Wild caught snails and hermits at reef temperatures?

[Waleedwale1]

I'm going to plum beach tomorrow and always see thousands of little black nassarious snails. If acclimated for 2-3 hours, can they be kept in a reef tank? I have a lot of detritus to get rid of. I don't plan on taking a lot. I know not to return them back. I've heard various things. Should I freshwater dip them? My tank is at 79-81 degrees.

 

[reefman]

i would not. look under "Ilynassa Obsoleta"

http://www.reefcleaners.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=48&Itemid=66

 

[Waleedwale1]

What about the hermits that are found there?

 

[reefer4eva]

I use to know someone that was breeding them.he use to catch them from the wild and treat them just not sure what he used..

 

[arnaldolex]

ive done it several times caught c 1" horse shoe crabs last week they all alive hermits to i do it every year 1 hour aclimation is fine

 

[MIKE NY]

The Ilynassa I fresh water dip and clean all the detris/mudd thats on them, but they are a cold water species and putting them in our warmer waters it speeds up their metabolism...most for me last about a year or two although I've heard of some living longer....the hermits from our local waters are very aggressive scavengers and I wouldn't put them in my reef.

 

[homegrowncichlid]

I keep those snails in my sump, they do graze off the glass, but like meat. The hermit crabs I've captured here are white/tanish, and very fast movers. I also keep them in my sump. I just dump them in the tank, since they come out of water during low tide. no accimation.

As for longevity, the hermit crab I had that hermit for half a year, and the snails last over a year.

I also have 3 horseshoe crabs. They dig around nicely just under the surface of the sand/mud.

 

[e.muehlbauer]

I use wild Ilyanassa in my tank. They last for many years. I don't even acclimate them- I just toss them in. Since they are intertidal, they are used to extremes in temperature. At this time of year they will do well. They don't transfer as well in early spring when local temperatures are still low, although sometimes they respond to the warmer temperatures by laying eggs all over the place. Don't bother with the hermits...they look great, are very active, and are far more entertaining than the usual blue and red legged that we keep. But they don't live long in a tropical system. As someone else posted, 6 months tops. I have kept them longer when I had a cool "local" invert tank. Temperatures there were allowed to drop into the low 60's, even 50's in winter, and salinity was way lower...1.017.

 

[ssminnow81]

I've always used the snails in my tanks. They last about a year or
Until the hermits eat em.