Life span of your inverts

[JoJosReef]

I'm wondering what the lifespan of most inverts is like, particularly crabs/shrimp. I've had emerald that keel over and die after a while even though they seem like they are eating well. Maybe they don't get their vitamins, because after a while they get super lazy and stop eating bubble algae. But I also have a few inverts that are coming up on 2 years in the tank(s): a spotted nem crab and a Randall's pistol shrimp.

I also have a pitho crab and a blue porcelain, but they are newer additions.

What has been your experience with life span of your inverts? The ones that you think died of old age.

 

[Katrina71]

Our tiger shrimp 7+ years

 

[thresher]

I'm having the same lifespan for inverts.....Snails 6 months 70% mortality. Crabs 8 month 80% mortality. Giving an urchin a try and so far so good...1 month in.

 

[VintageReefer]

A lot of times people overstock their cleaning crew, and the inverts such as snails die after a few months. You may see algae in the tank, but the snails don’t always make it there by the time they starve. Snails also can get stuck in rock-work cracks or fall on their back somewhere out of view and die from starvation

Hermit crabs are the similar situation. But they tend to find food faster/better than snails. They also can attack and kill snails to steal their shells as they grow and need bigger shells.

Shrimp have an excellent sense of smell and know where to find food and they find what they want very quickly

 

[Cthulukelele]

I think invert overstocking is encouraged. Most of my hermits and snails are 2-3 years old and before my crash I hadn't added snails since a group of trochus

 

[FlyinAg]

Hermits: bomb proof
Snails: days to year plus depending on size and hermit activity, dinos wiped out out astreas
Tuxedo urchin: got a big one that lasted a week. Tried a small one and it's been doing great for a couple months.

Snail longevity seems directly promotional to hermits aggressiveness. Sometimes they are harmless and then one day they will go on a murder spree. They have taken down small ceriths up to a 1+ inch fighting conch. I've had the same three big nassarius for a year and a half. The other day the hermits attacked and killed a small cerith. The nassarius apparently tried to get a piece of the pie and next thing I knew the mob was eating the nassarius too. None of them are upgrading shells either, I think they are about full grown. The blue leg and Mexican red leg seem like the worst offenders. The Scarlets seem less aggressive. I have been moving them to the sump.

 

[VintageReefer]

I only buy scarlets now and they do seem less aggressive

Nassarius snails last a long time, my guess is they burrow and don’t get attacked

I have had the same bumble bee snails for at least 8 years. They have survived tank crashes too.

 

[MoshJosh]

My oldest invert is probably my coral banded. . . I have had him since very early on in my reefing, had him maybe 2 or three years old. . .

Sort of related, I recently ready that some anemones are thought to live for hundreds if not thousands of years!!! Crazy!

 

[kevgib67]

My tuxedo urchin has been in my tank for over two years. Shrimps seem to last about a year and a half. Still have my original ceriths, bumblebees and trochus. Lost a turbo the other day, had it for about a year and was the size of a golf ball when I got it. Lost 2 emeralds after about a year and a half. Tried porcelain crabs 3 times and each time never lasted more than 3 months.

 

[gbroadbridge]

I'm wondering what the lifespan of most inverts is like, particularly crabs/shrimp. I've had emerald that keel over and die after a while even though they seem like they are eating well. Maybe they don't get their vitamins, because after a while they get super lazy and stop eating bubble algae. But I also have a few inverts that are coming up on 2 years in the tank(s): a spotted nem crab and a Randall's pistol shrimp.

I also have a pitho crab and a blue porcelain, but they are newer additions.

What has been your experience with life span of your inverts? The ones that you think died of old age.

My Coral banded shrimp lasted about 3 years, but it was pretty large when it arrived.
Peppermint Shrimp about 3 years.
Tuxedo Urchins about 5 years.
Big snails seem to last forever, small snails reproduce rapidly so I have no idea if any of the original are still around.

 

[thresher]

It seems many are experiencing similiar timelines.

 

[Nemo&Friends]

Hermit live a long long time and become quite large. I think mine are over 5 years. My nassarius snails and bumble bee snails are well over 2 years and still doing well. My coral banded shrimp is about 2. The other snails I do not know, as I cannot tell them apart. Candy cane shrimps around 2 years.

 

[PeeperKeeper]

I agree with @FlyinAg that snail longevity seems directly proportional to hermit crab aggressiveness. I'm no longer replacing hermits, but based on this thread, I may get some scarlets.
Also, I caught this large bristleworm early one morning apparently attacking a good size turbo. I pushed it off and it skidaddled into the rocks and the snail went on its way. I normally don't mind bristleworms because I think they're pretty good clean up crew themselves, but this one may find himself kicked out if I see him again.

 

[dthom]

I have had the same snails, hermit crabs and a pistol shrimp for 7+ years as well.
Snails and hermits start to thin out if their food level drops.

 

[TurboTang]

I've had good success with inverts. The first 10 astrea snails I purchased lasted a really long time. I got em July 2019, lost a couple over the years from hermits, and lost 4 or 5 due to dino outbreak a year ago. Have one giant left. I credit that crew to turning my tank pink/purple with coralline.

Fire shrimp I got a pair in 4/2021 doing well
Pic below

Had a tuxedo urchin from algeabarn that lasted 2 years - almost to the day. Unfortunately lost him during last dino problem.

 

[TurboTang]

Last remaining starter snail going strong and making mp40 look small

 

[Royal_pudding]

I thibk tge Adorned wrasse is picking everything off in my tank.
The only thing that lasts are urchins and really big snails. Not even big cleaner shrimps make it.

 

[JoJosReef]

My leopard and yellow wrasse gone on a nerite and cerith killing spree. The astraeas and the Trochus have done alright so far.

 

[VintageReefer]

I agree with @FlyinAg that snail longevity seems directly proportional to hermit crab aggressiveness. I'm no longer replacing hermits, but based on this thread, I may get some scarlets.
Also, I caught this large bristleworm early one morning apparently attacking a good size turbo. I pushed it off and it skidaddled into the rocks and the snail went on its way. I normally don't mind bristleworms because I think they're pretty good clean up crew themselves, but this one may find himself kicked out if I see him again.

I may be wrong. But I don’t think that bristleworm is attacking the snail. If the snail was attacked or even irritated, it would retract into its shell.

I know it’s just a picture and I didn’t see what you saw, before and after that moment captured, but based on the picture alone I would say the worm is cleaning detritus from folds in the snails body, that the snail can not clean itself. I’ve seen snails clean other snails, hermits clean snails, whose to say bristleworms can’t also?

Just throwing out a possibility as I’ve only seen bristleworms eat detritus, or things already dead. And again, I could be wrong

 

[Stomatopods17]

I had a tiger pistol for 6 or 7 years.

Hawaiian harlequin for about 1 1/2 years.

N wennerae mantis for about 2 years

All o. Scyllarus we’re full grown so difficult to tell, but year-year and a half is my usual with them.

I’ve had my flame box crab nearly a year now, still doing great.

My cleaners disappear at random, sometimes they live 2 years sometimes they live 2 months.