Hardly ever see them?

CjAmaryllis · Nov 24, 2023

Hello all,
I am new to reefing.
I introduced a couple blue legged hermit crabs, bumblebee snails, Astrea snails, a peppermint shrimp, and a clownfish.
My peppermint shrimp is super curious and friendly. I see him often. The Astrea snails I see most every day too.

But, I hardly ever see my hermit crabs or bumblebee snails. So much so that I always think they've died (they'll pop up every few days so I think they're good?)
Should I be checking on them more thoroughly? How long is it typical for them to go missing?
Thanks all!

KrisReef · Nov 24, 2023

If the tank is new they may not be finding much to scavenge, otherwise they will find places to hide because they don't want to get eaten and they suspect that you could be a predator who put them in the tank so you could snack on them when you get hungry. Try eating in front of the tank to let them know that you are not short on food and also that you are eating other items than reef tank occupants.

Is there algae growing in the tank, or pods and similar creatures that they can possibly eat?

CjAmaryllis · Nov 24, 2023

KrisReef said:
If the tank is new they may not be finding much to scavenge, otherwise they will find places to hide because they don't want to get eaten and they suspect that you could be a predator who put them in the tank so you could snack on them when you get hungry. Try eating in front of the tank to let them know that you are not short on food and also that you are eating other items than reef tank occupants.

Is there algae growing in the tank, or pods and similar creatures that they can possibly eat?

Lol, I can't tell if you're joking about eating in front of the tank.

There is a decent amount of green hair algae, and some Ulva I intentionally added. Diatoms and a few hydroids too. No copepods for now. I initially had a ton, but then had a hydroid problem. Once all the copepods were gone, the hydroids died off mostly. A few here and there yet, but I don't want to add copepods back yet in case the hydroids decide to bloom again. I supplement some brine shrimp for a meat source too and my peppermint shrimp is fed directly for now.

Stomatopods17 · Nov 25, 2023

FWIW, I had two bumblebee snails hitchhike on a piece of rock back in 2015 or 16.

A year after I got them, I dismantled the tank and moved them.

Those same two showed up a few years later in the big tank i moved the rock in, I didn't know they still existed.

In April this year I rearranged the rock in that tank, and I found them again not even realizing they still existed, I picked them up, dropped them to go back into hiding.... then my crab ate them. RIP

Point is don't expect to see bumble bee snails, they hide really good in the rock work and tend to never come out.

exnisstech · Nov 25, 2023

My hermits are pretty much nocturnal. Take a look at night if you haven't already. I see a lot of cool stuff at night.

CjAmaryllis · Nov 25, 2023

exnisstech said:
My hermits are pretty much nocturnal. Take a look at night if you haven't already. I see a lot of cool stuff at night.

I'll check at night!

CjAmaryllis · Nov 25, 2023

Stomatopods17 said:
FWIW, I had two bumblebee snails hitchhike on a piece of rock back in 2015 or 16.

A year after I got them, I dismantled the tank and moved them.

Those same two showed up a few years later in the big tank i moved the rock in, I didn't know they still existed.

In April this year I rearranged the rock in that tank, and I found them again not even realizing they still existed, I picked them up, dropped them to go back into hiding.... then my crab ate them. RIP

Point is don't expect to see bumble bee snails, they hide really good in the rock work and tend to never come out.

Good to know! I just worry a snail dies and creates an ammonia spike before my weekly testing catches it, especially with my inexperience and it being not super diverse in foods yet.

EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal · Nov 25, 2023

CjAmaryllis said:
Good to know! I just worry a snail dies and creates an ammonia spike before my weekly testing catches it, especially with my inexperience and it being not super diverse in foods yet.

How many gallons is your system?