Dying turbo snails

[wubaguba]

Hello all,

I have a small crisis going on with my mexican turbo snails. About half (5-6) of them have died over the past week or 2. I have not done anything different with my tank lately except more frequent water changes (w/ RO-DI water) to get rid of some hair algae, which isn't working.

Anyway, can anyone give me some educated guesses as to why my snails are dying? The only thing I have noticed is that my temp creeped up to about 84 one day just before this started happening. My chemistry is all tesing normal. See my sig for the tank specs and current critters.

Thanks very much. -Bill

 

[MNoel]

I had a similar problem when I started doing more water changes. It turned out my new water wasn't matching my tank water salinity. I was told that it could put my snails in shock.

 

[ElMonoCalvo]

I had a similar experience with turbos. I traced my problem back to a higher than normal nitrate level.

 

[bryant]

hair alge possible high nitrates and dinos not good for clean up crew

 

[krullulon]

what % of total volume water are you changing, and how often? also -- how are you doing water changes (e.g., adding to a sump, adding directly to the display tank, etc.)? how closely are you matching salinity/temp to your display tank? have you changed salt brands? are you conditioning the new salt water before you add it to your tank? when your tank went up to 84, how much of a difference was that from your regular temp range, and how quickly did it happen?

also -- are your snails simply dying, or are they being whacked by a predatory critter, like your hermits or a hitch-hiking crab of some kind?

 

[Anonymous]

I have had a couple of turbo snail deaths, but my nassarius snails are breeding (just found 5 babies this weekend). I think my system is not able to feed more than 1 or 2 turbos at a time. (2 have survived for a couple of months and have visibly grown).

Maybe your tank is just not providing enough sustainance. Just a thought.

 

[wubaguba]

Thanks for the suggestions. I have been doing 20% RO/DI water changes about every 2 weeks for the past 2 months to fight a hair algae bloom. I distribute the clean water directly to the display tank after siphoning up as much junk as possible from the substrate.

My nitrates and phosphates are reading 0 PPM but I have read that it's common to have those readings when the bloom is in progress since the algae consumes the bad stuff as quickly as my tank produces it. I also have a slimy reddish brown algae on the substrate and glass. If the snails eat algae, they surely have plenty of food.

When the temp change happened, it went from 80 to about 84 within a 24 hour period, then back to 80. It usually hovers between 81-83 now. Salinity hasn't really changed for many months, always around 1.023.

Any other suggestions would be much appreciated. The turbo snail die off continues. Lost 1 or 2 more today...only about 5-6 left. All my other critters seem fine. Thanks again!

-Bill

 

[wubaguba]

Krullulon, to answer your other questions....I am trying to match salinity and temp as closely as possible when doing water changes. I'm not sure what you mean by "conditioning" the water, can you explain? I do let it circulate overnight if that's what you mean. thanks.

 

[ChrisRD]

How long did you have the snails before you started having problems?

Also, has anything happened lately that could have caused a pH swing (like one of those water changes)?

 

[wubaguba]

I added my turbos in 2 batches. The first crew went in when the tank was young, about 6 months ago. The second crew went in about 1 month ago. There were about 7-8 in each batch. The problems started about 2 weeks ago. I have tested my pH before and after several of the water changes and there is no significant impact. I'm only changing about 20% of the water each time. Thanks.

 

[Anonymous]

This same thing happened to me about a year and a half ago. Unfortunately, I never did find the cause. My suspicion is the same as echoed above...that these guys are very sensitive to temperature and/or salinity changes, and I wasn't careful enough during a water change.

 

[krullulon]

Krullulon, to answer your other questions....I am trying to match salinity and temp as closely as possible when doing water changes. I'm not sure what you mean by "conditioning" the water, can you explain? I do let it circulate overnight if that's what you mean. thanks.

yep, that's what i mean by "conditioning" the water -- circulating overnight should do it.

hmm... this is a tricky one. 20% water changes added directly to the display tank is fairly significant -- that's 15 gallons going directly into your system, so that could be causing some stress to your critters.

the temp is actually on the high-end -- mid 80's is definitely pushing it.

i'd suggest the following:

1. dilute the water you're using for water changes at least 1:1 with tank water before adding it to your system and don't add it all at the same time. also try smaller volumes -- 10% once a week, or 5% twice-a-week is usually the sweet spot.

2. try to keep your temp as close to 80 as possible -- 84 is hitting the danger area for critters that prefer cooler temps.

3. keep your eyes peeled to see if your hermits start sporting new shells.

good luck!

 

[ChrisRD]

I've seen a few posts on the boards claiming that Mexican Turbos can be sensitive to higher temps. Personally I've not had a problem with them (generally I'm running around 79-80 degrees F).

I'll move this to the GRD forum (and leave a copy here) where you might get some more feedback...

 

[Anonymous]

Temp, is what I've read. The mexican waters from which they derive are colder. The temp spike may have caused irreversible damage. Maybe 84 is too much for them, and organ damage or a salt imbalance is produced. As for pH and salinity and all that, I've never had snail issues because of differences, and I don't match anything prior to adding, except the salinity. If you haven't significantly changed your water routine, then I don't think water chemistry difference is your problem.

Good luck.

 

[wubaguba]

Wow, thanks for all the help everyone. it's nice to know that others have had similar mysteries with these guys so i'm not the only one scratching my head over this issue. i'll try everyone's suggestions with my water changes and temp and see if we can save the few remaining turbos. my hermits will be unhappy because i've been removing the dead ones. thanks again!

 

[Mihai]

Yup, I agree with the temperature. That's number one for the turbos. The salinity changes, if excessive, should kill more than just the turbos.
M.

 

[Anonymous]

I just now replaced two of mine that died at the same time. Not a clue why. I still had one left. I have waited two months before replacing these.

 

[Meloco14]

I've had bad experiences with turbos also, i've probably had around 10 in my tank since january and none are alive today. All of my other inverts are fine, and my strombus and ceriths are breeding. Sounds like temp may be the main problem, which is good to know. I suspected my hermits of killing them off, i had a couple bigger ones which I have since removed. As a note, i have read somewhere that its recommended to only have one turbo per 10 gallons of tank. I dont know if starvation is a likely factor here but its possible. Also, different snails eat different types of algae, so even if you have a lot of algae in your tank maybe there isnt enough of the kind the turbos eat. Thats just speculation though. Let us know if you solve the problem, i've pretty much given up on turbos, but maybe it is just because it's summer and the temp is up a bit.

 

[Mihai]

Let us know if you solve the problem, i've pretty much given up on turbos, but maybe it is just because it's summer and the temp is up a bit.

Same in here, I lost 4 out of 6 in the last 8 months. The largest two survived, so I don't think it was the food. I'm pretty sure it was the temperature. But I'll not order any new ones: my ceriths and stomatella varia breed enough little ones to take care of all my algae .

M.

 

[sawyerc]

Sounds like temperature is the culprit along with possible suffocation. At higher temperatures, DO levels drop and when a snail is hanging out in big patches of hair algae at night, the O2 levels can get pretty low. (This is PURELY my own theory and in no way backed up by any evidence or reading).

Best of luck