Dead trochus?

[GenericReefer]

I think my trochus is dead but what may have caused it? The other snails look fine, and nothing else in the tank bothered it.

 

 

[BulkRate]

Yep, that's dead.  Especially when there's no snail left to hold the operculatus (the brown door/foot thingy) on.    If you have any hermit crabs in the tank, a dead or dying banded trochus hitting the sand is like ringing a dinner bell - they WILL eat it.

 

Looks really clean in there - how old is the tank?

 

After being a big fan of banded trochus I have come to the conclusion that they're almost TOO good at their jobs.  Unless you have a decent supply of film & hair algae, they'll starve to death in a "traditional" nano sized tank.  I've found I can only keep 2-3 smaller ones alive in my 9 gallon, and that's with intentionally not scraping the glass.  Been steadily switching over to the less aggressive dwarf hermits as the mainstay of the cleanup crew as they can do double duty mopping up uneaten food.

 

[GenericReefer]

I only have 2 other trochus and 3 nassarius snails (all alive). I have a 10 gallon tank, and it's been going on for approx 2 1/2 months. The only other stocking is a pair of ocellaris clownfish, some scattered bits of macro, and a small frag of xenia. Is there any way to get the shell off? The shell has some wonderful coralline algae and feather dusters on it so I wouldn't want to just throw them out. 

[BulkRate]

Just glue/epoxy the empty shell onto the rock of your choosing.  I've never had any luck trying transplant feather duster worms

[HarryPotter]

Just trash it and move on, tiny critters can just die. 

[OPtasia]

Alas, Gary the Snail is dead. I'd leave the shell in the tank as decor and/or a future hermit crab home.