how long should snails live?

[purplesprite]

something keeps killing my snails. i have had 15 astreas all die.5 nerites all died. 5 cerith all but one died.nassarius all but 4 of 10.all within 4 months or so.do snails die this fast?

[blueboy]

i have a hard time with astreas too. they can't right themselves if they flip on their backs( i hear they come from rubble zones were there's no sand). i've not had the best luck with nerites either, but strombus snails are great. they are constantly laying eggs, and the juveniles actually grow up to adults. however, they are tiny so it takes alot. but they don't knock things over like turbos do, and they're unobtrusive. i got about 50 from IPSF about two years ago, now i have hundreds.

[purplesprite]

strombus,those are the snails with flat shell right?yea i used to have lots of those too.I would see them at night especially.i dont really see those anymore.do you have any crabs in your tank?

[blueboy]

the name of the ones with the flat shells escapes me right now, but they seem to come in on fiji rock. the strombus are small(olive pit sized), and have many different pattern with most being some combo of black, white and brown.

[purplesprite]

oh i was mistaken?i was asking about a crab because i have a large gorilla crab i guess they're called.its dark brownand white and like the same as an emerald crab,but on steriods.i wonder if he's eating em?

[blueboy]

the flat snails are called stomatella snails, i knew it would come to me. i do have bluelegs, a few of them are kind of large, but usually when they get too big i banish them to the sump or overflow. that crab does sound like a possibility, got a sump?

[hammondegge]

do you have a lot of hermits too. if so they may be taking out the snails. some snails can live 25 or more years if unmolested.

[purplesprite]

yea i still have all the blue leg and scarlet hermits i started out with.they dominate the tank.yea i have a sump with macro and ls in it.

[brewercm]

I swore off all crabs except possibly the emeralds after I shut down my last tank. I got tired of seeing my hermits sporting really cool looking fancy shells that they didn't come with.

[Andrew]

I've had astreas two years + and, a number of them were purchased large (about 1 inch diamter). I would bet they could live five or more years, assuming there are no predators in the tank to eat them, and nitrate and phosphates are kept as low as possible. Calcium levels at NSW level minimum, should also be maintained. I'd recommend drip acclimation for at least half an hour. Astreas especially, do better in BB setups, as they have a tendancy to fall on the sand in hard to reach places (and not be able to right themselves).

Hermit crabs, if not well fed will eat most snail species given the opportunity. One of many reasons i don't keep any hermits in my tank.

HTH
Andrew

[brieman]

Where can you get the Strombus snails, I did a search on them and really could'nt find anything.

[hobogato]

talk to scuba steve, his multiply often and sometimes he sells some i think

[blueboy]

i think strombus snails are only available from IPSF, or another reefer who's gotten them from IPSF and had them multiply like crazy. mine have been laying eggs like never before the last couple of months, and my calcium and alk have been low(340ppm, 2.5meq) i wonder if there's anything to it? the little ones are growing too, fast. i would have figured they would have difficulty builing their shells, but it doesn't appear to be a problem.

[rocketeer]

Is sugar fine sand a problem for some snails? I mean aside from the flipping over problem.

Jack

[GaryP]

Jack,

Yes, Asteas and turbos have a problem flipping over on sugar fine. Smaller snails like nerite and cerith have less of a problem. I think hermits get a bad reputation because they often scavenge these dead snails and end up with their shells. I think high nitrates are the biggest problem with snail longevity. Snails seem to be particularly sensitive to nitrates.

[Thunderkat]

When I first set up my old 55 gallon tank one of my first purchases were 2 astea snails. One fell on its back where I could not see it (and died), the other one has learned to stay on glass or rocks and has lived the entire time I have had salt water tanks here in San Antonio (2 years?) and has become much larger than the original size. I have lost snails to hermits but those are only the smaller ceriths. The hermits are not shy either, they forcefully remove the occupants, when those hermits eventually die I am not getting any more, they are evil. The really cool snails are the Mexican Turbo snails (I love the name too) they just keep getting bigger and bigger!

Once you have your water parameters in spec the only other thing you need to do is keep a stick or wire that you use to flip the snails when they fall on their "backs". I check every day when I get back from work.

PS- In freshwater tanks snails can be bad, to remove then in plague numbers I used to put an onion in the tank and when the snails swarmed on it I would just remove the onion (with the snails still on it). Crawfish work also but can attack your fish, really cool to watch them eat snails.

[cbianco]

oh i was mistaken?i was asking about a crab because i have a large gorilla crab i guess they're called.its dark brownand white and like the same as an emerald crab,but on steriods.i wonder if he's eating em?

I caught a gorilla crab eating one of my peppermint shrimp. Scavengers can be pretty rude sometimes.

Christopher

[Thunderkat]

oh i was mistaken?i was asking about a crab because i have a large gorilla crab i guess they're called.its dark brownand white and like the same as an emerald crab,but on steriods.i wonder if he's eating em?

I caught a gorilla crab eating one of my peppermint shrimp. Scavengers can be pretty rude sometimes.

Christopher

Did you return the favor and make crab cakes? :skeezy