Returning from vacation with items from the ocean..

[sammiegirl713]

We have just returned from Daytona Beach. While there we found several small crabs and a snail while looking for sea shells. We brought these items back with us how safe is it to add things that you find in the sea to your tank? We have idenified the snail as a olive snail. And from what i have read they can be aggressive to other snails but this one is not bothering the ones we have now.. Any info would be great...

 

[2quills]

Generally not a good idea. You don't really know what kind of polutants, bacteria or parasites they might be carrying. Specially around a well populated beach.

 

[smartorl]

In the future I would research first, bring things back later. If you couldn't add them to your tank, what were you going to do with them? In general, adding wild specimens to your tank is not a good idea. They have not been quarantined and can disease your entire tank. If something you bought at the lfs doesn't work out, you can always exchange it, however, what if you wake up and your new crabs have savaged all the inhabitants of your tank? You can't re-release them.
In this time especially, with the oil spill and those of us living here trying to hard to protect our ecosystem, hands off is the best approach.

 

[meowzer]

Well Sammie....first off...WELCOME to SWF......and I have to agree with the above posters....If you are not sure...NEVER add it....take my word for it....once in, it is hard to get stuff back out
tell us about your tank

 

[aquaknight]

Welcome to SWF!
I can only echo what was said above, about not adding anything to the tank if you're unsure about what they are. We are going to need more information on the 'crab' to help ID it. Crab could possibly mean anything from a horseshoe crab, to a hermit crab, to a stone crab. If you could get a picture of it up, that would help the most.
Not sure if you're a FL resident or not, but I will also add if you are recreationally collecting, you are going to need a saltwater fishing license. And collection is only allowed in specified areas. Guessing you went to a state/county park, which is a no-go for collecting.

 

[smartorl]

Sorry, I didn't mean to come off as so grumpy. When I reopened this thread, I realized how I sounded.

 

[sammiegirl713]

]These are photo's of the crab's that we have and also a photo of the snail. The snail was actually a accident. He made it into the sandbucket when we were collecting shells.

 

[sammiegirl713]

It wasn't gumpy just stating the facts. We have had our tank up for about a year with four fish ( damsel, 2 tomato clowns, sailfin tang) and at the moment have no other crabs in it. We had crabs earlier on and purchase a fish that ate them the same day. You would have thought the sales person would have said something about it. I have learned more from reading post on here the past week than any pet store here...

 

[ibanez]

It is not a good idea in certain locations, but many have done it, those don't look like they will cause harm to your livestock other than they could bring in parasites.

 

[teresaq]

I would Qt them for a few weeks first before adding them. Not sure about the hermit, it may get quite lrg. keep an eye on it.