guess what i read today, can't say i didn't try

[seaker]

I was reading about snails today, deciding which ones I should get. I already have 4 astraea snails and I was thinking about getting 2 cerith and 2 nassarius. I read you shouldn't get nassarius till the tank matures, is this true? I also decided to see what it said about the astraeas I already have. It says if they fall and land upside down that they might not be able to right themselves. Good thing I read that (I thought) because I noticed one of mine was on its side earlier on the bottom and in the back of my 12 gal nano cube. So, in order to get to it, I had to lift up the lr on the top so I could reach down there with my algea scraper to knock it on its side, and I was able to, barely. The live rock that I lifted up had two blue legged hermit crabs on it and one of them fell. After all this was done I watched the crab walk along the back headed straight for the snail. Then I watched it turn the snail back on its side and start to dig in. My first instinct was to watch it all play out. But then I felt sorry for the poor snail cause it was on its side all day. So, since I couldn't reach where they were, without making a mess, I got an empty astraea snail shell and shoved it right by where they were. I guess the crab didn't want the free shell, he wanted to work for his new home. I just watched for the next hour and a half with my cheap disposable camera, trying to get a shot of him coming out of his shell. I saw him tearing in there. Little snail guts floating away. Then he lined up the two holes, at a bad angle so I couldn't see, and jumped in behind the remains and start to push them out. I guess it ain't easy cause he's still trying to do it. All that time I was watching and I still didn't get a pic of that little focker out of his shell. I know there is another thread on here with a pic of it. And I didn't buy any xtra shells at petsmart cause they wanted $1.99 a piece for theirs. Hopefully he won't outgrow that one, and I better look around for some extra shells for the rest of them. Well, like Bubba says, "That's all I have to say about that."

[Aiptasia]

That's one reason I don't like blue legged hermits. I prefer the much smaller true mexican red legged ones. When I had blue legged ones in my 55g. reef, what you described was a common occurance. They will kill (and sometimes eat) snails.

 

You should think of your snail population as replaceable unless you remove your skimmer and use a natural style, non-berlin system for caring for the reef. I've actually had better luck with nerites and cerith snails than with Astrea. Turbo snails are too big and knock over corals.

 

GARF (www.garf.org) has a snail janitor pack that's a mix of four types of small snails that really live a lot longer than A. tectum. They also carry the small red legged hermits that I find are a lot more reef safe, even for snails.

 

BTW, the blue legged hermits are going to continue to grow, and what you witnessed will probably be carried out several times in the future if you don't provide them with new shells. I'd go ahead and spend a few bucks on larger shells to preserve my snail population, depends on which is cheaper: new snails or new shells.

[seaker]

i checked out that site and they don't have a nano package, and if i buy them seperate they're 3 bucks a piece. I call them tomorrow and see what they say. I thought the blue legs were good and a lot of people here had them. I didn't think they got too big but, after reading that site I figure I'm gonna go with their clean up crew. what about the (3)crabs I got already, should I leave them in there with the new crew. btw I don't have a skimmer I'm gonna just do the weekly water changes. Its only been 16 day & still cycling, but I got the brown algea growing. thanks for the info.

[NanoAmyDee]

It is true about the snails not being able to right themselves easily. Every other day I am having to set one back upright. Blue legged hemits can be very aggresive, but he prolly also saw an opportunity. It takes a lot out of a snail to try and fix himself and the crab prolly saw a weak lunch and a shiny new home.

 

Garf.org is great! That is where we got our cleaning crew, and they are fabulous!!

[KrackerG]

bought 10 crabs and 10 snails for as my janitor package...now down to 9 crabs and 1 snail....hmmmmmmmm, very, very suspecious...my verdit...the crabs are........guilty!!

[Aiptasia]

See? KrackerG knows... around hermit crabs, snails end up missing.

 

Garf will do you a custom janitor pack, and yeah the snails are a little pricey, but they have a lot of variety and i'm using them in my two 20g. reefs. I like that they have smaller snail species, and longer lived snails than astreas. The nerites will also breed, and their spawn begin in a free swimming stage, which means free zooplankton for your tank, which is cool.

 

If you can safely remove the blue leggeds and return them to a LFS for credit, go for it. It's not that they get overly big, it's just that they will kill snails if they lack food or if they want the shell for themselves. Thats why it's safer to go with teeny tiny hermit crabs, such as the true mexican red legged. They'll be anywhere from half to 1/4 the size of the blue leggeds, and they're active, constantly on the go, and seem to leave snails alone. I'm not saying you'll never see one eating on a dead snail, but i've had snails flip on their backs in my tanks and they don't seem to bother them. I flip my snails back over with an algae scraper if I see them on their backs.

 

Exotic snails are pricey, but well worth the money. You probably will still have to replace them on occasion, but by removing the blue legs and going with the true little mexican red leggeds, you can cut down on the replacement frequency.