Collecting Hermits and Snails. Need advice.

Otogi

Otogi

New member
OK so my 90g is nearing the end of the Cycling stage or at least I believe so. And now I am looking at getting ready to introduce a cleaner group once everything has balanced out and had an extra few day to do its thing. I really don't want to drop the $100 to $150 from a cleaner package from a store, especially when I live in the Florida Keys and these animals are abundant to me either through the Atlantic out my back door or Gulf out my front door.

I am planning to collect (I know collecting is not taken very lightly by many in the hobby) my blue leg hermits and various snails as I would much rather drop that $100 to $150 into other equipment or some nice fish. I have read that you can't treat inverts like you can fish with Copper, Hypo or freshwater dips, but also haven't found anything on medicating or treating inverts. So I am looking for any advice or recommendations of treatments or meds I can use on hermits and snails to try and rid them of anything unwanted prior to placing them in my tank. I have read that Ich doesn’t effect inverts but that doesn’t mean that there won’t be any on them. I know there has to be some treatment or something I can do, as the fish stores and wholesalers must do something to theirs, that are collected from the ocean.

So does anyone have any advice or recommendations for collecting and treating hermits and snails to go in my tank? Also what would be a good number of hermits and snails for a 90g with 120lbs of LR? I would really appreciate any and all comments, good or bad.

Thanks in advance ^^.
 
agreed, dont' collect em. most the cleaner packages I've seen have far too many specimens for the size tanks they recommend for them. No need to really drop 100-150 on em either. I may have spend around $50 for my entire clean up crew and they do their job well.
 
I know there has to be some treatment or something I can do, as the fish stores and wholesalers must do something to theirs, that are collected from the ocean.
Click to expand...
Poor assumption.

If you add the clean-up crew a few weeks before any fish there's no worry about ich.

If I was living in the Keys and I knew the species I wanted I would collect my own. They're no different than what you would buy at the store. I've collected many animals, including snails from FL and elsewhere for my tank.
 
Why not collect them from the ocean? Isn't this exactly what the distributors do, then deliver them to the pet shops that just in turn sell them for $1 each? The ones that are bought from the pet shop are collected from the ocean. But yet the ones from the pet shop are deemed safe, even though they come from the same waters that I would collect mine from. I would just rather not pay the middle man for the same product and use that money towards other beneficial things for my tank. I'm just trying to find out what it is that the LFS or wholesalers do to treat there hermits and snails to make them "safe" for aquariums so that I can do the same thing and save myself some money.

I am not trying to sound harsh or ignorant or anything, so I apologize if I am. I just don't see what the difference would be when they are coming from the same place (waters) and if I can provide the same treatments. I am not talking about collecting from the beaches right off Key West or off a Boat slip. More from the remote islands, sand bars and jetties that are more isolated from civilization and clean.

In any case if the over all response is simply not to do it, Then I will not. As you all are all far more experienced then I am and because of that I will respect your advice.

Thanks in advance ^^
 
Thank you greenbean36191 that was the point I was trying to make. There isn't a difference from the collected one versus what is in the store. And yes it probably was a poor assumption on my part as far as the treatment of inverts.

I also don't intend to put fish in right away I wanted get a clean up crew first and let them in the tank for a few weeks to help manage the tank while it builds more beneficial bacteria for the later bio load. So if there were Ich on them I guess it would die off. before I got my fish which would be 2-3 weeks after I add the cleaner crew.
 
go for it. I wouldn't worry about treating them with anything. One of the great benefits of collecting wild is the extra stuff you get with them. You will likely get a variety of pods, worms and other stuff. Just remember that everything will look small when you're collecting it but when you get it home and in your tank it will look HUGE!!!

Good Luck!

p.s. be sure to look up the collecting regulations with the fla DNR, I'm sure there are daily limits on everything. It would suck to get a high dollar ticket for being 3 snails over the limit! :D You might be surprised at what you are allowed to collect and not collect.
 
I don't think they treat snails at all, as they don't suffer from the same variety of diseases as fish. You're right, you can either buy your Nassarius vibex from someone else who went out and collected them in your back yard, or you can go collect them yourself. It's the same thing. You should be able to find some nice snails for your cleanup crew out at Pelican Shoals, if you can get out there. It's one of the few nice areas that's not off limits, and there are good populations of Astraea, Turbo, and trochid species available in shallow water. If you want to try cowries as part of your crew, you should also be able to collect Cypraea acicularis and Cypraea cinerea there.

Cheers,



Don
 
i have my tank in puerto rico and im in new york for now (working)im going to puerto rico this weekend and on saturday im going to the beach to collect a few more snails and hermits i already have a few,so far no problem and its true your paying for the same stuff they get in your backyard.i love it in puerto rico i know a wholesaler i met and became my friend and he can get me a queen angel for 15 dollars is that cool or what.
 
Skater,

You can find the Nassarius on just about any silty/sandy/muddy slope, leaving tiny trails in the substrate. If you want nerites, the true Nerita species will be on rocks or concrete in the "splash zone," while the Neritina species will usually be associated with grass in still, marshy areas or brackish water. You find the Turbo and Astraea species, along with most others, by flipping rocks or dead coral slabs and looking under them. Sometimes it pays to fan the sand under a slab or rock, but for the species I just mentioned, you can usually find them either still attached to the rocks or you will see them when they fall off into the sand. After you flip something, just let it sit for a minute and stare at it, as many of the creatures are very well camouflaged, and may only move after a minute or two of exposure. Be sure to replace the rocks or slabs in the same position where you found them, or the life under them will die.

Good luck,



Don
 
yup i snorkel 3 feet of water turn over large pieces of rock and take my pick theres hundreds,dont know what kind but they are about the size of goya beans or a bit smaller.
 
For Nassarius I just go to shallow muddy areas and drag a minnow net through the top 1/2 inch of mud or so and then screen it through the net. It's a lot quicker than trying to track them down visually.
 
"The ocean is a desert with it's life underground
And a perfect disguise above "

If you go collecting without knowing how you'll get very frustrated. Try to find someone local to show you were and how to collect. Backwaters and bays are much more productive than open water. Even then most critters hide in plain sight :lol: .

I've added several wild collected items to my tanks. I good idea is to do a water change and save the water. Acclimate collected livestock in the old water before moving them to your tank. That way you can observe them, get an ID of questionable species, and make an evaluation of general health.
 
Wish I lived in the Florida Keys :P

My snails and hermits were about $.60 a piece at my LFS. I know Drs. F&S Cleaner Packs are outrageous! Find a little one owner LFS in your area. That's USUALLY where you get your best deals from. Luckily, in my dumpy town in VA there are 4 or 5 Independently owned LFS in my area :) No beaches out my back door :(

Yea, go for it man. If I had the beach that close to me, I certainly would collect everything naturally. How close to the water are you? Ever thought of pumping water in to your tank from the ocean and bqack out to filter it? Kind of making the ocean act as your "sump" I believe they call it. I know someone who does this and am very, very jealous.

Take it easy.

--Jim C.
 
I looked at the live aquaria cleaner package and laughed. They are reccomending 30 ceruth snails for a 75. Id say more like 8 would be more than enough. There cleanup crews are rediculous.
 
i live in puerto rico but you can basically catch the same stuff in the keys i went snorkeling the other day and couldnt resist catching a purple and yellow damsel.
 
Just to be safe make sure you get a good ID on anything you collect before you add it to your tank. i would hate to hear that you put something in your tank because it looked cool later to find out it will make meals out of small fish. We all know how much of a pain it is to take something out of the tank once your rockwork is how you like it. I dont care how hard you try it will never look the same.
 
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