Nassarius snail without shell (not stomatella)

[Wweste47211]

Checked my nano reef this evening and saw a snail flopping around then next thing i know he left his shell behind and is crawling around looking for food like normal even borrowed theres only hermits and a firefish so nothing to eat him or bother him all water parameters are stable im always on top of it because its loaded with coral the tank is around 3 years old has anyone heard of this

 

[Channas]

Did you actually see him leave the Shell? Because hermits are very well known to do that to snails

 

[Wweste47211]

I saw him struggling halve way out of his shell and his shell is laying empty n he is buried behind it still emerges for food seems healthy and fine just no shell all my hermits in this tank are halve his size so I doubt it was a hermit it seems he just detached from his shell somehow n left it behind

 

[commod0re]

That’s wild

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Checked my nano reef this evening and saw a snail flopping around then next thing i know he left his shell behind and is crawling around looking for food like normal even borrowed theres only hermits and a firefish so nothing to eat him or bother him all water parameters are stable im always on top of it because its loaded with coral the tank is around 3 years old has anyone heard of this

This is called mantle collapse, and it's terminal in every case I've seen on here - injury, disease, and toxins/environmental conditions are all potential causes:

It's referred to as Mantle Collapse; the only reasons I've heard for snails dropping their shells are disease (illness, parasites, etc.), injury, and possibly somethings like toxins or environmental conditions - in almost every case I've heard of, the shell dropping off is an indication that the snail is going to die soon.

That said, I have heard that Mantle Collapse can be healed with land snails (though this is highly disputed, as people dispute if these cases were truly Mantle Collapse, or if they were cases of Mantle Tears or Puffy Mantles), but I've never heard of it being healed with aquatic snails.

The cases that I've heard of recoveries with:

Any positive outcomes after mantle collapse? (Updated!) | PetSnails Forum

Update: if you or any other snail owner you know ever encounter a problem like this, please, read my February the 12th comment in this thread. Maybe it will be of help.

petsnails.proboards.com

Edit: Looks like the FB link failed, but here's the info of the article:
"MANTLE COLLAPSE IN SNAILS

GEORGE SEBASTIAN NEUFELD·SATURDAY, JULY 22, 2017·"

 

[Channas]

That is crazy i’ve o ly seen hermits rip my snails out of their Shells on occasion

 

[exnisstech]

That is crazy i’ve o ly seen hermits rip my snails out of their Shells on occasion

Maybe this is a smart one and figures if he surrenders his shell the hermits may let him live

 

[Channas]

Maybe this is a smart one and figures if he surrenders his shell the hermits may let him live

Haha yeah

 

[Wweste47211]

So update the snail is still alive without his shell just living his best life will post pictures later this evening

 

[BryanM]

Nice that he's still alive, but I feel like he will be food for someone soon enough.

 

[Channas]

So update the snail is still alive without his shell just living his best life will post pictures later this evening

That is crazy that it has lived so lobg without a shell, it has evolved to a nudibranch!

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

So update the snail is still alive without his shell just living his best life will post pictures later this evening

Very interesting - keep us posted on how it does moving forward (and if it's still currently alive)!