snails or hermits?

[FishRFrndsNotFd]

I have noticed that a lot of my snails are turning up dead. I just read in another post that the hermits may be eating the snails and it sounds like it may be a good idea to just stick with one or the other.

Is it just personal preferance or is one better for cleaning tanks than the other?

thanks!

 

[austinsdad]

You'd notice hermits on snail shells here and there I'm thinking. Snails can die off from water quality or acclimation issues too. Hard to say why yours are dying, but I think both have their purpose and wouldn't choose one over the other.

 

[TCTFish]

I've never seen a little hermit kill a snail. Generally, the shells are snacked up after the snail is dead. Hermits though will pull each other out of their shells. I would think a healthy snail would be too strong for a little hermit to pull out unles you have the big hermit crabs and not the little reef crabs. Having both reef hermits and snails together covers more ground in maintaining the system. Test the water to see if that has anything to do with the snails dying. What kind of hermits do you have? and what type of snails are disappearing?

 

[FishRFrndsNotFd]

I have some zebra crabs, red legged guys and then some that I think are just regular ol' reef hermits.
And the snails that are disappearing: a Mexican turbo, some that I can't remember the name of whose shells kind of turn purply after awhile.

I did test the water but my levels are fine and the hermits are not dying like the snails. Are snails more likely to die due to transportation, new environment, etc?

 

[TCTFish]

Snails are a bit more sensitive when it comes to changes in the environment. Transport doesn't seem to be any different from reef hermits, but definitely a difference in acclimation. Watch them. Especially at night. If anyone is hurting anything, it's usually done at night. Drip acclimating any invert will decrease the chances of the animals dying from shock.

 

[FishRFrndsNotFd]

ok, thanks for the help!

 

[i have crabs]

ive seen my zebra crabs tear a snail out of its shell before and not a dead snail but in over a year ive only had 2 mabey 3 snail deaths and only 1 crab with a new shell so i wouldnt be worried pluss crabs are cool to watch so why avoid them over a 2 dollar snail

 

[FishRFrndsNotFd]

ok, i have crabs, your name made me laugh!

I have lost about 6-7 snails but maybe it's not my hermits' fault. If I had to choose between the two, I would definitely go with the hermits. They are very cool to watch.

And the kitten you have on your profile is really really cute! makes me want to get a kitten....

 

[cmor1701d]

I have had both blue-legged and scarlet-legged hermits kill snails. Sometimes for the shell, sometimes, well who knows. They are crabs and have claws. All my hermits are now in a small tank together with my cbs. A clawless tank is a safer tank. JMO.

 

[quarryshark]

I have tons of hermits and have never seen one kill a snail. One of my blue legged hermits is over 2" is width and he is the perfect citizen (see below). I wouldn't stress over it.