snail acclimation

[johno1973]

I have real that snails need to be drip acclimated but I have found no good dexcription of this method. Is there a thread or article that I can read or does somebody have any pointers? I have read in one article that 1-2 drops per second for at least 2 hours. How do you regulate this dripping? Do you stand over it for hours with a dropper?

 

[daugherty]

i have never aclimated anything that long all i do is float the bag for 10-15min than open the bag add a 1/4 cup of water wait 5 min add more water wait and just do that until the bag is full than take the snails out of the bag and put them in the tank

 

[johno1973]

That is what I have done in the past for fw tanks. Ran into drip method in my reading online and in books I have bought. Said to do it but failed to give an accurate description of the process. Need to send some people some comments on that I think.

 

[daugherty]

all you do is get some airline tubing and put one end in your tank and get a micro ball valve or something to control the water than suck on one end to get the water flowing and adjust it so that it is just a drip a sec or so and there you go drip acclimation

 

[ggNoRe]

What you do is get some airline tubine with a suction cup attached to it. Attach the suction cup to the tank so where one end of the tubing is submersed under water. Suck on the other end to start the suction. Tie knots (for me two pretty tight ones) in the tubing and tighten them until you get 1 drop per every 2-3 seconds. I started doing this in the beginning to acclimate but now it seems totally unneccessary as I've been successful just doing what daughtery described.

 

[lilduud]

yea or even tie a few know in the tubing to slow it down if you dont have the in ball valve... which are what 50 cents anyway?
im too impatient for that... even with my snails and inverts i usually just jave a slowly but steady stream of water runnng through the airline tube... acclimation takes me all of 20 minuntes... i know its bad but all my critters are fine... hell i know someone who doesnt acclimate at all they just take it out of the bag and place it. ive done that with uber hardy soft corals but never any inverts or fish or sps

 

[johno1973]

If it works just as well acclimating just like the fish, adding 1/4 cup every 5 min or so I don't see the need to go to the trouble of setting up a snail iv line. I think I will just do it that way only prolong it a bit longer by adding less water each time.

 

[daugherty]

i would not say it is bad not to drip accumate them at all some things that are very sensitive need to have it done more slowley but. i have at time just floated the bag then dumped them in but i know that my lfs keeps their salinity the same as me so its all about the temp getting as close to what my tank is

 

[lilduud]

i also have a few friends who will poke a few holes in the bag and just float that in the tank for a half hour or so and then just remove them.

 

[johno1973]

Thanks guys. I will see what happens as when my snails arrive. The bad part about living where I am is that I have to travel about an hour to get to a lfs that carries saltwater supplies, and I just don't get there that often. Therefore, most of my stuff comes via delivery. I will try to pick up a ball valve at the local shitmart, I mean walmart, if they have one. if not I will improvise using knots and whatnot.

 

[daugherty]

look for their airline adjusters they work just fine or a gang valve in their fish section

 

[daugherty]

you dont need one this big but it would work just fine
Penn Plax Lok-Tite Aquarium Gang Valves at PETCO

 

[Bifferwine]

However you acclimate, if you are acclimating fish, be sure not to get any of the water in your tank. Fish tanks are usually copper treated.

 

[reeffreak]

Drip,drip drip acclimate those snails.
,I highly recommend that you do this!

We get people here all the time mentioning why my snails don't last very long.I read an article in FAMA about changes in salinity can rupture internal organs of snails.They live on for a few weeks then belly up,dead.GG had the right method,airline tubing with a knot in the tube.Tighten or loosen the knot to adjust how fast the drops comes out.I prefer a steady droplets that drop individually and not connected to the next drop,makes sense?

 

[johno1973]

Sure does. I picked up a gang valve and some new airline tubing after work tonight. I'll set it up tomorrow. Hopefully they show up tomorrow. I am kinda worried about them with all this heat. I can see me opening the box and seeing a bunch of cooked snails. Waiting on "snail" mail.

 

[Jmck]

i never lose any snails and i dont acllimate them, im toooooo impatient to do it.

 

[lilduud]

i never lose any snails and i dont acllimate them, im toooooo impatient to do it.

My acclimation is a joke I might as well not do one. I take it more seriously if it's a sensitive coral or fish but when it's anything less that twenty dollars I just use an unadjusted airline tube and do a five minute acclimation haha

 

[Jmck]

Hahaha i dont even do that for a sensitive fish or coral! im the worst with acclimating XD

Dont bash me guys?

 

[johno1973]

How much die off do you guys have? One of my pet peeves is having to repeat myself over and over. In my mind having to buy the same thing over and over, even cheap snails, because I didn't properly introduce them is the exact same thing as having to repeat my words to a person over and over. I will be smacking myself in the head rather roughly.

 

[johno1973]

Snail mail has finally arrived! I have them in a QT tank with only the water they were delivered in, very little, with a drip line attached to a gang valve sripping water into it. Didn't do an exact count yet. I'll give them time to come out and show themselves and do a live animal count.
Wife is rofl because my 6 year old and I are excited over snails.