pLeAsE HeLp ToDaY! Snails!

[SnailySophi]

Hi, I have three snails, and two i think are either dead or are really good at acting like dead. I think the water temp might have been a bit too cold for them, so I moved my 10 gallon aquarium downstairs with all three snails and two fish in it to stay warm. Now the two snails are in a big jar on top of my water heater.
Any ways, I know that if the shell is not completely shut for a few days and the snail doesn't move, it is most likely dead. I don't want to take them out and sniff them or see if they plop out of their shells. Is there any other way to know if they are dead?
Second, I am looking to buy more snails for my aquarium. I have two goldfish in my 10 gallon and 1 other snail. How many and what kind of snails do you think I should buy? By the way, I'm buying them today to hold off them sitting in the post office over Thanksgiving. Please help today. Thanks!

 

[Khalix]

Well, what kind of snails are they? The only cooler water snails I know of that do well with goldfish are Japanese trapdoor snails, though I have heard people mention apple snails. Not to mention two goldfish in a 10 gallon is probably putting a lot of waste into the water. It's very hard to keep goldfish in such a small tank for an extended period of time.. typically the ammonia levels will be higher, thus killing off or stressing other species. Have you done any partial water changes?

What kind of filter are you running?

 

[BigJim]

Goldfish in a 10g won't work for long. Consider upgrading to a much larger tank or rehoming the fish. Goldfish grow large and are messy fish. If you test your water parameters, I suspect you may find a reason the snails aren't doing well. Invertebrates are more sensitive to water quality than goldfish are.

 

[SnailySophi]

Oh, thanks! I just bought some MTS off of ebay just before i came here... maybe i should've bought apple snails instead, but those were just under 50 cents each. Uh, I did have other goldfish but they died. They were fancy goldfish and weren't very sturdy. I had them for a long while in that tank and I have two regular larger goldfish that are very sturdy that are still alive. I have a Top Fin 10g filter. I change the filter regularly and always make sure I have extras ready. My snails clean very well and suck up a lot of the fish waste. I have no problems. I do change water regularly and test it regularly. Thanks for the help. Oh, do you have any recommendations of how to keep the Malaysian Trumpet Snails? Do you think my fish would try to eat them? I just orderd twenty and can buy another tank for them if I really need to. (I love snails!! So interesting!)

 

[dkpate]

They might be dead because of the water parameters, like stated before.
I have trumpet snails too, and they are super tough, even going through medicine treatments, so there has to be something else that's killing them off, and it's most likely the water.
How big are the goldifsh? If the snails are eating as much as you say they are, you would most likely have HUNDREDS in the tank, not just a few.
No need to change the filter media unless it's falling apart, just rinse it in old tank water. Since you are replacing them, you might be making your tank go through a mini cycle. In a 10G tank with 2 goldfish, you should probably be doing 3 partial water changes a week.

 

[SnailySophi]

Goldfish in a 10g won't work for long. Consider upgrading to a much larger tank or rehoming the fish. Goldfish grow large and are messy fish. If you test your water parameters, I suspect you may find a reason the snails aren't doing well. Invertebrates are more sensitive to water quality than goldfish are.

Well, my upstairs was very cold. I got the other fish that I had and those two snails from PetSmart. The fish died separately from Ich, which I treated, but they were just too weak at the time. The goldfish with longer tails got them stuck in the filter. I don't plan on buying those little fancy goldfish any more. My other regular goldfish are very strong. My Mystery snail is still doing fine. And to mention, all the creatures I bought from PetSmart died. I got my two fish and one snail from Seneca Pet Supply, or what the name is, in Buffalo, are still doing great and have no problem. I don't plan on buying animals from PetSmart again, either. Those two snails that died had thin and cracked shells when I saw them in the store. Since I love snails, I bought them to try to help them.. I guess I just couldn't help them at the point they were in. If you need any more info, I will give it and any recommendations, I would be grateful for.

 

[SnailySophi]

They might be dead because of the water parameters, like stated before.
I have trumpet snails too, and they are super tough, even going through medicine treatments, so there has to be something else that's killing them off, and it's most likely the water.
How big are the goldifsh? If the snails are eating as much as you say they are, you would most likely have HUNDREDS in the tank, not just a few.
No need to change the filter media unless it's falling apart, just rinse it in old tank water. Since you are replacing them, you might be making your tank go through a mini cycle. In a 10G tank with 2 goldfish, you should probably be doing 3 partial water changes a week.

Sorry if I was confusing. I think you got me wrong.

My current 10g tank:
10 gallons (of course haha)
2 Regular, sturdy goldfish
1 Mystery Snail

Soon to come:
20 Malaysian Trumpet Snails
(I will buy another tank if i need to for them if my fish try to eat them.)

The two snails that died were I believe, apple snails? They had cracked shells when I bought them. I wanted to get them out of PetSmart, because I know that they don't treat underwater creatures right.

Do you think my fish will try to eat the Malasian trumpet snails? My 2 goldfish are about 2 1/2 inches from tip of the head to bottom of tail, each. my Mystery snail's shell is about 1 1/2 inches.
These Malasian Trumpet snails range from 1/4" - 3/4". They are at least 2-3 months in age. (In their eBay description that I bought them from. They are now shipping) Thanks

 

[BigJim]

Are you familiar with the nitrogen cycle? Basically your fish produce ammonia, which is toxic to fish. Bacteria convert the ammonia to nitrite, which is also toxic to fish. Other bacteria convert the nitrite into nitrate which is also toxic to fish, but only in much higher concentrations than either ammonia or nitrite. Nitrate levels can be controlled with PWCs. Read up on cycling and the nitrogen cycle for more information.

You should really test your water for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. You should have 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrite, and 0-30ppm nitrate. I have a feeling that you have higher levels of these toxins in your tank and this is the source of your snail deaths.

 

[SnailySophi]

Ok, Ok, Ok, gosh! I wish you could see how bad of a condition that these snails were in when I bought them! It's not like they had 3" thick shells and cost $200.00 because they were so sturdy and I just bought them, stuck 'em in my tank and they died after an hour because I have a little higher level of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. It's not like I don't check the levels and feed my fish so much that their poop kills everything around them!
Any way, I'll check, yeah. I'll make sure that every thing is just perfect, and yes, I have kept aquariums for a while, I just want a better way of keeping them. I am familiar with cycles. But thanks for the help. My snails I bought had cracks in the thin shells and looked bad. All I wanted to do was help them. And all I wanted was advice on what kind of snail I should get and tell what happened with my tank so far.

 

[SnailySophi]

sorry for sassing...

I am looking up info on MTS's right now. I would appreciate any advice from anyone with experience. Would breeding be a problem? I would like looking forward to new babies! Do you have any ideas for the best conditions for breeding? thanks!

 

[dkpate]

I have trumpet snails, a giant mystery snail, assassin snails and ramshorn snails, so I know about them.
My snail looked TERRIBLE when I got her from PetSmart, but with a little TLC and clean water, she is beautiful.
If you have a heavy hand when feeding, you won't have a problem going from 20 mts to 200..
I am curious as to what your water parameters will read with a liquid test kit.
Each mystery snail needs 2.5 gallons itself, the first goldfish needs 15 gallons to itself, and each golfish after that needs 10 gallons to itself.

 

[dkpate]

Some of my snails.

 

[BigJim]

Ok, Ok, Ok, gosh! I wish you could see how bad of a condition that these snails were in when I bought them! It's not like they had 3" thick shells and cost $200.00 because they were so sturdy and I just bought them, stuck 'em in my tank and they died after an hour because I have a little higher level of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. It's not like I don't check the levels and feed my fish so much that their poop kills everything around them!
Any way, I'll check, yeah. I'll make sure that every thing is just perfect, and yes, I have kept aquariums for a while, I just want a better way of keeping them. I am familiar with cycles. But thanks for the help. My snails I bought had cracks in the thin shells and looked bad. All I wanted to do was help them. And all I wanted was advice on what kind of snail I should get and tell what happened with my tank so far.

sorry for sassing...

I am looking up info on MTS's right now. I would appreciate any advice from anyone with experience. Would breeding be a problem? I would like looking forward to new babies! Do you have any ideas for the best conditions for breeding? thanks!

No need for the apology. I just needed to gauge your knowledge. I didn't know how long you'd been keeping fish and new aquarists are usually ignorant about the nitrogen cycle.

I have MTS to stir my sand. Breeding can be a problem in that they breed too much! MTS are livebearing snails. They don't lay eggs. As dkpate said, if you overfeed, your MTS populations will explode. They're hardy snails, but they don't like salt much.

If your snails have poor shells, add a little piece of cuttlebone to the filter. It will provide the calcium the snails need.

 

[SnailySophi]

No need for the apology. I just needed to gauge your knowledge. I didn't know how long you'd been keeping fish and new aquarists are usually ignorant about the nitrogen cycle.

I have MTS to stir my sand. Breeding can be a problem in that they breed too much! MTS are livebearing snails. They don't lay eggs. As dkpate said, if you overfeed, your MTS populations will explode. They're hardy snails, but they don't like salt much.

If your snails have poor shells, add a little piece of cuttlebone to the filter. It will provide the calcium the snails need.

Okay, thanks. I appreciate all the help, it's just that sometimes i can get a little uh, pushy? I don't know, but thanks for understanding. I can't wait for my new snails! Maybe I'll post some pictures of my tank and snail. And my sea monkeys! haha. Does anyone agree that PetSmart should take better care of their fish and underwater creatures?

 

[Khalix]

Okay, thanks. I appreciate all the help, it's just that sometimes i can get a little uh, pushy? I don't know, but thanks for understanding. I can't wait for my new snails! Maybe I'll post some pictures of my tank and snail. And my sea monkeys! haha. Does anyone agree that PetSmart should take better care of their fish and underwater creatures?

I think it varies highly from store to store. Not all are that way, and the individual stores aren't in charge of the ordering and quality of fish, so sometimes they just come in looking rough already and you do what you can.

Hope the trumpets work out.

 

[SnailySophi]

I think it varies highly from store to store. Not all are that way, and the individual stores aren't in charge of the ordering and quality of fish, so sometimes they just come in looking rough already and you do what you can.

Hope the trumpets work out.

Yeah, but all the PetSmarts around me all have very bad looking fish. I really don't think I will go there to buy animals any more... The one good store is now closed down, so my only resource is sellers I trust on eBay lol

 

[SnailySophi]

Who sells PetSmart fish anyways? Gotta get to the bottom of this...

 

[SnailySophi]

Algae Growth

Just keeping you updated, I'm growing algae in a large jar for my smaller snails to come. I don't want my goldfish to eat the babies! I have about 4 days to get this stuff started. I filled the jar with hot water, waited a few days, then took some algae off of the side of my aquarium and stuck it in the jar along with some aquarium water. I put it in a window that gets a lot of sunlight. How long do you think it will take to get the algae starting to grow? I really at least want SOME algae growing in there before the MTS's come. Just before I will put them in the jar, I will add some gravel from the fish tank. Will this be okay? Thanks in advance for any help. - Sophi

 

[SnailySophi]

Thanks everyone for the help! This discussion has moved to here (click) with a little different topic..