Astrea Snail Suicide

[DiverDude]

Put a couple of Astrea snails in my tank and within 48 hours I found one upside down in the rocks.

It would appear that it fell and landed upside down, wedged in the rocks. It could have been this way for up to 10 hours before I noticed. I picked it up and put him (her ?) right-side-up on a rock expecting that once it sensed that the world had righted itself that it'd pop back out, but it hadn't 24 hours later.

Is this a freak accident or is this common ?

Seems to me that snails have a pretty good grip so maybe it wasn't an accident at all....maybe the hermit crab is looking at hard time ?

[whatcaneyedo]

Very common. These snails naturally occur in reef flat areas and rubble zones. They have not evolved to be able to right themselves up because they do not need to in nature. See Marine Invertebrates by Ron Shimek for more information.

[DiverDude]

ok, so they are prone to falling -but for them to die after such a short period ? Surely they can survive for 10 hours upside down ?

Sure, if they get left like that indefinitely, they'll stave; but 10 hours !?

Sheesh !

[Tom R]

Your Blue legged Hermit Crabs will make quick work of them when they fall on their backs.

Tom R

[whatcaneyedo]

Considering that it died within 48 hours of being added to your tank I think it was more likely as a result of how you acclimated them. What was your acclimation process? It sounds pretty extreme but Ron also recommends drip acclimating for 5-10 hours.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rs/index.php

[DCDN]

Anytime one of my snails ends up falling over my crabs are right on it.

[DiverDude]

Considering that it died within 48 hours of being added to your tank I think it was more likely as a result of how you acclimated them. What was your acclimation process? It sounds pretty extreme but Ron also recommends drip acclimating for 5-10 hours.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rs/index.php

Yikes ! I don't have a sump so drip acclimation is not something I can do easily so I simply put the bag into the tank and let the temperatures match and then put about 1/4 cup of my tank water into the bag every 15-20 minutes over about an hour and a half.

Clearly I have underestimated the needs of these creatures.

Thanks for the link to the very thorough article !

[naesco]

Thats why astrea are a poor choice for snails. Dont know why they are sold.
Eventually over time each one will fall and not be able to right themselves and they are toast unless you notice them.

[globaldesigns]

Mark, personally I would use Turbo's, they will work to clean your rock and glass, where the others not as much. Plus they can right themselves if they fall. Also they are faster cleaners.

[bvlester]

I have had them for months now and I have to right one every once in a while or the crabs get them. There are a few that seem more prone to falling than others the best ones I've found have bee Margarita snails I have not seen one fall yet and they have been in my tank since sept 09 and are they getting large. LMB eats algae that grows on their shell.

Bill

[Palmer]

I may be a newb but I have found Astrea's to be the hardest workers in my tank. I have about 5 of them and I have only had to give one a little help once in the two months I have had them. I have a mexican turbo and he only seems to move at night and sits in the same place all day. My Ceriths work quite a bit but are much smaller than the Astrea's so not a fair comparison.

[whatcaneyedo]

If you dont mind the price tag (often $20/each) I really like abalone. They get large, move quickly and eat massive amounts of film algae.

[foreveringlass]

Yikes ! I don't have a sump so drip acclimation is not something I can do easily so I simply put the bag into the tank and let the temperatures match and then put about 1/4 cup of my tank water into the bag every 15-20 minutes over about an hour and a half.

Clearly I have underestimated the needs of these creatures.

Thanks for the link to the very thorough article !

FYI... I don't have a sump either. I float the bag in my tank for 20 min., put the bag in a bucket and then drip. I use an airline with a knot in it. I tighten the knot so I get about 1 drop per second for the first 2 hours. I slowly undo the knot over the course of 2 more hours until I have a slow trickle, then pop them in the tank. I am relatively new to this, but have had 100% success rate. ( 12 snails, 7 crabs, 2 clowns, 1 coral beauty, 1 sand sifting star, and one tuxedo urchin.)

[BlueWorldAquatic]

These snails are known to just let go on glass too. I used to laugh when mine did, they'll climb to the top then just let go.

Stupid snails. I don't know how many of them we pull out of our tanks daily because of this.

Ken

[DiverDude]

Mark, personally I would use Turbo's, they will work to clean your rock and glass, where the others not as much. Plus they can right themselves if they fall. Also they are faster cleaners.

I've heard Turbos are 'little bulldozers' who bang, knock, and overturn anything in their path that isn't securely fastened. I don't have much in the tank now but I'm looking to the future so I though it might be a good idea to avoid tank bulldozers !

[DiverDude]

FYI... I don't have a sump either. I float the bag in my tank for 20 min., put the bag in a bucket and then drip....)

An empty bucket ?

[foreveringlass]

An empty bucket ?
Yep an empty bucket..although it isn't for long! :wink:

[DiverDude]

Ummm.....so you put the bag in the bucket and drip into the bag, or you empty the bag into the bucket and drip into the bucket ?

Either way, I can't see you maintaining tank temperature over 2 hours !

[Dolf]

See Marine Invertebrates by Ron Shimek for more information.
+++++1; One of the best articles on snails that you will ever read.