Whats happening to my snails

[c_bell]

I bought 5 mexican turbo snail about 2 weeks ago. Last night I discovered another empty shell at the bottom of the tank. I am down to only one snail now and wonder whats happening to my snails? Is the hermitt crabs eating them or is it my star fish i cant figure it out. I dont really see the snails being messed with at all: confused:

 

[donkeykong]

if the shell is empty then something is definitly eating them. whether or not the are being eatin alive or after they die is the question. Do you have extra shells for the hermits, one of my big hermits killed a snail because i had not put any bigger shells for him, my mistake.

 

[carrie1429]

It could be the hermit crabs if you don't have empty shells for them. What kind of starfish do you have? Most stars won't eat them but others like the chocolate chip star will occasionally eat the snails.

 

[marine fanatic]

Also keep in mind that snails are very sensitive to salinity changes....are you doing regular water changes? If so, is the specific gravity in the new water the same as what is in your tank? I lost a few snails that way, my tank is 1.024 and the water I put in was 1.022, seems like a small difference but it was enough to shock them to death.
Also, have you ever treated your tank for Ich or anything that would use a copper-based medication? If so, again...that will kill them as well.

 

[c_bell]

I have bigger empty shells for the hermitt crabs. and I do have a
chocolate chip star, but I havent really seen him mess with the snails. The only thing I can think of is the change in salinty because i did do a water change the other day and i noticed a snail dead but still in its shell. Thats the only water change I've done since I got these guys so who knows what happened to the other ones maybe the salinty change a little from doing tops offs? Well I still have one snail left so I will keep a close eye on him. Thanks to all who replied.

 

[marine fanatic]

Usually top-offs won't effect salinity very much as long as you are talking about like a gallon or two. Did you by chance pour freshwater directly onto your snails? I have caught myself "ALMOST" pouring fresh water right on one and started adding water in the corner next to the filter inlet where no snails are.

 

[ocellaris_keeper]

I LOST ALL OF MY MARGARITA SNAILS TOO. Stick with Astrea - they do the job and are nearly indistructible. Of course they are very boring to look at - but they are a good addition to a cleaning crew.