Snails do not last??

[Hogdaddy]

I have had 2 turbo snails, 3 trochous snails, and a fighting conch die within a month. My remaining CUC is 2 peppermint shrimp, 2 trochous snails, and 4 hermit crabs in a 60 gallon tank.

Could it just be that my tank is not producing enough food for the snails to thrive? The conch lasted about a week...think a hermit got him...as the hermit has made the shell his.

Any ideas?

 

[hatfielj]

Hermits tend to kill off snails. I have to constantly replenish my clean up crew. The smaller, dwarf zebra varieties of hermits are safer IME

 

[Sheps1]

The Halloween hermit crabs are a pain in the backside for killing conches there favourite shell type for sure.

 

[Bouncingsoul39]

Let's just say it's not the hermits, and that parameters are all within their normal limits with zero ammonia, what else would cause snails to die within 24-48 hours of introduction into a tank?

 

[FishyDP]

I put extra empty shells in my tank for the hermits..this way they don't have to kill snails for a new home when they outgrow their shells. I have seen less snail homicides since then.

 

[cracker]

How about Acclimation ? I slow drip all inverts for at at least an hour .

 

[skipm]

Check your copper levels, I added some dry rock to a tank once that leached enough Cu to bring the level up to treatment dose.

 

[Goodair]

How about Acclimation ? I slow drip all inverts for at at least an hour .

Not acclimating them might be killing them from shock or you have copper.

 

[Bouncingsoul39]

Not copper, fully acclimated. Shrimp, Acropora, LPS, softies all doing great. But snails went from active to dead in a couple days. I’m at a loss. I added a dozen extra shells for hermits.

 

[wesman42]

What fish are in the tank?

Also are you positive the snails were/are alive when you add them to the tank? Can you see movement?

 

[Sheps1]

I had a spawning of some kind (clowns I think)
And all my snails literally fell of the tank glass on to there backs. I persumed they were all dead but 24/48 hours later they all recovered
Still don't know why it happened other than a possible spike in SG.

 

[ihavecrabs]

What is your magnesium level? High magnesium tends to slow them down a lot and make them more likely to lose grip and end up on their backs. If it is high enough, trochus snails sometimes cant even flip back over.

 

[ectoaesthetics]

What is your magnesium level? High magnesium tends to slow them down a lot and make them more likely to lose grip and end up on their backs. If it is high enough, trochus snails sometimes cant even flip back over.

Interesting!! How high of a range are we taking?

Strange question... any chance you are using black sand? I’ve seen this happen again and again in those tanks. That crazy sand has all kinds of weird anomalies!

 

[JP Reef]

there are mollusk hunting worms that only come out at night. You may think they are bristle worms, but they are not. I lost many snails to these type of worms.

 

[Nem0]

I've had 2 hermits, 3 nassarius and 3 astrea snails die within 2 weeks...still no clue what the problem is

 

[shred5]

Dinoflagellates can kill snails when they eat it.

 

[ihavecrabs]

Interesting!! How high of a range are we taking?

Strange question... any chance you are using black sand? I’ve seen this happen again and again in those tanks. That crazy sand has all kinds of weird anomalies!

Nope, standard agr sand.

1500+ mg is where I started seeing lethargy in snails.

 

[DSC reef]

Another thing to check for is pyramid snails. They are parasitic snails that feed on other snails and clams. Here is a pic from an astrea snail my wife pulled from our tank.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

May be time for ICP test? I was deficient many elements. Worth a try?

 

[salty joe]

Even though I acclimated for several hours, I feel certain I lost snails to osmotic shock. Some were dead the next day, most of them didn't move for a day or two, some died a week later, some died a couple weeks later.
Then, I got snails from water that closely matched mine (35 ppt) and they are fine.
I suspect like fish, it's much easier to drop salinity than raise it.