Snails dying

[GuOD]

My tank has been doing well and the fish are doing great; however, a bunch of snails have died (5/20? maybe more). I've seen one that tipped over and fell in the back... I can't reach him so he is going to die too (may be dead already).

I've just seen a bunch of empty shells around my tank. They're astrea snails I believe (LFS called them Turbo Snails though). My guess is that the crabs are the culprit. I have a bunch of hermit crabs (I think they are blue legged) and 2 large red legged hermit crabs. They have plenty of shells and big shells too (bigger than snail shells). What can I do to stop more snails from dying?

I tested my water to make sure and all was good wtih my test strip, but nitrates showed 20ppm. I decided to do a 20% WC to be safe. I retested my water with my instant ocean test kit though (it feels like I'm doing a chem lab with this kit) and nitrates are under 10ppm.

 

[melosu58]

What temp. do you keep your tank? I`m not doubting the hermits as they have the potential. I noticed yrs ago when I had my 55 My temps were around 82 degrees and I could not keep them alive but since I got my 125 I keep my temp at 75-76 and They are still alive after 3 yrs and producing little babies. Might not pertain to you but that is my suggestion.

 

[GuOD]

I have my temp. set to 24/24.5 Celsius.

I read that this is pretty much the ideal temp.

I measure my salinity with a little plastic device (Coralife) and it is for 24c temps too I think.

It says salinity between 1.022-1.024 but I've read reefs should be @ 1.025 or so. I'm going to try an increase the salinity. Maybe low salinity was a problem for them?

 

[Andari]

I've read that snails are more sensitive to water changes and nitrate levels then fish.
Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[melosu58]

I have my temp. set to 24/24.5 Celsius.

What is this in Fareheit?

They are more sensitive to nitrates and salinity changes. Not PWC`s if done right.

 

[loyalrogue]

I have my temp. set to 24/24.5 Celsius.

What is this in Fareheit?

About 75° to 76° Fahrenheit.

Here is a link to a quick online converter: http://www.motherfish.com/temperatureconverter.html

Might want to bookmark it as it seems there are more and more international members posting lately.

 

[melosu58]

Thanks alot. Never was good at that stuff. Well his temps are OK

 

[TheChad]

What temp. do you keep your tank? I`m not doubting the hermits as they have the potential. I noticed yrs ago when I had my 55 My temps were around 82 degrees and I could not keep them alive but since I got my 125 I keep my temp at 75-76 and They are still alive after 3 yrs and producing little babies. Might not pertain to you but that is my suggestion.

Wow its amazing no matter how much you read, you can't ever find a single answer.

I've read alot of things that say the temp should be at 82 degrees. I use to keep my tank at 78 but uped it to 82. I do have snails, and haven't had a problem with them.

I'm just wondering If I should be lower my temp..

What do you keep your salinity at melosu?

-TheChad

 

[loyalrogue]

Wow its amazing no matter how much you read, you can't ever find a single answer.

Keep in mind that our tanks frequently have a variety of critters and corals from around the world's oceans.

One species might come from a tropical reef setting where the normal temp that it thrives at is 84°.
Another species might originate from a completely different part of the world where it's ideal temp is 72°.

Even critters that come from the same exact reef might live at different depths, and as any diver has found out, the water temp near the surface is warmer than the water temp just a few fathoms down.

The real trick for us aquarists is finding the happy medium between what the different species in our tank can comfortably tolerate.

My tanks run in the range of 78°-83° between the air conditioning and cooling fans, and so far everything seems pretty happy at that range.
Obviously I don't keep any "cold water" species.
If I did, living here in South Florida, I'd have to invest in a chiller.
The a/c and the fans just wouldn't cut it.

 

[melosu58]

I keep it at 1.025. Temp around 75-76. Reason you get different answers is people have different experiences. On Sw aquaria there is no one way to do things. I was just giving you one of my experiences. Good Luck.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

I've just seen a bunch of empty shells around my tank. They're astrea snails I believe (LFS called them Turbo Snails though). ...

I tested my water to make sure and all was good wtih my test strip, but nitrates showed 20ppm....

Are you sure the shells are empty? I mean... have you yanked one out and busted it open? Just a guess here, but I bet the snail is still in there and it rotting away might be the source of your nitrates if 20ppm is out of the ordinary for you.

I've lost maybe 1/2 of my turbans over the last 3 months and I think it's because with those pointy shells, when they pitch off the top of a rock somewhere they auger into the sand bed pretty good and can't right themselves. The tronchus snails, with a rounder shell, don't seem to have that problem. My water parameters are just dandy and nothing else is effected, so I'm just guessing I have clumsy snails.

A month or so ago, I just happen to be looking at one on my rock just as the lights went off. The lights must've startled the snail because at that very moment, it lost grip and took a high dive off the rock into the sand. I watched it for about 5 minutes trying to right itself. No go. I finally had mercy and got the long tweezers out and righted it.

You might dig one of those shells out and see if it's truly empty before you give your crabs twenty lashes for something they might not have done. (Although I wouldn't put it past them.)

 

[TheChad]

I think all snails are clumsy!


I'll be sitting in my living room watching TV, and see stuff falling in the tank.

I have to flip my snails over all the time.

-TheChad

 

[roka64]

I keep my FOWLR, 55G at 1.0200 and the temp at 78. Astrea snails tend to be clumsy and can not upright themselves. I would bet your hermits are making snacks of them.

 

[tecwzrd]

Ditto on snail flipping. Snails often just drop off the wall and rock and end up directly on their backs. Most snails can flip over on their own but some need help. Check any snail that you haven't noticed moving for a couple of hours to make sure it's not dead.

If the shell opening doesn't stink then either the snail is inside alive or has already been cleaned out by the hermits. I always place them back in if I don't smell anything. Make sure you smell the shell (not too close ) since often it will appear to still be in there but is dead.

If it does stink remove from tank since it will elevate your no3.

Are you using tap/well water or ro/di? no3 of 20 ppm isn't high enough to affect most snails to the point of death but keeping it closer to 10 ppm or lower will help prolong all your mobile invert stock.