Snail Problems!!!

[reef_freak11]

Everytime I add snails in my tank they either die or doesnt come out of
their shells...plssss help....any ideas why???

 

[Anonymous]

What type of snails and how are you acclimating them to the tank? Most snails need a notoriously long acclimation period by drip method of anywhere from 2hrs to 12hrs.
Having said that how long has your tank been set up and what are your water parameters?

Regards,
David Mohr

 

[SpicyBalls]

if you have astrea turbos... you gotta watch em carefully, if they fall on their backs some how, they may have a hard time righting themselves.. a hermit may make an easy meal of them..
_________________
failing banks

 

[reef_freak11]

Actually I found two of them on their backs and then after that they wont come out of their shells...it's been two days already and they havent come out yet, im not sure if theyre dead...my other snail on the other hand just sticks to the glass and doesnt move....my ammonia is 15, nitrate - 25, salinity - 1.027, ph - 8.2

 

[Anonymous]

I had a couple that just stuck to the glass for a couple of days, I think they may take a while to aclimate properly. I drip aclimate everything for 1 - 2 hours before adding them to my tank. I also quarenteen fish in tank water (in a seperate tank of course) for 3 weeks (proly should quarenteen longer)

 

[krullulon]

well... your tank isn't finished cycling yet and your parameters are wacky -- you have both ammonia and nitrate. that could be contributing to their condition.

your salinity is high as well -- if you brought these snails home from a fish shop, the salinity of the water could have been as low as 1.19 or 1.20 -- that's a *huge* change and for something as delicate as a snail, the shock might well kill them unless you acclimated slowly over many hours.

so... first wait until your tank has finished cycling, then lower your salinity down to 1.23 or so, then get some more snails and drip acclimate them slowly over a period of several hours.

 

[ricky1414]

I'd wait until your ammonia is at zero. How long has your tank been set up for? The one on the glass is ok, sometimes one of mine will hang in one spot on the glass for a few days as well.

 

[ChrisRD]

I agree, stop adding stuff until your tank stabilizes. Wait until you do not have detectable levels of ammonia or nitrite before adding anything else.

 

[ChrisRD]

then lower your salinity down to 1.23 or so

IMO an SG of 1.023 is a bit low for a reef tank. NSW is more like 1.026, so I generally shoot for around 1.025 to 1.026, but IMO anything from 1.024 to 1.027 is close enough...

It's true that many LFSs will run their systems lower (around 1.020), but generally only in their fish-only systems. Corals and inverts (including snails) don't tend to tolerate lower SGs as well.

 

[Yano]

My LFS have theirs at 1.014. Just any FYI they usally do this to inhibit ich.

 

[krullulon]

then lower your salinity down to 1.23 or so

IMO an SG of 1.023 is a bit low for a reef tank. NSW is more like 1.026, so I generally shoot for around 1.025 to 1.026, but IMO anything from 1.024 to 1.027 is close enough...

It's true that many LFSs will run their systems lower (around 1.020), but generally only in their fish-only systems. Corals and inverts (including snails) don't tend to tolerate lower SGs as well.

I'll defer here -- i actually have my tank at slighly above 1.025 from previous advice on this forum ... my 1.023 suggestion came from the recommended reef range on WWM, which was 1.023 - 1.025. I went with the lower end of the range for a recommendation only because my LFS keeps their invert and coral tanks at slightly below 1.023.

 

[ChrisRD]

Just to clarify, I don't think it's an exact science and WWM's range seems OK to me. Years ago we tended to maintain our tanks at lower than NSW SGs, but these days I think most of us are trying to match NSW conditions...

 

[reef_freak11]

Thanx for all the feedback guys...it's my first time posting in here and I was surprise with how many people replied....thanx for lookin out....
BTW, my tank is 3 months old, with three green chromis, blue tang, yellow tang, and a scooter blenny, with a flower pot and a bubble coral...

 

[ChrisRD]

Glad we could help, and