Acclimation

I would leave the crabs in the bag and float it in your sump to keep the temperature stable. I would do the same with the snails unless the water is murky. They may need a partial water change.

Better to leave the other persons order in the bag especially if they are colder than the tank, but don't float them. Cooler temperatures keep their metabolism low. I've seen snails that were warmed up but not released from the bags, die an early death.

Snails and hermits are usually shipped dry or in very little water. They actually need no real acclimation. Just dump them all in a bucket dry, rinse them quickly with a bit of salt water from the tank, quickly discard the water and dump them in the tank. Make sure all Astrea snails are clumped together or turned over so they can start crawling away. The reason this acclimation works for snails is because they protect themselves by closing up. This is why they are able to stay out of water during tides. Hermits are always crawling in and out of the water during tides.

Emerald Crabs should be acclimated just like fish, i.e., cut open the bag and dump it in a bucket, add a little tank water, wait 10 minutes, add a little more tank water wait another 10 minutes, repeat one more time so the amount of tank water added in 3 doses is roughly 75% of the volume of the original water from the bag.
Then scoop the fish/crabs out of the bucket with your clean hands and set them in the tank. Nets can be so damaging to fish scales, gills and peduncle scalpels. Besides it's the only time you can actually handle your fishy friends. It's fun. Be careful and go slowly with Tangs so you don't get sliced by the scalpel. Sometimes, if the fish or crabs look healthy, I shorten this to two larger additions of water.


Edited by Mark Peterson - October 01 2008 at 6:36pm

definitely - I've noticed most feel that shrimp are even more delicate.