I woke up this morning to find 6 fatalities in my tank. Thankfully they were only snails ;D but it seems odd to me that all of them would die overnight. My cerith population appear unaffected and all other livestock open fully or acting normally. My current suspect are the hermits (5), but they are tiny and that would have been some killing spree! I tested tank parameters, but they all came up clean. Do I have the beginnings of a problem? Thanks in advance - John
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Dead Astrea Snails
- Thread starter jliska429
- Start date
If you sand on the bottom of your tank the Astreas cannot turn them selves over when they fall or jump from the glass. The hermits will then attack them while they vulnerable. Ceriths can right themselves on sand and therefore aren't as susceptible to attack from the hermits.
Do you have a serpent star?
If I don't feed mine weekly it starts taking out my astrea's and turbos. I was shocked when my wife pointed it out to me the first time. Before I saw it first hand I had lost about 5 turbos that just appeared empty and in place.
When I first started seeing them die, or so I thought, I began doing some research and if I remember correctly ... if they die from bad water params they tend to start falling off the glass/rocks more often. Then after a few days they die. Do you find yourself "helping" your snails out more than you once did?
I too have a bunch of smaller hermits. They have taken out most of my smaller snails, but when the bigger guys turn over they normally survive long enough for me to see them and flip them over.
If I don't feed mine weekly it starts taking out my astrea's and turbos. I was shocked when my wife pointed it out to me the first time. Before I saw it first hand I had lost about 5 turbos that just appeared empty and in place.
When I first started seeing them die, or so I thought, I began doing some research and if I remember correctly ... if they die from bad water params they tend to start falling off the glass/rocks more often. Then after a few days they die. Do you find yourself "helping" your snails out more than you once did?
I too have a bunch of smaller hermits. They have taken out most of my smaller snails, but when the bigger guys turn over they normally survive long enough for me to see them and flip them over.
I think I may have a serpent star that came as a hitchhiker. I have never seen him fully, but I have noticed an arm or two protruding from a crevice. He seemed small (only inch or so arms) but he was definitely big enough to wrap up a medium sized snail. So he's my new suspect, and he seems more likely as 3 dead snails were in the vicinity of his normal hangout.
What do you feed your serpent, or should I try and remove it? Its only in a 30g right now, but I starting my 75 up this week.
What do you feed your serpent, or should I try and remove it? Its only in a 30g right now, but I starting my 75 up this week.
If you have not seen it, and it hangs out in the same spot, it sounds like it might be a mini-brittle star; although, I've personally only seen really small mini brittles (1/4 arms or less). It might be a regular brittle that is still small. Are the arms hairy or smooth?
Also, serpents are not normally shy. If you feed the tank anything meaty they will normally come out in force. Mine will snatch a piece of silverside right from my hand - or from the clutches of my tiger pistol. It's quite funny actually. The pistol things he can hurt the serpent so he snaps away at it as the serpent star just eats away.
Also, serpents are not normally shy. If you feed the tank anything meaty they will normally come out in force. Mine will snatch a piece of silverside right from my hand - or from the clutches of my tiger pistol. It's quite funny actually. The pistol things he can hurt the serpent so he snaps away at it as the serpent star just eats away.
you say you have ceriths, hermits, astreas in your 30gallon? mind if i ask how many of each total? what other cleaners do you have? My point is it seems to me you might have starved them.
I run a crab-less tank. No hermits, no emeralds, nothing with pincers. Not even shrimp (though i will probably change my mind on the last invert).
Anyways - it makes no difference. Astreas that fall over are probably doing so because the tank does not have enough food to sustain them. I stopped turning them over and just let the nassarius snails have a snack.
I feed my serpent a small chunk of fish every once in a while. My kids love the star and always ask to feed it. It does not serve as a contributor to my clean up crew - but rather as a fun invert for the kids/guests to watch.
I run a crab-less tank. No hermits, no emeralds, nothing with pincers. Not even shrimp (though i will probably change my mind on the last invert).
Anyways - it makes no difference. Astreas that fall over are probably doing so because the tank does not have enough food to sustain them. I stopped turning them over and just let the nassarius snails have a snack.
I feed my serpent a small chunk of fish every once in a while. My kids love the star and always ask to feed it. It does not serve as a contributor to my clean up crew - but rather as a fun invert for the kids/guests to watch.
Okay I got a good macro shot of the hitchhiker. I can't put it up at the moment but I will try to later tonight. It appears to be a brittle star, when I zoomed in on the picture I could easily see its hairy arms. The arms are also banded red and white, similar to a CBS.
I started w/ 5 ceriths, 5 astreas, 5 hermits and a single turbo. The hermits have taken out 1 cerith. So it was at 15 prior to last night, but I still had consistent algae growth. I also have a false perc and a 6 line in the tank. I still think it was odd that they all died in the same night, I had just noticed growth in the astreas the day prior too. Oh well at least it was only snails
I started w/ 5 ceriths, 5 astreas, 5 hermits and a single turbo. The hermits have taken out 1 cerith. So it was at 15 prior to last night, but I still had consistent algae growth. I also have a false perc and a 6 line in the tank. I still think it was odd that they all died in the same night, I had just noticed growth in the astreas the day prior too. Oh well at least it was only snails