For as delicate as our reef tanks can seem, every so often a critter will surprise me with its resilience and strength.
I moved recently and my tank had to be moved along with everything else. This isn't my first move or tear down so I knew the sand bed was going to be filthy.
I threw all the sand minus the snails and crabs in a bucket to be rinsed outside before being re-introduced. 9 days after the tank move I finally got around to rinsing that sand and on my fifth rinse with hose water outside, I found a nassarius shell. I peek inside and see it still has its operculum (trap door) closed. I give it a poke and it recoiled further into the shell indicating it might be alive! I brought it inside and put it in a jar of tank water. 5 minutes later it slowly came out of the shell and started wandering around! Back into the tank it went and a lesson in nassarius snail resilience was learned!
What critters have surprised you in their resilience or strength?
I moved recently and my tank had to be moved along with everything else. This isn't my first move or tear down so I knew the sand bed was going to be filthy.
I threw all the sand minus the snails and crabs in a bucket to be rinsed outside before being re-introduced. 9 days after the tank move I finally got around to rinsing that sand and on my fifth rinse with hose water outside, I found a nassarius shell. I peek inside and see it still has its operculum (trap door) closed. I give it a poke and it recoiled further into the shell indicating it might be alive! I brought it inside and put it in a jar of tank water. 5 minutes later it slowly came out of the shell and started wandering around! Back into the tank it went and a lesson in nassarius snail resilience was learned!
What critters have surprised you in their resilience or strength?
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