Aloha,
Snails and hermits are built to be out of water and are accustomed to being out of the water during tidal and wave action. They breathe through their damp skin. They can close their operculum, the door to their shell, to protect themselves during exposure to air and still breath good enough.
The water in the transport bag gets pretty nasty so draining off that water, letting them close up, if they are not already closed, letting them adjust to being out of the water for just a couple minutes and then dropping them into the good water of the tank has always worked for me. Just last week I added 50 snails to my new 40 gal in the window and haven't lost one.
Don't try to separate them. Let them hang together. Drop the clump right into the tank on the sand nearest the most algae covered glass or on top of the rock with the worst algae. Watch the Astrea Snails to be sure they right themselves and help them. Margarita and Cerith Snails don't need much help, but if one hasn't righted itself after 10 minutes, give it a hand.
I typically don't clean the glass before I add a lot of snails. Remember, these critters have been in transfer tanks with 1000's of other snails. They are very hungry and weak from hunger. Help them get to the algae as soon as possible. It takes a few days for them to fully recover from their fasting during transport.
If these are Nassarius Snails, they will dive into the sand immediately.
Mahalo,
Mark
808-345-1049 call/text anytime
Edited by Mark Peterson - June 12 2013 at 8:05am
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