Dead snails??

[cgoodman381]

Ok i know im probably doing something wrong, but i dont know what.

I have a 24g tank that I bought used, which is currently housing one large turbo snail, one long spine sea urchin, one yellow-tail damsel and one lawmlower blenny. Oh and two hermit crabs.

I have tried putting 6 snails in there now and they have all died. It didnt look like anything had gotten to them, but they just laid on their backs.

Tank info:(that i can remember)
Avg. temp 78-80
ph-8.2
I have testing strips and eeything tests fine.

I am aclimating them by letting the bag float for about 10-15 min, then adding approx. 1 cup of my water every 5 min or so. then grabbing them out and sticking them on the glass. What am I doing wrong? If you need more precise info, i will be able to post tom. Thanks.

-Chad

 

[MikMcgyver]

What kind of snails were they? I actually acclimate my snails much longer now after I found out how sensitive snails are. I have a very good survival rate now.......

 

[Bifferwine]

Next time try acclimating them over several hours. Like Mike said, snails are more sensitive to changes than other animals. Oh, and like he said too, what kind of snails?

 

[Rcpilot]

The Grazing Snails, Part I - Turbo, Trochus, Astraea, and Kin by Ronald L. Shimek, Ph.D. - Reefkeeping.com

Read that article.

Here is the important stuff, if you don't want to read the whole thing:

Acclimation Problems, Or Why Do They Die?
The complexity of internal anatomy in snails is one major reason why some of the Trochoideans seem to die easily, or otherwise not live through their full life spans in our tanks. Although most folks probably never give it a second thought, snails have a complex internal morphology. In many ways, the internal structures that the snails possess have allowed them to be very successful. It is not, however, a particularly "rugged" morphology when subjected to some specific stresses. Snail tissues often seem to be composed of thin layers of tissue that are very filmy and diaphanous. Consequently, they often suffer significant damage during water changes or during transport from a dealer's to an aquarist's tank. The circulatory system of snails may be very complex (Figure 5), and many of its vessels and channels can rupture under stresses caused by changes in salinity. The vessels in the kidney are numerous and delicate, and may rupture if the animal is not slowly acclimated when being moved from one set of water conditions to another. If the acclimation is too fast, the animal will die in a few minutes to a few weeks. If the snails are drip acclimated, the acclimation time may need to be on the order of five to ten hours for maximal survival.


I acclimate my snail for about 4--5 hrs. I actually have 3 margarite snails that I bought (before I knew they were a coldwater snail) and 1 hitchhiker margarite.Most people say that these snails will slowly boil in a reef, and rarely last more than a few weeks. I've had the first 3 for about 2 months now and they are all still alive. The hitchhiker is still alive after about 3 weeks. I think it might have something to do with the fact that I acclimated them for several hours, rather than the usual 30min--1hr that a lot of people do. I can't back that up with scientific facts, just a guess. :mrgreen:

 

[cgoodman381]

Next time try acclimating them over several hours. Like Mike said, snails are more sensitive to changes than other animals. Oh, and like he said too, what kind of snails?

Four Banded Trochus Snail and two moon snails. I put the moon snails in yesterday and it looks like their gonners. :frustrat:

 

[winyfrog]

ask your lfs how they acclimated them into their systems. It may be that they acclimated them wrong and you ended up with their mistake.

 

[yote]

Whats your salinity?I didnt see where that was posted.
Also,has there ever been any copper used in the tank?

 

[hibye]

Take the damsels and hermits out.

 

[Bifferwine]

Damsels and hermits wouldn't cause the mass death of a great numbers of snails all at the same time as soon as they were introduced into the tank. Just sayin'.

 

[hibye]

i know but just saying their a pest

 

[Piggy]

I would bet that they weren't acclimated right. I would go back to where I bought them and tell them what happen. Maybe you may get a snail or two out of it.

 

[MikMcgyver]

i know but just saying their a pest

Post wasnt about pests, about dead snails and why they possibly died... nada to do with pests....