When snails die?

[maui]

When snails die do you leave the shells in?

 

[jacksonpt]

I typically do... I leave them in so my hermits have more shells to choose from as the grow.

 

[bluemarlin]

I agree. I leave mine in there too. They do not do any harm and add a natural look to the tank, not to mention a nice bigger house for some lucky hermit.

 

[skeeter]

I had a turbo snail that died and I figured I would leave it in the tank for the hermits, I went to move it out of the middle of the sand and when I picked it up, slime oozed out of it and was quickly broken up all of the water making a nice snack for my angel. So i guess it was dead snail remains, but the worst part of it is it made the water smell horrible for a few hours. So maybe it was just me, but the next time a snail dies, I will take it out, clean out the shell the put it back.

 

[byrself]

definitely, i pull the dead snails out, and leave them outside for a few days. then i rinse the shells with a water hose to remove dead snail, and then reuse the shells. dead snails can really foul your water. imo.

 

[sylock]

If you have a good eco system going you shouldn't need to take the snail out right? Because you will have scavangers, whether they be crabs (yuck), bristle worms, etc. Am I wrong assuming this? Granted you don't want to leave big things that are decaying, but the reason you have a diverse eco system is for reasons like this.

 

[byrself]

you still run the risk of an ammonia spike. you wouldn't pull a dead fish out the water? your system is only stable to the part of the loads its use to. if you add another live fish, even that will cause your system to change. jmo.

 

[ed r]

Since I no longer keep any hermit crabs, I remove the shells when I get a chance. Unless the tank is very small, I don't think the death of one snail is a cause for concern. My Nassarius snails and bristle worms make short work of any carcasses. Unless I just about see it die, the shell is empty when I remove it. I have no great reason to remove them, mostly cosmetic concern. I leave small pieces of broken rock in the tank to add to the natural look, rather than empty shells.