My Snails keep dying

[saullman]

Just wondering what is considered "normal" for the lifespan of a snail or any invert for that matter. Let's talk about snails specifically for this discussion. I have a JBJ 45 gal tank with a GHA problem that I've been battling for a while now. I will occasionally buy trocus snails to help keep the algae under control. I think the longest time period that I have been able to keep them alive is about 1 month. I have had the tank for about 2 years now. When I get them I will acclimate them for 1.5-2 hours. I don't really feed them anything. Just not sure what I'm doing wrong? Is it even possible to have snails last for years?

 

[SMSREEF]

Most of mine have been alive for 2-3 years. I have a 10 gallon nano.
Do you have hermits that are killing them for the shells?
I also find mine do not eat hair algea. They like normal algae’s and diatoms on the glass and rock.

 

[Cell]

Acclimate for 2 hrs? What is your procedure? Snails are very sensitive to ammonia and should not be drip acclimated after shipping.

 

[saullman]

Most of mine have been alive for 2-3 years. I have a 10 gallon nano.
Do you have hermits that are killing them for the shells?
I also find mine do not eat hair algea. They like normal algae’s and diatoms on the glass and rock.

I do not have any hermits. I got rid of them because they were also killing my snails.

 

[saullman]

Acclimate for 2 hrs? What is your procedure? Snails are very sensitive to ammonia and should not be drip acclimated after shipping.

I buy my snails at my lfs. I drip acclimate them. I personally found that my snails will last longer when I do the drip acclimation method. A month vs days.

 

[manlykady]

when you find your snails dead are they upside down?

 

[mikee002]

Similar issue here. Been told by LFS that they’re probably starving. I have algae, but maybe not the kind they eat.

 

[saullman]

when you find your snails dead are they upside down?

I believe they are usually upside down. What does that mean?

 

[W1ngz]

Maybe they're not dead, just upside down? Pointy shelled snails sometimes have a hard time flipping themselves over.

A 2 hour drip acclimation is long. I do mine for 20 minutes or so, just adding a little tank water every 5 minutes until I double the water volume, then they go in the tank. I do this while the bag is floating, to keep the temperature consistent.

Do you only have algae, or also dinos? Some of them can be toxic, and the snails eat them along with whatever else they can find.

 

[TK_KW]

Check when your lights are out, that you dont see a Polyclad flatworm, just a thought. As they are literally a snail assassin. Look when lights are out for multiple days.

 

[saullman]

Maybe they're not dead, just upside down? Pointy shelled snails sometimes have a hard time flipping themselves over.

A 2 hour drip acclimation is long. I do mine for 20 minutes or so, just adding a little tank water every 5 minutes until I double the water volume, then they go in the tank. I do this while the bag is floating, to keep the temperature consistent.

Do you only have algae, or also dinos? Some of them can be toxic, and the snails eat them along with whatever else they can find.

I specifically buy trochus so they are able to flip themselves over if they fall.

In terms of acclimation I've tried both ways before. I just stick with the slow drop method because the emails seemed too have lasted longer doing it that way.

I do not have any Dino's. Just GHA.

 

[saullman]

Check when your lights are out, that you dont see a Polyclad flatworm, just a thought. As they are literally a snail assassin. Look when lights are out for multiple days.

I have never seen any flatworms before, but I did see one time some type of crab. It looked like an emerald crab, but I have only seen it come out once in over a year. I don't know if it's still in my tank or where it hides because I take my rocks or to scrub them and I never see him.

 

[saullman]

I forgot to mention that I have 2 nassarius snails that are living just fine. I have had them since the beginning when I started my tank up 2 yes ago. It must have something to do with the fact that they burrow themselves in the sand and only come out at night. It's only the trochus and Mexican turbos that die quick.

I also bought a conch that died rather quickly.

 

[sabor]

I had hundreds of baby snails. Turns out, it was actually trochus snails! They’re getting bigger quick so now I have a bunch of free snails in my tank. I actually threw away about 50 of them as I didn’t know what it was at first. I did the drip acclimate method and have only lost 1-2 snails to date.

 

[saullman]

I had hundreds of baby snails. Turns out, it was actually trochus snails! They’re getting bigger quick so now I have a bunch of free snails in my tank. I actually threw away about 50 of them as I didn’t know what it was at first. I did the drip acclimate method and have only lost 1-2 snails to date.

I wish you lived closer. I would have taken those snails you got rid of.
How long did you drip acclimate them?

 

[fishguy242]

any bristle worms?

 

[sabor]

I wish you lived closer. I would have taken those snails you got rid of.
How long did you drip acclimate them?

I didn’t even know what it was at first cuz it was so tiny and it kept appearing in my sump. Only reason why I threw them away cuz I like my sump nice and clean. Didn’t realize it was trochus until I saw the pattern on one of the baby shells.

One and half hours of drip acclimating

 

[Cwentz758]

I have the same issue I had some red footed snails that were just doing work on my tank cleaning everything for a few weeks then woke up and both were dead. And by then the hermits got them. And they were huge snails.

 

[saullman]

any bristle worms?

None that I found.