What causes snails to climb out of the tank?

[pmoradi2002]

Title says it all. Every few weeks or so I'll find a snail in the morning that has climbed out of the tank. I sometimes find them on the desk that the tank is on or even on the carpet. They end up surviving and I just toss them back in.

 

What's the reasoning for this?

How can it be avoided?

[bananahands]

Depression and suicidal thoughts

[mmcguffi]

What kind of snail? It could be an intertidal snail that likes to hang out above the water line from time to time.

 

I personally only have ceriths and a cowrie which have never trekked outside the water

[Justind823]

What kind of snail?

[mmcguffi]

I guess you could avoid it by covering the top of you tank with a sheet of acrylic or something similar

[GiantBen]

My Nerites do this. I often fond the sheel bone dry under my stand. They are intertidal, so I assumed that was the reason. I may not order them again...

[streakr22]

My nerites and margharita snails like to crawl out if I don't have the lid on. Darn intertidal snails

[ermartin]

Title says it all. Every few weeks or so I'll find a snail in the morning that has climbed out of the tank. I sometimes find them on the desk that the tank is on or even on the carpet. They end up surviving and I just toss them back in.

 

What's the reasoning for this?

How can it be avoided?

 

 

Rimless tanks... its the price we pay for that clean look

[Mini-Dude]

My nirites crawl out every day

[pmoradi2002]

The snails are in fact Nerites

[Builder Anthony]

Ive read that nerites are brackish water snails acustomed to saltwater tanks and its hard to breed them in saltwater.

[TheUnfocusedOne]

Instinct.

[alfiefive]

Maybe they celebrated passover and are reminding themselves of their ancestral exodus from Egyptian slavery?

[SoS]

What kind of snail? It could be an intertidal snail that likes to hang out above the water line from time to time.

 

I personally only have ceriths and a cowrie which have never trekked outside the water

 

 

I always find my cerith above the water line at the rim. I've seen Margarita's doing it too. Never my astreans Mexicans or Nass.

[pmoradi2002]

Maybe they celebrated passover and are reminding themselves of their ancestral exodus from Egyptian slavery?

 

Naw if so then I'd be doing the same thing.

 

I always find my cerith above the water line at the rim. I've seen Margarita's doing it too. Never my astreans Mexicans or Nass.

 

I do usually find them at the water line.

[Drift Monkey]

I lost 2 Nerites yesterday. Still lookin' for the little bastards now!

[robert5187]

Ah intertidal snail looking for brackish water.  They gravitate to less salty areas (usually the top of tank) in quest for brackish or lower gravity water in order to reproduce or feed.  They do this usually in low light conditions at night where most predators are sleeping, then they meander there way back out with low tides.  Just put a piece of breathable acrylic over it, or let the salt build up on the edge so they won't want to pass over the saltiness.  As an experiment, try adding freshwater to your tank slowly and turning you light on, and watch him go back to the reef.  If he doesn't then some other parameter is out of whack.  The crabs have same behavior except they can't get to the top of tank.