Dang snails and hermits

[jbdreefs]

A few weeks ago I added a little cleanup crew to my 20 gallon tank. The blue leg hermits have found a way to eat all my margarita snails! I think the snail would eventually get flipped over and rendered helpless.

Were margarita snails a bad idea? I have never had them before. Is it just me, or are they fairly susceptible to being eaten?

Which snails can flip themselves over?

Thanks!

 

[picoreefguy]

JBDreefs;1021313 wrote: A few weeks ago I added a little cleanup crew to my 20 gallon tank. The blue leg hermits have found a way to eat all my margarita snails! I think the snail would eventually get flipped over and rendered helpless.

Were margarita snails a bad idea? I have never had them before. Is it just me, or are they fairly susceptible to being eaten?

Which snails can flip themselves over?

Thanks!

from what i have seen snails with long shells like nassarius and conches can flip them selves over and snails with more round shells like turbos and margharitas cant flip them selves over. but as for the hermits eating them, they will attack any snail they can to get to the shell some snails are just better at defending them selves or getting away then others.

 

[ecoreefguy]

Mine don't get eaten. They like to climb up to the edge of my rimless setup and suicide

 

[jbdreefs]

EcoReefGuy;1021337 wrote: Mine don't get eaten. They like to climb up to the edge of my rimless setup and suicide

Lol

 

[dvu006]

I like em but hermits will eat them and even turbos when they flip over.

 

[jbdreefs]

So, I need snails that can out run the hermits!

 

[mcphock]

No, you need red banded trochus snails. They can flip themselves over!

I don't know why no one else seems to like these guys? They don't seem to be commonly carried at LFS either. I've got some that are at least 2 years old

 

[jbdreefs]

I will keep an eye out for them.

 

[jbdreefs]

I noticed today that a hermit crab picked up a new house.

 

[jennm]

How many hermits and snails did you add?

Nassarius snails can right themselves, but they are more apt to be looking for meatier food, than the algae most snails are recruited for.

The other option is to get rid of the hermits, and replace them with nassrius snails.

The hermits are opportunists but if there isn't enough to scavenge on, they will take down snails whenever they can.

Jenn

 

[jbdreefs]

I added 10 hermits and 5 snails. Probably should have done 10 and 5 the other way.

 

[miahaley]

McPhock;1021378 wrote: No, you need red banded trochus snails. They can flip themselves over!

I don't know why no one else seems to like these guys? They don't seem to be commonly carried at LFS either. I've got some that are at least 2 years old

Agreed. I got tired of picking dead snail shells out of the tank, now the only snails I keep are red banded trochus and nassarius.

 

[jennm]

JBDreefs;1021414 wrote: I added 10 hermits and 5 snails. Probably should have done 10 and 5 the other way.

:yes: