My snails are... sluggish?

Discussion in 'New To The Hobby' started by Satyrwyld, Jul 4, 2010.

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  1. Satyrwyld

    Satyrwyld Astrea Snail

    Joined:
    May 26, 2010
    Messages:
    26
    Yesterday I got an assortment of snails from my LFS to start cleaning up the algae in my mostly-done-cycling tank: one Mexican turbo snail and two pairs of smaller species I forget the names of offhand.

    The LFS in question has been really good about not pressuring me to buy fish early- I'll concede they suggested I get a damsel or goby with the snails, but dropped the subject when I explained I wanted to be sure I was done cycling before I added anything that cost more than a candy bar or that I'd feel bad about killing. Two clerks spent a decent amount of time going over pros and cons of various species before I settled on the snails in question.

    I temperature-acclimated them for about half an hour, then placed them in the tank by hand. The two medium-sized snails had attached themselves to the shell of the much larger Mexican turbo, while the smaller ones remained separate. The Mexican climbed up on top of a decorative coral skeleton and began grazing algae off of it, while the little guys set off in different directions. While the medium ones remained on the Mexican, they were starting to move around when I went to bed.

    This morning, one of the small black ones is still very lively, covering large portions of the tank walls. I presume the other is exploring the live rock grotto at the back of the tank- hard to check without tearing it apart. However, the Mexican is still perched motionless on top of the coral, and has remained there for hours. One of the medium guys is still on his back, as well. I tried moving them off, but they have a tight grip on the next surface down (Mexican on coral, medium on Mexican) and I didn't want to hurt them by trying to force them. The remaining medium was sitting motionless beside the coral. I moved it onto a live rock algae patch, and there appeared to be movement, but it's not very active.

    Do snails need time to acclimate to new surrounding? Or might I be missing something that's making them sick?
     
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  3. phoenixhieghts

    phoenixhieghts Panda Puffer

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2007
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    2,121
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    hey there

    i dont think you acclimated them properly. Snails need better acclimatization then fish.......
     
  4. 2in10

    2in10 Super Moderator

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    Some snails take 2 or 3 days to get going again. Ceriths are known for this. They should be fine it a stress reaction.
     
  5. Satyrwyld

    Satyrwyld Astrea Snail

    Joined:
    May 26, 2010
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    Does this mean my LFS guy lied when he told me that I just needed to do temperature, and none of the other things I would do with fish or other inverts? :cry:
     
  6. 2in10

    2in10 Super Moderator

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    Reefcleaners says temp acclimate and add to tank. I have had two orders from them and no problems.
     
  7. SAY

    SAY Ocellaris Clown

    Joined:
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    i wouldn't worry about it. when he gets hungry, he will move. my mexican turbos move very little during the day.