Snails Dying Quickly

[nicole3415]

I have a 55 Gallon tank with about 30 lbs of live rock, 1 maroon clown, 1 lemon peel angel.

I have purchased turbo snails for this tank twice and they died within 48 hours both times. The first time I realized that my salinity may have been too high and lowered it to 1.023 by adding fresh water from my lfs. I have tested my water and it is normal (ph, nitrate, nitrite, ca+, amonia) I acclimated by floating 30 minutes and then adding my water every 10 minutes... dumping 1/2 out when bag was full and repeating once more.

What am I missing????? I am sick of pulling dead snails out of my tank.

 

[steve-s]

Welcome to AquariumAdvice.com

Might want to look into a different snail species. Some species of turbo (Turbo fluctuosa) sold in the trade do not acclimate well to the warmer temps we keep. Personally I have never had this issue but some seem to. Be sure your LFS is actually labeling their snails correctly as well. A true Turban snail will have a rounded shell while an Astraea will have a pointed shell. Astraea's are part of the Turbinidae family but are not deemed an actual "Turbo" snail.

Other likely candidates of good algae grazers are Margarita, Nerite & banded Trochus.

The main issue with invert death soon after adding is usually the length and spped in which they are acclimated. The more sensitive the invert, the more time must be taken to acclimate them. Snails are best conditioned via drip method for a few hours.

http://www.rl180reef.com/pages/acclimation.htm

Cheers
Steve

 

[nicole3415]

Thanks for the advice Steve.

I will try that next time. It is making me crazy that my fish are just fine and I can't keep snails! I have had my tank for almost two years and lost everything in September from the hurricanes. I just started putting new fish in about 3 months ago--I had a live rock tank for a long time.

 

[steve-s]

In an established tank, chemistry can also be a contributor. Especially low Ca. Can you post all parameters for your water? Also, has the tank ever been exsposed to copper? Any inverts besides the snails?

Cheers
Steve

 

[Mbeef61]

im having the same problem...all of a sudden my snails and hermits are all going slow or dying....i have asrtea..turbo and cerith...also blue leg hermits...ammonia, nitirite, nitrate, ph, salinity, copper, posphates, alkalinity all ok..(every test i have) what else could it be...temp it 78-80

 

[steve-s]

Please post actual numbers for these results including Ca. I mean no offense but "all okay" can't be interpreted into a possible problem if there

If all your levels are indeed good, the next most likely cause is how they where acclimated to the tank. If too quickly, inverts tend to die off from the shock of transitioning from one SW chemistry to another. pH and salinity changes being the bigest contributors.

http://www.rl180reef.com/pages/acclimation.htm

How long have you had the inverts and how old is your set up?

Cheers
Steve

 

[Mbeef61]

sorry...ammonia nitrite phosphate = 0....nitrate 20ppm...ph 8.1....salinity 1.024...no copper...everything else is in safe range...the thing is...is it has happened to the exisiting ones...that have been in months...(system in years old) and is happening to new additions as well...

 

[steve-s]

What is your alk and Ca?

20 ppm nitrate is not the best environment for inverts but shouldn't cause death en mass

Cheers
Steve

 

[Mbeef61]

yeah but the funny thing is is that when i had some in the tank that were in water with nitrates above 160...with salinity at 1.017 and they were flourishering....my alk on my mardel 5 in 1 test is about 240ppm...i dont have a Ca test yet

 

[steve-s]

Alk's a little high but nothing dangerous. 160 ppm nitrates has me questioning the accuracey of the test kit though, Mardel test strips are very poor quality. Most animals wouldn't do well at all at those levels, especially inverts.

The only thing that comes to mind is your Ca level. If using IO salts and not monitoring Ca for deficiencies, there a good chance it's dropped quite low. Low Ca is the only thing that stands out as a possible cause. Can your LFS test it for you?

Cheers
Steve

 

[MikeyB]

Any large crabs with black pichers in the tanks. MY crab feeds on my snails on a regular bases

 

[melissfish]

i lost a few in a new tank. some algies can be toxic to snails, especially diaflagonites (snot algie) not sure if this helps but that is why my first snails died, from the info i could find.