Pepermint shrimp, snail, and hermit questions

M

mustang_gt_350

Member
Howdy all. I finally ordered my new additions to the new tank. It has been up for 6 weeks. Unfortunately I had a small blue hermit hitch a ride when bought my live rock and he has been in there since the start of the tank. I had no where to put him, and didn't know i could just set up a small bowl and let him live there until the tank cycled. Anyway. He actually molted about 2-3 weeks ago, and is doing great.

My questions are:

I ordered 2 Cerith Snails. Within in an hour after i introduced it to the tank one burrowed iteself into the sand and looks like it has only moved about 1" since last eve when it first went into the sand. The other is out moving around just at or a little under sand level right now. I was wondering how long should i let it go before i check on it to make sure it didn't die? I'm new to Salt water and don't know how active they normally are.

2nd

I also got 4 Turbo/Astrea Snails. I believe 2 of them are dead. I placed all of the snails on the same LR when i introduced them into the tank last eve. They have all moved including the cerith snails, execpt 2 of the turbo's. How long should i let them sit on the rock before i remove them?

3rd. My peppermint shrimp. I noticed it rocks back and forth a lot, while it is doing what i believe is feeding on the LR. Is that normal, or is it the current that makes it do that? Also, i believe they hide during the day?

4th. I picked up some empty shells for the hermit (100) of them lol. What is the best way to introduce them into my tank? Just rinse with RODI water and drop in? And should i go through and only drop in the ones that are close to the size shell he is in now? And how many should i drop in?

And since i forgot to add this earlier. My tank is a 10gal, and i drip acclimated.
 
jay0705

jay0705

Well-Known Member
Use all shells. Shrimp is normal they rock lol. If snails are dead the hermit or shrimp should eat them. But u can check
 
M

mustang_gt_350

Member
Alright I will rinse the shells and add them to the tank this eve.

I wasn't sure if i should let the dead snails in since this is my first live bio load on the tank?

I was actually worried yeserday when i was dripping them i was going to run out of water for my HOB filter to pick up lol
 
jay0705

jay0705

Well-Known Member
Lol you can take them out. If you can find narssius snails my spelling is off, there also an excellent scavenger. There not an alage eater there a meat eater. Any left over food or dead tankmates get eaten
 
Kristin1234

Kristin1234

Active Member
I would leave the snails. The dead and the cerith. Mine can stay dormant for a few days then are all over the place. If they are indeed dead, let the crab have them. Unless you are trying to claim them on the warranty.

The shrimp does rock back and forth and hides most of the day. Might come out during feeding time.

I wouldn't add all 100 shells at once. Just sprinkle a few different sizes ones.

Nothing smaller than he is currently in though.

There isn't much room in a 10 gallon, you don't want shells covering the bottom.
 
M

mustang_gt_350

Member
I smelled it earlier today and couldn't smell anything unusual, so i put it back in and made this post. I'll let it in. I'm not worried that much about the warranty.

Ok i'll go through and pick out some matching and a little larger shells and ad them.

Thanks for all of the input.
 
pegasus

pegasus

Well-Known Member
If the operculum (flap) is still covering the opening in the shell, the snail is most likely still alive. If there's an open hole, then it's dead. Cerith snails are typically nocturnal... they hide in the sand during the day, and feed at night. Nassarius snails are the same, with the exception of a few daytime roamers, so don't be alarmed if you don't see much activity from them during the day other than at feeding time. The best time to check on them is about an hour after the tank goes dark. Turbo/astrea snails are pretty much 24/7...
 
pegasus

pegasus

Well-Known Member
mustang_gt_350 said:
When i picked them up the openings were covered. I will check them again tomorrow. They may just be hiding from the shipping, acclimation.
Click to expand...
Shipping, and new water conditions are stressful for most marine animals, so it's not uncommon for snails to remain lethargic for a day or two... sometimes longer. Slow drip acclimation, and I mean s-l-o-w, is the best way to acclimate snails to their new conditions. ;)
 
Kristin1234

Kristin1234

Active Member
pegasus said:
If the operculum (flap) is still covering the opening in the shell, the snail is most likely still alive. If there's an open hole, then it's dead. Cerith snails are typically nocturnal... they hide in the sand during the day, and feed at night. Nassarius snails are the same, with the exception of a few daytime roamers, so don't be alarmed if you don't see much activity from them during the day other than at feeding time. The best time to check on them is about an hour after the tank goes dark. Turbo/astrea snails are pretty much 24/7...
Click to expand...

Why do those flaps turn green after the snail has been devoured?

One day I thought I had a green clam.. Nope. Just a dead snail. Or what was a dead snail.
 
M

mustang_gt_350

Member
Update. When i was leaving for work last night (moonlight mode was on for about 2-3 hours) the Ceriths were both out and about.

This morning, The dead turbo's in question 1 is for sure dead, as the flap is open and their was a bristle worm eating away at it. and the other suspected dead was not as its attached to the LR when i gave it a little nudge. I checked because i had one of the live ones laying upside down between the LR, and another that i had thought was ok upon a closer look has been laying on its side for the last day. So i used a butter knife/table knife to flip both of them over, the one was super hard to get to since it was a little under the LR and i didn't want to pick up the rock to get to the snail so i just flipped it back upright. Its kinda neat how the ceriths show up at dark and are gone again in the morning. Although i think the one is going to be 24/7 as it has been above sand the whole time it has been in the tank. After i adjusted the other turbo's the one i thought was dead started to feed.

Also, i noticed i think my clowns were feeding after i stirred up the sand a little and the LR moving the snails. I couldn't see what they were feeding on?
 
M

mustang_gt_350

Member
That brings up a thought. I have seen now and then posts mentioning turning over the sand? Why is that done, and should it be done regularly?
 
jay0705

jay0705

Well-Known Member
Mixed thoughts. If its a deep sand bed no. Inch or less eh. I don't touch any of mine. I do have snails and fish that areate it
 
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