Justify this snail death

[EmilyB]

Long story short, amazing grip witnessed by a few people to the point we thought it had petrified onto the glass. Nope. It was very alive until I took down the tank and twisted it off.... This is the inside of its shell, the holes explain how it could seal itself. I want a dozen.

[fkshiu]

Isn't that an abalone shell? They're infamous for their death grips.

[NateL]

looks like an abolone to me

[Zylumn]

I watched you try and twist that thing off the glass while there was water in it. Cool was it a hitchhiker?

[andrewsk]

That is an Abalone.

[christyf5]

Abalone, best removed with a razor blade gently slipped beneath the foot at the halfway/three-quarters way point you can start to pry. Otherwise it is a done deal if you just rip them off, too much muscle damage for them to recover.

[marie]

Originally Posted by christyf5

Abalone, best removed with a razor blade gently slipped beneath the foot at the halfway/three-quarters way point you can start to pry. Otherwise it is a done deal if you just rip them off, too much muscle damage for them to recover.

Unless the abalone can stretch out to be 7 or 8 inches long, then you just get Anthony to use his hands

[EmilyB]

Ah, thanks. I know I bought a couple a few years ago. I hope I can find some now as I think it may be a great cleanup for the FO tank.

[bulletsworld]

Yeah know, I was wondering what I could add to my FO for a cleanup crew without the puffers & trigger eating them. Do you think an Abalone would really work though?

Deb, you have the same trigger. Let me know if you ever try it, I'd be curious to know.

[Delphinus]

I've moved my abalone between tanks a few times. I take a piece of plastic (I think it's for lighting, not sure what it is - think "really thin acrylic"), put it on the glass next to the guy, and then poke the foot of the abalone until he's annoyed enough to move. Then I keep slipping the plastic in front of him until he walks onto it. Sometimes it takes a few tries and a few minutes, but, perseverence will win over eventually.

I drip acclimate them though between tanks as I've noticed that even with similar water conditions the change in water chemistry knocks the wind out of them. They'll not move a whole heck of a lot for about a week after a tank swap so I figure the longer the acclimation, probably the better.

Amazing herbivores. Almost as good as a seahare, but seem to be less prone to starving themselves out. Nevertheless I have lost a couple, shortly after purchase, that I suspect may be due to starvation. Ie., bought them, then they never really did much, never ate anything, and eventually perish. I think I've purchased .. um .. 3 or 4 of these guys over the years and it's only the one that I've had for 3 or 4 years now that's still with me. So the success rate doesn't seem to be 100% with them.