Snail problem...

Well, i do not know if anyone has had this same issue or not, but my snails keep jumping out of the tank. Is there anyway to keep them in, or do i just have to throw them back in????

 

Do you mean they're climbing the glass above the water level and onto other equipment or actually jumping?

 

Well they do both, some climb into/onto the filter and others climb the glass and eventually jump/fall out of the tank.

 

ive had this problem before to, some species of marine snail (the ones with the black shells forgot their names) are actually a snail that prefers some dry time as well as in the water so their not the best to have ive actually replaced all of these in my tanks with turbo snails mainly just due to this issue alone

 

I had the same problem with some Zebra snails a while back after all the jumpers jumped I never put that kind in again. I would be watching TV and hear CLACK CLACK snails falling behind the tank. crazy.

 

I would recommend Turbo's also. They are hearty, eat more than there share of algae off the rocks/glass, and have no curiosity as to whats outside your tank!

 

Now I have a question. Does the shell size/type/color really determine indefinately the species? I know they grow their own perminant shells. Some of my astrea's and turbo's hang out above the water line from time to time. They never climb out but it's still a bit scary seeing them hanging from the top lip of the tank.

 

It's not really the color or shell type that makes a difference, it's the natural habits of the snails that you get for your tank. The shape and sculpture of the shells along with the animal characteristics do determine the taxonomic assignment of snails, primarily, as with most other animals. As you get more and more familiar with the different mollusc families, they look less and less alike.

Most nerites (Nerita, Neritina, Vitta, and a few other genera) plus essentially all of the littorinids ("Periwinkles") spend time above the low tide line, grazing on the rocks and vegetation between tides. Some species live farther above the mean tide line than others, with a few of them actually living in the "splash zone" at or above the high tide line. If you end up with these species in your tank, they are prone to climb above the water line and wait for the high tide that never comes. Some of them continue their search for algae above the "tide line" in your tank, and they end up on the floor rather than back in the water. The good news is that most of the nerites can seal their shells so effectively that they may live outside your tank for several days. The bad news is that you'll have to keep picking them up and putting them back in the water, as long as you keep these species in your tank. They are effective algae eaters, but again, only if you can keep them where the algae is.

Cheers,



Don

 

my nerites always try to get out of the tank but i always catch them before they get out. One of these days i won't be there and my nerites will all get out.

 

This just happened to me 2 days ago. I saw my cat batting something that made a click noise as she hit it. The snail did not survive.