark]

I know I buy a LOT less Astreas with a BB tank. I think the `can't flip over' problem is more concentrated with a DSB with nothing for them to hold onto ... where a BB they can flip over a lot better. They're still not great at it - but very different situation.

As for Nassarius - I quit adding them when someone suggested looking at my `cleanup crew' and seeing which appeared/changed behavior at the appearance of food. The suggestion was that if you only see them when you feed meat products ... perhaps that's all they're eating?
My nassarius only appeared when food hit the tank, making me think that they're just helping when I overfeed more than anything - thus not needed if I don't overfeed

 

[reedman]

I'd like to hear peoples experiences with the blue micro-hermits. Are they well behaved? Do they munch on SPS? Anyone here seen them eating red bugs? How many do you keep in what size tank and for how long? Are they good scavengers/algae eaters?

Thanks

 

[wrightme43]

I got one hundred micro blue legs from reeftopia. They are doing well, except for these, problems I have seen. They kill the nassarius snails and take thier shells even when shells are laying around. My thought on that matter is they somehow know the shell they are in is tight, they are ready to molt, they kill the nass. snail, eat him, take his shell, molt and grow big and healthy. LOL Problem number two, probley wont effect you because most people are not nutty enough to keep a moray in the reef tank, but if you do, mine likes to flip them over and if they are slow to withdraw he yanks them out and eats them. I have most of them left but he is eating some.
I have never seen them eat or harm any corals. They agravate the zoos and shrooms when they crawl across but as far as I can tell, and in my experince no other problems. HTH Steve

 

[reedman]

Thanks Steve. That sounds promising.

Others?

 

[NaH2O]

My nassarius only appeared when food hit the tank, making me think that they're just helping when I overfeed more than anything - thus not needed if I don't overfeed

I find this to be a very good thing. It isn't as great as not overfeeding, but in case of the overfeeding event, at least you know the nassarius will be there to take care of it.

Here is an image of a Nassarius snail depositing eggs:

It was mentioned also about Astraea snails not having a "righting response". The reasoning behind this is from where they originate. Many of the Astraeas offered for sale come from Baja California, and not from locations of sand substrates or any sort of flat surface. If they get knocked down, then they normally will fall into a crevice of some kind. From here they will be able to grab on with their foot and keep moving. Because of this, the snail hasn't had the need for the "righting response".

Nerites are another type of snail often seen in the hobby. One issue with Nerites is they live just above the tide line, often venturing below the water to graze on algae. This makes some nerites unsuitable for aquariums, as they will wander out of the tank, and/or hang out at the water line. The nerite feeds mainly on diatoms, filamentous and film forming cyano, and filamentous green algae. My own experience with nerites is they are a good addition to add variety, however, it does seem as though they spend a lot of time sitting at the water line. They deposited plenty of eggs in my system, so they must be getting adequate food.

Here is a shot of the nerite eggs in my tank:

A shot of a nerite snail:

 

[Angelscrx]

From what I found in another thread the crab I thought was an acro crab is an acro eating crab and will not be going to the main display tank. I may just take two crabs to the LFS.

Blue micro hermits are awesome little scavengers. Mine I seem to find in every little crevice that the red legs can't get into. They seem to be more active at night in my tank though.

NIkki, I have some of those nerite snail egg looking things on some rock but I don't have any nerite snails in my tank? Dead eggs or long incubation?

 

[NaH2O]

Hmmm....there could be a snail in your tank that deposits eggs that look similar? That's a strange one though. Nerite eggs are described to appear like sesame seeds. Did they appear on your rock after you had it, or could they have been there before? I read in an article that with nerites, it may be necessary for the eggs capsules to experience a change of tides, rainfall, or salinity change in some species for a successful hatch. I used to see my nerites all the time, now the few that I see are tucked away in crevices, sometimes I still see them "breeding" (nerites do reproduce sexually, instead of the gamete release), and find the sesame seeds on the rocks. That photo was taken from my tank not long after I introduced nerites. They hung out in a clump on that rock - when they moved......walaa! I should go and see if the "seeds" are still there.