Nassarius Snail kills hermit crab

[ken the newbe]

i just watched my Nassarius Snail pull a zebra hermit out of its shell then two more Nassarius Snails attack it. i think they ate it. it wasnt for its shell because the crabs shell is half the size of theirs. does this happen alot. it was something to watch

 

[farslayer]

Are you sure it wasn't a whelk snail? Do you have a picture of it?

 

[aztec reef]

I don't think it could kill a healthy hermit, it's usually the other way around. althoug they like meaty foods also but it's something rare to be aggresive towards hermits..

 

[farslayer]

Can you post a pick of the snail?

 

[bonebrake]

The hermit probably was either dying, dead, or just molted and was soft and taken advantage of.
I have seen predatory behavior towards hermit crabs by otherwise docile creatures when they are freshly molted, soft, and unable to defend themselves.
:joy:

 

[ophiura]

Originally Posted by ken the newbe
i just watched my Nassarius Snail pull a zebra hermit out of its shell then two more Nassarius Snails attack it. i think they ate it. it wasnt for its shell because the crabs shell is half the size of theirs. does this happen alot. it was something to watch

Snails grow their own shells so do not kill for shells. Hermits kill for shells since they do not grow them.
I agree that it is unlikely to do this to a healthy crab, however they will smell a dead one from far away and move as fast as they can to it.

 

[gobygal]

I just had my Nassarius snails kill both my new Peppermint shrimp yesterday!! I had the shrimp only 24 hours!
I looked on the internet to see if this happened to other people. Of course everyone replied that the victims must have been dying....or suggested that acclimation was not done properly. WELL I AM HERE TO TELL YOU that both my shrimp were healthy looking and doing fine and I caught the second shrimp being ambushed by one of the Nas Snails!! I saw the whole thing.YES...they are for SURE Nassarius snails. The shrimp was cleaning the side of a rock, when the snail popped out of the sand and smothered the shrimp. The Nassarius snails WILL kill your HEALTHY shrimp.....they don't have to be sick or dying for that to be true. It may be possible my snails are not eating enough....but I am telling you....the shrimp were NOT dying.

 

[sweatervest13]

Quote:
Originally Posted by GobyGal http:///t/270443/nassarius-snail-kills-hermit-crab#post_3509357
I just had my Nassarius snails kill both my new Peppermint shrimp yesterday!! I had the shrimp only 24 hours!
I looked on the internet to see if this happened to other people. Of course everyone replied that the victims must have been dying....or suggested that acclimation was not done properly. WELL I AM HERE TO TELL YOU that both my shrimp were healthy looking and doing fine and I caught the second shrimp being ambushed by one of the Nas Snails!! I saw the whole thing.YES...they are for SURE Nassarius snails. The shrimp was cleaning the side of a rock, when the snail popped out of the sand and smothered the shrimp. The Nassarius snails WILL kill your HEALTHY shrimp.....they don't have to be sick or dying for that to be true. It may be possible my snails are not eating enough....but I am telling you....the shrimp were NOT dying.
Hi there and WELCOME to the site!!
How big were the shrimp, and snails?? With only being in the tank for 24 hours I would think that the shrimp were still acclimating to the new environment. I am not saying that they were dying, but IDK if you can say for sure that they were 100% healthy.
I have a ton of Nassarius snails in my 125g and two huge skunk cleaner shrimp. I could not imagine a snail eating one of the shrimp. LOL But I do believe that it could happen to a shrimp that was not doing well. Weird.

 

[gobygal]

Both snails and shrimp were small, the shrimp were maybe an inch and the snails are 3/4 their size!!....it was shocking to see such a sight. But you may be very right about them still acclimating and not being 100% up to par. I have watched videos and seen pretty active peppermint shrimp and mine were looking more sluggish than those.
I think the snails took advantage.......also my snails may be pretty hungry since my fish eat most the food and nothing really falls to the bottom! my piggy fishies!!
Well.....I think I will not get anymore shrimp!! That was heartbreaking. Unless I acclimate the shrimp in a different container first maybe? Hhhmmm......

 

[bang guy]

I need a picture of the Snail. Take the Snail out of the water and get it to retract and take a picture of the underside of the Snail.

 

[gobygal]

My husband and I have horrible lighting and a crappy camera. I apologize. I couldn't get a decent picture of his underside either...he kept flipping over in my hand. Couldn't get him to retract. So far this is as good of pics as we got of one of the "killer nassarius'" Hubby says there is no hard piece on the underside to identify him as a Whelks....if that is what you were looking for. The Peppermint shrimp were acting sluggish in the petstore too....they didn't run from the net or hand. Maybe they were just not good shrimp to begin with. After watching some videos and seeing other peoples peppermints...I realized how slow mine were.

 

[btldreef]

It's a Nassarius snail that you have. Looks to be a Tonga Nassarius.
My guess is
1) your snails are starving
Or
2) these shrimp were still acclimating and the snails took advantage. But this should only be happening if #1 is true

 

[gobygal]

Thank you! They are probably really hungry....my fish get most the food before it drops to the bottom. I have six of those snails in my 120g and four fish. All my fish are piggies and race around the tank and get all food before it falls.

 

[gobygal]

Fantastic Website, by the way!! Everyone is really helpful too.....Can't thank you all enough.

 

[btldreef]

They shouldn't be starving in those conditions. Something is going on in your tank...

 

[gobygal]

Maybe my nitrate level could be a source of this whole problem?? I have been getting a reading of 20ppm. All my other parameters are at 0. Been doing a five gallon water change (120g tank) at least once a week. Not doing much for levels. I know I need twice the live rock I have (am slowly adding it....it gets costly). The fish and turbo snails ate most the algae I had in there pretty quickly. I read that the live rock and the algae are important for turning my nitrates into nitrogen. Other than nitrates....I am not sure what else to look for as a source of a problem.
Your thoughts???
Thank you.
I never thought I could fall in love with fishes! Yet, here I am!!!

 

[gobygal]

It just seems odd to me that a Nas snail would go out of his way to climb a rock to get the shrimp. It makes no sense! I suppose there is a lot of things in the ocean that will baffle me...why should this be any different!!
Oh...even more strange yet!!!....this thread was started by someone who lost their hermit crab to a Nas Snail......I have two dwarf blue legged hermits and the snails have not even touched them. They are smaller than peas!! What a strange phenomenon!
Animals are so confusing.......kind of like the mystery of why my dog like to roll in deer crap and cover himself in it!! Hehehehe

 

[saxman]

Nassarius snails don't eat algae, so it doesn't matter if there is little or none to be had. If your tank is pretty clean (no leftover food or detritus), I suspect the snails may be starving. Our fish are all target fed, and as such, the Nassarius rarely get any food. To that end, I actually hand feed them every so often...they'll simply engulf whatever I offer them. The same goes for the hermits...I target feed them every so often as well.
Altho "Nassies" aren't predatory by nature, if they're starving, they may go predatory to survive. The only trouble is sometimes when critters do this, they develop a "taste" for something and may become repeat offenders.
JM .02/JME

 

[gobygal]

I know that the Nass snails don't eat algae...was mentioning that because of nitrate levels and how I read that the presence of plants and algae help turn nitrates into nitrogen.
But back to the snail behavior...you mentioned the tank being too clean. Yes...it is. You mentioned hand feeding the snails and hermits.....can you tell me what you feed them and how you hand feed them. I don't want the poor things going hungry! I know what it's like to have bare cupboards.....it's awful. I feel terrible. It's MY fault they tried eating our shrimp.....
Well....at least I realize what the problem is so I can fix it......ME

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by GobyGal http:///t/270443/nassarius-snail-kills-hermit-crab#post_3509524
I know that the Nass snails don't eat algae...was mentioning that because of nitrate levels and how I read that the presence of plants and algae help turn nitrates into nitrogen.
But back to the snail behavior...you mentioned the tank being too clean. Yes...it is. You mentioned hand feeding the snails and hermits.....can you tell me what you feed them and how you hand feed them. I don't want the poor things going hungry! I know what it's like to have bare cupboards.....it's awful. I feel terrible. It's MY fault they tried eating our shrimp.....
Well....at least I realize what the problem is so I can fix it......ME
When lights are out, and the fish settle for the night...a cube of mysis shrimp fed to the night dwellers should do the trick. If you have serpent and brittle stars that hide in the rocks, they will be happy too.