romanr
06/12/2009, 06:12 PM
got 20 Nerite snails yesterday. They were shipped overnight and arrived about 2pm. I moved the box inside out of the heat but didn't have time to put them in the tank. I got home about 5:30 and opened the box. 4 peppermint shrimp I had also ordered were DOA. The snails were bagged dry and seem to all be alive. I'm not sure how you acclimate snails that weren't in water to begin with so I put them in the tank right away. They did fine. I know this is an intertidal species and they are used to spending some time out of the water every day.
What I didn't expect was to find one of the snails in my garage where I had opened the bags the day prior (must have fallen out). It must have been 100 degrees in the garage but the snail had its trap shut and it did not smell like a dead snail. Well I put the puppy in water and within 5 minutes he was cruising along! So this guy was out of the water for about 48 hours and endured 100 degree temps for at least 6 hours today. I am really surprised at how resilient some of these reef creatures are. Like the many of the live rock hitchhikers that find their way in our tanks.
What I didn't expect was to find one of the snails in my garage where I had opened the bags the day prior (must have fallen out). It must have been 100 degrees in the garage but the snail had its trap shut and it did not smell like a dead snail. Well I put the puppy in water and within 5 minutes he was cruising along! So this guy was out of the water for about 48 hours and endured 100 degree temps for at least 6 hours today. I am really surprised at how resilient some of these reef creatures are. Like the many of the live rock hitchhikers that find their way in our tanks.