Why is everything dying?! [brackish]

[lelouchzeta]

Hi all,
I have a 10 (us) G tank with 1 BBG and formerly 3 snails (2 tracked+1 zebra) and a molly.
The snails and the molly have died.

Nitrites-0
pH-7.8 (steady)
Nitrates-0-10 ppm
Ammonia-0 ppm
SG 1.004

The molly seemed to have a swim bladder issue (rolling around and swimming upside down and gasping for air) and died within one day of showing these symptoms.
The snails have been steadily dying since we got them a couple weeks ago.
I'm really confused and I feel bad for the animals obviously. I wanted to add 5 or so BBG's but I don't want to until I figure out what is happening to the snails. It sounds like a water quality issue but I can't figure out what it is, even with a liquid test kit.
I haven't seen our bumblebee goby, Max, eat in 3 days. He seems stressed and pale.
Your thoughts?
Thanks.
Also now I'm scared that I can't tell when they are dead.
They were completely retracted into their shells and were on their backs and their little pink insides were slightly pulling away from the shell...in a shrively sort of way and turning super light pink around the edges...

 

[KaylNeko]

Since snails don't usually get affected by fish disease and your numbers are good, could something chemical have gotten into the tank? Have you recently upped your salt level? How long have you had your stock?

 

[lelouchzeta]

We have had the snails for about two weeks.
We did increase the salt...from basically nothing to SG 1.004 within that time span

 

[siva]

Atleast half the nerites I've ever purchased have died within the first month, so that doesn't seem that strange. To verify they are dead, give them a sniff. You'll know for sure, trust me. Sometimes they will stay in their shells alive for a week or more, so it's the best way to tell for sure.

Did this start happening right after you did something new like added decor to the tank or started a new food?

What are you feeding the BBG? Is it refusing frozen bloodworms/brineshrimp?

I would start by doing a large water change.

Also, a 10 gal tank is much too small for mollies so I would avoid stocking those in the future.

 

[lelouchzeta]

Oh. Okay no sailfin mollies.
Yeah we added salt, I am pretty sure that's what did it. I'm sort of relieved to hear this isn't just my bad snailkeeping
We did a 50% water change with the gravel vac on Sunday.
The BBG is refusing live bloodworms...and frozen prawn eggs from what I can tell...it's been a week since we have actually seen him eat.

 

[KaylNeko]

When you added the salt, did you add it directly to the water, or mix it in water then pour/siphon it into the tank? That would make a difference. Nerites are freshwater and brackish (there are also marine species) but it takes some careful acclimatization to get them from freshwater to brackish.

And yeah--the bumblebees are about it for a ten gallon, maybe a knight goby with a trio of bumblee gobys.

 

[siva]

That was my next question..if you dumped the salt right in that could cause problems. It needs to be completely disolved in dechlorinated water berore it's added to the tank. You're using marine salt, right?

IME 6 BBG's in a tank of that size is great, as long as there is some plants and decor in the tank as well so they can get away from eachother. IMO knight gobies are too big to keep in this size tank and is also a risky tankmate for fish as small as the BBG's.

I've actually found that healthy specimens of most BW adaptable snails can be acclimated over pretty quickly w/o any issues. 1.004 SG is so low that many of us naturally have that out of the tap, so I wouldn't expect that kind of raise in salinity to cause any issues with any of the species in the tank.

 

[lelouchzeta]

Whelp... maybe they were just unhealthy or maybe there wasn't enough to eat in both the LFS and my tank.
I also added the salt directly at first...then realized we needed to add it to our dechlorinated water bucket before adding it to the tank. Derp.
I feel like maybe my BBG's behavior is being influenced by his solitary environment. The tank seems like it would nicely support 6. I will add them two at a time because I don't really want to overload the tank all at once...even though they don't eat too much they're a little bit tricky to feed but I have all manner of yummy enticing thingies so maybe it will be better when I add more.
The LFS kid said "Oh..you could add some knight gobies. They'd be fine..." then he muttered as he was walking into the back of the store "until their mouths get big enough." What a winner

 

[KaylNeko]

I suggested knight gobies because the guy that runs the site I get a lot of my brackish info suggests it and doesn't appear to have a problem No personal experience, and not interested in the fish so not a lot of research into it--more presented as an option. Good to know they're more aggressive than he suggests. Then again, he suggests a trio of mollies for a ten gallon, so he's a bit more liberal than a lot of folks on here.

I agree--a tank of bumblebee gobies would look awesome. Are you going to give the nerites another shot? In brackish, you could breed and make a little cash.

 

[lelouchzeta]

Well as for the nerites, the LFS keeps them in freshwater. Once I get the SG into the brackish range, won't the snails be harmed if I just plop them into my tank? (figuratively of course...I handle them more delicately than probably necessary and obviously I do some level of temp. acclimation)

 

[KaylNeko]

Yes, I would think so, but look into drip acclimating--that may be enough to let them adjust. Or set up a bucket or something and raise their salinity level or a week or so.

 

[Terrance]

I also added the salt directly at first...then realized we needed to add it to our dechlorinated water bucket before adding it to the tank. Derp.

You forgot to mention the mixing part.. With a water pump or powerhead.

Edit: no mixing knight goby and BBG please.

 

[siva]

My BW tank has an SG no greater than 1.008. I acclimate snails over the same way I acclimate most things. I float them until they come to temp, then remove some bag water and add some tank water, repeating every 10-15 mins until the bag is pretty much full of tank water. You can take it a step further and drip acclimate if you'd like, but I'm usually not able to do that and this method works great as well.

I add the salt to the bucket and run the water. Then let it sit for just a bit and swoosh. No pump or powerhead used. Works great.

 

[Terrance]

The salt distribution would be pretty bad for the new water without mixing.

 

[siva]

Many keep BW tanks this way w/o ill effects. Not saying it's a bad idea but IME it isn't necessary.

 

[Terrance]

Its not necessary until the keeper starts having problems. If fish and snails are dying, then it's best to eliminate as many death factors as possible. Even at 1.003 I would premix with a powerhead.

 

[siva]

Well since I've had pretty long term success with my methods, and know other hobbyists who have as well, I don't suspect the keeper will start having problems due to this method. The tank in question had salt added directly to the tank w/o disovling it first. I would look at that as the most likely death factor, and not necessarily that a powerhead wasn't used. Like I said, it's not a bad idea, but I've had pretty long term success with zero unexplained deaths, so I feel fairly confident. JMO/E.

 

[lelouchzeta]

Well erm..I'm just going to dissolve the salt in water that is the same temp as the tank in the future so no need to debate that, and I have no intention of adding knight gobies.
In any case, we added more bumblebee gobies last night, and they are hilarious. Love them No more nerites for a while.
I'm guessing that we got some bad snails. My water parameters are fine, the salinity matches that of the LFS (we asked last night) and I am just going to assume that is the case so I don't go crazy trying to figure it out. I can't think of anything else I did wrong because I didn't add salt (directly to the tank or otherwise) after getting the snails.

 

[KaylNeko]

Probably just bad stock then. Good luck with the bumblebees.