Cleaning crew "On Strike"

Ever since I put my trigger in my tank, all of my hermits have gone into hiding and don't really come out much. Also my "Big Ass" turbo snail seems to have blown a hose from his intercooler (gearhead joke there...) and sort of hides behind a rock. He doesn't even get up on the glass anymore.

Is the trigger causing all of this? If so, what can I get that won't be bothered by my trigger?

 

Might be the trigger but what are your water params?

Marc.

 

The hermits certainly aren't going to be venturing out and about if there's a predator in the area waiting for a chance to eat them. Not sure it would be affecting the snail the same, but I suspect it's pretty inquisitive and might be picking on the snail, preventing it too from wandering around.

 

I had a Picasso Trigger who would eat anything with a shell- I could hear him crunching the shells on my jumbo turbo snails. I also had a Lion fish for awhile (traded them both in) between the two of them they eventually wiped out my cleanup guys , this started a chain reaction in water quality and a downward spiral for my whole eco-system which has taken several months to fully recover from. I don't know if this is your future but I have certainly learned to be careful about what fish go in my tank, I hope this helps.

 

Just tested my water after posting. Everything is within tolerable levels but the salt was at 1.023. I pulled out about a gallon and added fresh ro/di.

 

If you added fresh water then your salt will go down even more... I dont think thats where you want to go. Nitrates can slow a cleaning crew to a halt also... But like i said (and others) just a natural thing they will do if a predator is around.

Marc.

 

I agree with you lacom, they may feel threatened by the trigger. Have you heard or seen signs of any aggression towards the inverts by your trigger? My trigger leaves my snails alone, so im not sure if that is the real reason. Keep us updated!!

 

I think it's the trigger also.

 

Well, when we first introduced him into the tank the first thing he did was nip at a few hermit crabs. He messed with the snail for a second, but left him alone after that. The snail moves, but not like he used to and he really needs to get after the glass!

 

Yer well if he attacked them when he went in, then they probably know he is the big bad bully to look out for...