Tank Dynamics with Nassarius and Candy Cane Pisol - help please!

[aquatic26]

Hi all. I hope I am not posting a question that has been asked, but I can't seem to find it anywhere on the R2R site. I have a 15 gallon nano with 2 juvenile clowns, 1 candy cane pistol who sadly lost his long-term goby pair within a week after I bought them, and a large nassarius snail (at least 3 inches, maybe more). The nassarius has made my little candy cane miserable (I know, I know, it's the ocean, I should toughen up...) I feed the candy cane reef frenzy off long tongs every other day so he can get food as he rarely ventures outside now without his goby. The nassarius smells the food, even though I set several pieces of the same reef frenzy near him on the sand bed, and goes right for the candy cane's burrow and destroys his "lair" (as I jokingly call it). I hear the candy cane snapping, but the nassarius doesn't seem to care or be phased. Sometimes I literally pull the nassarius away and set him on the other side of the tank, but he beelines back for the burrow. Now, the candy cane has barricaded his burrow with an old frag plug and every little rock and shell he can find and never comes out. I wanted to buy the shrimp a new goby, but I worry they will never find each other with the pistol hidden away in his barricaded cave.

TLDR: Nassarius is a home wrecker. I have a soft spot for my candy cane pistol shrimp. Snail back to LFS? Are they *that* beneficial to tank that I should keep him? Replace for a smaller one?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

It kind of sounds like the snail is really hungry, just feed it. Its a carnivore, it doesnt eat algae, it eats leftover food but if only 2 fishes maybe you feed very little, IDK.

Also move your candy cane off the sand so it can't reach it, move it up the rocks a little, it rare that nassarius climbs the rock. If its already mounted on rock and its climbing your rocks to get to the candy cane food, then again, feed it. Its just trying to survive.

EDIT: OH candy cane, you mean the candy cane pistol shrimp, I though you meant the coral lol. Same answer though, feed it.

 

[aquatic26]

It kind of sounds like the snail is really hungry, just feed it. Its a carnivore, it doesnt eat algae, it eats leftover food but if only 2 fishes maybe you feed very little, IDK.

Also move your candy cane off the sand so it can't reach it, move it up the rocks a little, it rare that nassarius climbs the rock. If its already mounted on rock and its climbing your rocks to get to the candy cane food, then again, feed it. Its just trying to survive.

EDIT: OH candy cane, you mean the candy cane pistol shrimp, I though you meant the coral lol. Same answer though, feed it.

I read and re-read your post a few times and was like how on earth... But yes, as I wrote in my post, I feed the snail heavily. He has multiple chunks of reef frenzy available on the sand bed to him (I feed him before going to feed the shrimp) and he has sinking wafers. He just wants to get in that dang burrow!