dead snail shells with holes

[draco]

Looking in our tank we noticed our snails died ,we had just bought them 2 weeks ago, seemed it a little strange they were all in a pile had a close look there is holes in the shells. what could have done this .please help it is right by a rock . Two clowns ,citrus goby,2 twin spot (signal) goby,yellow headed jawfish ,fire fish,2 cleaner shrimp,1 fire shrimp, hermit crabs.

[marie]

One culprit could be another snail, like a whelk. Look for snails "hitching" a ride on other snails.Once when I ordered a bunch of ceriths, one of them was a carniverous snail (it actually didn't look much like the other snails I don't know why they included it in a cerith order) it ate 3 other snails before I realized it wasn't in the least bit interested in algae
Another culprit could be a mantis shrimp, I don't know if they leave holes in the shells or not though

[Scavenger]

My first thoughts are mantis. Given the short term demise of lots of snails and the fact the "evidence" is piled in a small area.

Listening for clicking at night and setting up a bottle trap or similar would be my top priority at this point. If it is a mantis, darn near everything in the tank is at risk.

All this is just my opinion, it has no scientific, horrific or other ific evidence or knowledge. <grin>

[draco]

what should we use for bait in the trap?

[Kabong]

If it's a nice clean little hole that looks like its been drilled.
I'd agree with welk or conch.
For that the best way to catch them is just look for a snail piggy backing on another. Or an oddball snail you didnt order.
Some of these are night time predators.
So do a little night time flashlight checking

[Scavenger]

Originally Posted by draco

what should we use for bait in the trap?

Pretty much anything seafood and meaty that isn't going to pollute your water. Ie krill, uncooked shrimp, oyter, clam ect. I'd personally avoid oily meats such as salmon ect. (had my skimmer going nuts)

Do you know how to make a bottle trap??

I wouldn't discount the whelk theory, it just seems strange to me that the shells are in the same area. Sounds to me like a pretator with a burrow and hunting area. Just my one point three cents.

[draco]

yeah i definetly do i catch all my stuff with one.