My Snails are dying.....Hummm?

[icolon]

It's been over 6 weeks since setting up my tank and everything has gone okay...except now my snails are turning up dead at the bottom of my tank...to date I have about 5 snails ( 2 Mexican and 3 Turbo) DOA. All the water parameter are good...My Nitrate level is some one elevated but, with water changed about 10% every other weekend they( Nitrate) have gone down, but never too 0, I always have a trace of nitrate....Should I remove all my bioballs from my sump tank???....I have a 90 gal tank with about 80 lbs of LR. I hope the cycle is coming to an end...I've notice a brown type algae on my glass. The nitrate and the PH have been the only noticeable changes since the set up... Any ideas what could be the killer in my tank?

All I have are 5 small blue starter fishes and 2 damsels and about 20-25 clean-up crew, plus 1 Coral Banded Shrimp and 1 Cleaner Shrimp and 2 gobies.

 

[JPloman]

Turbo and Mexican snails will die if they fall down on the tank and land upside down. They sufficate quickly from my understanding. When you find them do are they still in the shell or is it empty?

If it is empty you might have an evil crab that is eating them. With live rock you have a 50% chance of getting a rock/stone crab.

 

[icolon]

JP, I have turn them up right, and placed them on the rocks, but notice they don't move, I guess it was too late...Humm, I have lQQked around to see if there has been any thing strange other then what I have introduced to the tank....No sign if a rock/stone crab. I do have a strawberry crab, but he is harmless. Thanks for the advise.

 

[seaham358]

With 80 lbs of Lr you can take out the bio balls over time, no need for them. What type of substraight, sand. CC?
The Mexican turbos can right themselves after they flip... How did you acclimate them to the tank and how long ahve they been in the tank.
Brown algae sounds like diatom algae and should pass over time.. What are your number of the water parameters

 

[icolon]

Thanks for the reply, I had this snails for about 4 weeks since I started up my tank....I have aragonite sand (40lbs). My water parameters are good expect my Nitrate levels are in the 20 ppm..I haven't got this down to 0. Must be the bio balls...even after water changes. I do add Cal and Alk every other day...and 2x a week I add Iodine and Phytoplankton..I think this is how you spell it. I also add Kent Super-Buffer 2x a week.

 

[cmor1701d]

I do add Cal and Alk every other day...and 2x a week I add Iodine

WHY? Are you testing the levels of Ca and Alk before adding?
What are they now?
Why are you adding the buffer? Are yo uhaving a problem maintaining your
levels?

 

[lando]

Do you know what the water parameters where when you added the snails. That could have been a factor. Yes, some snails can not right themselves after they fall, could also be a factor. I would also sugest rmoving the bioballs now and replacing them wiht LR rubble instead. It is a much better filter media then the bioballs and will help with the nitrates.