Snails (Stupid newbie question)

[KurtG]

Can snails, conchs, etc. right themselves if I just dump them in the
tank and they land on their back?

--Kurt

[Joe]

No and Yes - in my experience at least. When I drop snails in, I make
sure they are somewhat locationed near the sand so they can get on
their merry way at their merry snails pace, but I have seen conchs
right themselves, and its actually pretty cool - they stick their leg
out or whatever it is and flip themselves right.

--Joe

On Feb 3, 9:21 pm, KurtG > wrote:
> Can snails, conchs, etc. right themselves if I just dump them in the
> tank and they land on their back?
>
> --Kurt

[Peter Pan]

I've never seen a Snail right themselves. I have several turbo and when the
tip over, I've watched them struggle but to no avail. Becareful with them if
they do tip and you have Hermit crabs, they will eat your snail .
"Joe" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> No and Yes - in my experience at least. When I drop snails in, I make
> sure they are somewhat locationed near the sand so they can get on
> their merry way at their merry snails pace, but I have seen conchs
> right themselves, and its actually pretty cool - they stick their leg
> out or whatever it is and flip themselves right.
>
> --Joe
>
> On Feb 3, 9:21 pm, KurtG > wrote:
> > Can snails, conchs, etc. right themselves if I just dump them in the
> > tank and they land on their back?
> >
> > --Kurt
>
>

[Tristan]

Turbo have a big problem righting themselves if they get knocked over
ontheir backs. Astra a dn cerith and nassarius and also the mexican
margaritta all do good at righting themselves. I quite buying turbos
for just this reason., Its a heck of a note seeing a snail updside
down in an inaccessible place in a tank unable to right
itself.......Astrea do just as good at what snails do as a turbo does
without the inherint problems turbos have.


-------
I forgot more about ponds and koi than I'll ever know!

[George Patterson]

KurtG wrote:
> Can snails, conchs, etc. right themselves if I just dump them in the
> tank and they land on their back?

Yes.

George Patterson
No one ever says "It's only a game." when his team is winning.

[Pszemol]

"Tristan" > wrote in message ...
> Turbo have a big problem righting themselves if they get knocked over
> ontheir backs. Astra a dn cerith and nassarius and also the mexican
> margaritta all do good at righting themselves. I quite buying turbos
> for just this reason., Its a heck of a note seeing a snail updside
> down in an inaccessible place in a tank unable to right
> itself.......Astrea do just as good at what snails do as a turbo does
> without the inherint problems turbos have.

I never had turbo snails, but Astrea are having problems on the sand.
Usually when they drop in the fine sand area with no rocks/rubble
nearby they are stuck and waiting for my magic stick to do the trick.

I always introduce new snails the way they are right side up on the
rocks - this way they at least have good start in the new place...

Turbo/astrea snails are living in the reef area where there is
no sand - every surface is hard around them. They did not need
to develop the ability to right themselves up. Compare to ceriths
or nassarius which naturally live in sand - they can do the trick.

[Pszemol]

"George Patterson" > wrote in message news:Nzoxh.1182$hH2.243@trnddc02...
> KurtG wrote:
>> Can snails, conchs, etc. right themselves if I just dump them in the
>> tank and they land on their back?
>
> Yes.

Are we talking about sand bottom tanks ?
Because I would disagree with you then...

I have seen astrea snails being stuck on sand
turned upside down and not being able to
grasp anything hard in nearby to get leverage.

If you have sandy bottom in your tank never
just drop snails - place them on the rocks right
side up and watch them until they can walk...
I see many snails being stuck on the sand.

[KurtG]

Pszemol wrote:
> "Tristan" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Turbo have a big problem righting themselves if they get knocked over
>> ontheir backs. Astra a dn cerith and nassarius and also the mexican
>> margaritta all do good at righting themselves.

It seems that one or more of my hermits have learned this as well. They
will go after the turbo and then leave it on the sand bottom up. I
think I'll remove my larger ones from the reef tank. They are just a pain.

I did have a conch sighting and I found the shell for another. I have
no idea on the last one. It may be burrowed into the sand somewhere.

--Kurt

[Add Homonym]

KurtG wrote:
> Pszemol wrote:
>
>> "Tristan" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>
>>> Turbo have a big problem righting themselves if they get knocked over
>>> ontheir backs. Astra a dn cerith and nassarius and also the mexican
>>> margaritta all do good at righting themselves.
>
>
> It seems that one or more of my hermits have learned this as well. They
> will go after the turbo and then leave it on the sand bottom up. I
> think I'll remove my larger ones from the reef tank. They are just a pain.
>
> I did have a conch sighting and I found the shell for another. I have
> no idea on the last one. It may be burrowed into the sand somewhere.
>


One thought on why you lost the conch - acclimation, water paramters...

I found this on the "blue zoo aquatics" web page in relatio to conchs:

"This animal requires a long, slow drip acclimation period of no less
than 2-1/2 hours in order to properly adjust to the parameters in your
new aquarium. It requires the aquarium to maintain a salinity of 1.025 ppm."

For some of us (not me) 1.025 would be on the high side (I keep mine at
1.026'ish) And 2.5 hours is cartainly longer than a typical drip
acclimation. (you definitely can't just "bag float" these!)

Dunno if any of the above applies in your case, but figured I'd share it
in case any of it did.

[Tristan]

In the gulf of mexico in the pan handle you can literaly gather up
handfulls of ceriths......LFS here get $3.98 each for them.....I often
bring back a bunch every time we collect water or go to the coast. YOu
read that critters as such collected in cooler waters never last long
in a reef type tank, however the pan handle of thre Gulf of Mexico is
not tropical by any degree of the imagination and I have never had a
problem with snails, or hermits or even some of the tiny damsels and
other critters lasting in a reef tank at temps of the 81-83 degree
range.....

My biggest issue with ceriths is that the typical hermits I keep loves
to kill em for new houses, even though I may have a bunch of suitable
shells in the tank,m they seem to prefer a fresh new house over a
discarded shell.......


-------
I forgot more about ponds and koi than I'll ever know!

[Add Homonym]

Pszemol wrote:

> Are we talking about sand bottom tanks ?
> Because I would disagree with you then...
>
> I have seen astrea snails being stuck on sand
> turned upside down and not being able to
> grasp anything hard in nearby to get leverage.

What is REALL hilarious is wathcing an astrea try to climb on something
that is lighter than itself. I once watch an astrea try to climb on top
of a nori clip that had come loose and fallen to the bottom of the tank.
Every time he'd start to creep over the edge to get on top, it'd flip
over (since he waieghed more). The persistent little mollusk kept at it
for a good 20 mins before *I* gave up wathing.


>
> If you have sandy bottom in your tank never
> just drop snails - place them on the rocks right
> side up and watch them until they can walk...
> I see many snails being stuck on the sand.

Depends on the smail type. Ceriths have no issue going on sand.

[KurtG]

Add Homonym wrote:
> For some of us (not me) 1.025 would be on the high side (I keep mine at
> 1.026'ish) And 2.5 hours is cartainly longer than a typical drip
> acclimation. (you definitely can't just "bag float" these!)

Thanks! I didn't do that. I'm also at 1.026, so I'll need to be more
careful next time (which should be any day now).

I did finally drip acclimate my first fish. It was a blenny that
survived just fine, but it helped me to work out the kinks in the process.

Man, there's a lot to this hobby. I haven't done fish since grade
school and that was just black mollies. Good character building...

--Kurt

[George Patterson]

KurtG wrote:

> I did have a conch sighting and I found the shell for another. I have
> no idea on the last one. It may be burrowed into the sand somewhere.

My Fighting conch shows up about every two months.

George Patterson
No one ever says "It's only a game." when his team is winning.

[Pszemol]

"Tristan" > wrote in message ...
> In the gulf of mexico in the pan handle you can literaly gather up
> handfulls of ceriths......LFS here get $3.98 each for them.....I often
> bring back a bunch every time we collect water or go to the coast

I would like to see a picture of them - do you maybe have one to share ?

> My biggest issue with ceriths is that the typical hermits I keep loves
> to kill em for new houses, even though I may have a bunch of suitable
> shells in the tank,m they seem to prefer a fresh new house over a
> discarded shell.......

Maybe snails just got eaten when already weak or dieing ?

[Tristan]

I just do not flat / temp acclimate anyhting other than some
freshwater stuff. I drip acclimate everything anymore, and it covers
the temp as well as water parameters requirement. easy to do and most
reliable method. I use cut off gal plastic jugs form fruit juice
(usually are a heavy duty clear plastic. I use drip IV setup.....to do
the drip thing, but regular air line from an aquarium will work with a
air valve installed in it to regulate flow....Others tie it in a knot
and pull knot tigher to regulate flow, but a air valve works so much
easier, and the IV drip set works best of all.........I can buy IV
drip sets at medical supply place here for a few bucks so they are
cheap to buy or I get them when I visit docs office etc, as its not
hard to talk them out of a few every now and then.....;-)

As for most corals I do not do anyhtng to them except place em on a
paper towel for a couple of minutes 1 to 3 at most, and allow them to
deflate, then place them in the tank, and whenthey re-inflate they
pump up with the tanks water and after a day or two usually all is
just fine with them.....

Snails and crabs and shrimp I acclimate for at least 45 minutes, most
times 45-60 minutes.......Also toolong of acclimation period for some
things can dothem more harm than not acclimating them at all...
Starfish and conchs are just two that I usually take at least 2+ hours
with....



On Mon, 05 Feb 2007 11:07:25 -0500, KurtG
> wrote:

<<>>Add Homonym wrote:
<<>>> For some of us (not me) 1.025 would be on the high side (I keep mine at
<<>>> 1.026'ish) And 2.5 hours is cartainly longer than a typical drip
<<>>> acclimation. (you definitely can't just "bag float" these!)
<<>>
<<>>Thanks! I didn't do that. I'm also at 1.026, so I'll need to be more
<<>>careful next time (which should be any day now).
<<>>
<<>>I did finally drip acclimate my first fish. It was a blenny that
<<>>survived just fine, but it helped me to work out the kinks in the process.
<<>>
<<>>Man, there's a lot to this hobby. I haven't done fish since grade
<<>>school and that was just black mollies. Good character building...
<<>>
<<>>--Kurt



-------
I forgot more about ponds and koi than I'll ever know!

[KurtG]

Pszemol wrote:
> Maybe snails just got eaten when already weak or dieing ?

Or, when the hermit is hungry. Often the snail wins although he's
usually left on his back.

[Pszemol]

"KurtG" > wrote in message .. .
> Pszemol wrote:
>> Maybe snails just got eaten when already weak or dieing ?
>
> Or, when the hermit is hungry. Often the snail wins although he's
> usually left on his back.

Most of the snails we keep in our tanks have opercullum,
which is tight fitted "doors" to their shells. When bothered
by crabs/shrimps or other opportunistic predators like this
they retract to the safe home and close their doors behind.

Crabs cannot eat healthy snails - only sick/weak/dead ones.

A different story is with predatory snails attacking other snails.
They inject venom and paralyse & kill the snail before it
can retract to their safe heaven shell.

[Tristan]

Thhis may be true but when yu get a bunch of hermits on a single snail
in time it takes its toll. I do not think its a matter of the snail
being weak or sick as much as it is strength in numbers and survival
of the fittest. I have a puffer that I watch very close, just for the
heck of observing its habits. It will flit around and pay everything
in its sight a lot of attention...... but from time to time snails and
hermits all slip up and that puffer never fails to take advantage of
that situation. All it takes is a nip or pinch here and there over
time and soon the victim is weaked and consumed.



On Mon, 5 Feb 2007 13:52:15 -0600, "Pszemol" >
wrote:

<<>>"KurtG" > wrote in message .. .
<<>>> Pszemol wrote:
<<>>>> Maybe snails just got eaten when already weak or dieing ?
<<>>>
<<>>> Or, when the hermit is hungry. Often the snail wins although he's
<<>>> usually left on his back.
<<>>
<<>>Most of the snails we keep in our tanks have opercullum,
<<>>which is tight fitted "doors" to their shells. When bothered
<<>>by crabs/shrimps or other opportunistic predators like this
<<>>they retract to the safe home and close their doors behind.
<<>>
<<>>Crabs cannot eat healthy snails - only sick/weak/dead ones.
<<>>
<<>>A different story is with predatory snails attacking other snails.
<<>>They inject venom and paralyse & kill the snail before it
<<>>can retract to their safe heaven shell.



-------
I forgot more about ponds and koi than I'll ever know!

[Pszemol]

"Tristan" > wrote in message ...
> Thhis may be true but when yu get a bunch of hermits on a single snail
> in time it takes its toll. I do not think its a matter of the snail
> being weak or sick as much as it is strength in numbers and survival
> of the fittest. I have a puffer that I watch very close, just for the
> heck of observing its habits. It will flit around and pay everything
> in its sight a lot of attention...... but from time to time snails and
> hermits all slip up and that puffer never fails to take advantage of
> that situation. All it takes is a nip or pinch here and there over
> time and soon the victim is weaked and consumed.

Well, having about 100 florida blue legged, 4 scarlet and about two
dozen hawaii "halooween" hermit crabs in my 58 reef tank I should
see all my snails dead.... right ? Opposite is true - I have about two
dozen astrea and about a dozen of ceriths there with a death rate
similar to the rate in the tank with no hermits... So I would not make
a big hunters out of the hermits - they do not deserve the title... :-)
They are rather scavengers, or I would not have a single snail there.

Sure, if I snail falls into the sand with a foot not able grab anything
hard and stays is such position for couple of days unnoticed by
you, the tank keeper, it will be too weak and hungry to fight crabs
or simply starve to death and starts smelling tastefully for crab
to rise interest in it :-)

[Finzeo]

Why are you destroying all the other aquarium groups? If we all move here
will you stop telling people to illegally shoot herons and the disabled like
Ed to commit suicide? What is it about this group that prevents you from
trolling here liek you do on rec.ponds and the other fish groups? You've
destroyed 4 other groups Tristan. Can you tell us the rational behind your
attacks in those groups? If we start to post here will you leave us all
alone like you do the other posters here? What's behind your motive in
attacking and slandering old ladies and disabled veterans? Inferiority
complex?


"Tristan" > wrote in message
...
> Thhis may be true but when yu get a bunch of hermits on a single snail
> in time it takes its toll. I do not think its a matter of the snail
> being weak or sick as much as it is strength in numbers and survival
> of the fittest. I have a puffer that I watch very close, just for the
> heck of observing its habits. It will flit around and pay everything
> in its sight a lot of attention...... but from time to time snails and
> hermits all slip up and that puffer never fails to take advantage of
> that situation. All it takes is a nip or pinch here and there over
> time and soon the victim is weaked and consumed.
>
>
>
> On Mon, 5 Feb 2007 13:52:15 -0600, "Pszemol" >
> wrote:
>
> <<>>"KurtG" > wrote in message
> .. .
> <<>>> Pszemol wrote:
> <<>>>> Maybe snails just got eaten when already weak or dieing ?
> <<>>>
> <<>>> Or, when the hermit is hungry. Often the snail wins although he's
> <<>>> usually left on his back.
> <<>>
> <<>>Most of the snails we keep in our tanks have opercullum,
> <<>>which is tight fitted "doors" to their shells. When bothered
> <<>>by crabs/shrimps or other opportunistic predators like this
> <<>>they retract to the safe home and close their doors behind.
> <<>>
> <<>>Crabs cannot eat healthy snails - only sick/weak/dead ones.
> <<>>
> <<>>A different story is with predatory snails attacking other snails.
> <<>>They inject venom and paralyse & kill the snail before it
> <<>>can retract to their safe heaven shell.
>
>
>
> -------
> I forgot more about ponds and koi than I'll ever know!