6 out of 7 snails dead in under a week?!

rcdude1990

Active Member
i bought 7 turbo snails last week, and this morning im down to one. after like the second day one died, then the next day another one, and so on. i cannot figure out y. i found them all upside down and i picked it up and tipped it over a little and some black stuff fell out, i took it out of the tank and into the sink and everything inside the shell jus fell out. as of this morning my parameters are great, jus nitrates are at 10.i dont understand y they died, anyone no? i was thinking mayb cause there is not really that much algea in my tank they died of hunger?
as for tank mates i dont think anyone tried to eat them, i have a sailfin tang, a magnificant foxface, 3 clown fish, 1 cleaner shrimp
any ideas?
 

rcdude1990

Active Member
actually yes i also bought 3 hermits the same day, but they disappeard and i only see one
as for tank info,
125 gallion
ammonia=0
nitrite=0
ph=8.2
nitrate=10
 

xcali1985

Active Member
How long has the tank been up?
Snails are inverts, the need to be acclimated correctly.
If they are on their sides they may be falling off your glass, but it sounds to me like they are being attacked. Do you have shells for the hermits to transfer into and out of?
Ive lost only 2 snails in the entire time my tank has been up, and they were attacked by emerald crabs (herbivores, yea right). They were probably dying already though, they have a short life cycle and the CC will be something your always adding to.
Especially once your tank balances itself and dosen't have many nuisance problems that you have when you start. My dad 55 gallon has 5 crabs and 3 snails. It looks great, been running for 3 years so it pretty much is what it is.
 

oceansidefish

Active Member
My guess would be that you may have a rogue crab in your tank...the cleaner shrimp will go in and finish them off. SG is a tad low for inverts IMO, I am guessing the real culperit however would most likely be improper acclimation
 

mr&mrs.o

Member
If you have larger crabs, especially ones that are outgrowing their shells, they might decide to attack the snails. But I would think the crab would have taken over the shells already if that was the case.
How did you acclimate?
 

rcdude1990

Active Member
i drip acclimated, and the hermits i would say are tinry, not like baby tiny, def not bigger than the snail, and my salinity is at 1.026
 

oceansidefish

Active Member
I would definately guess that you may have a hitchhiker in your tank you don't yet know about...I had several pinkish black clawed killers in my tank I didnt know about for MONTHS!!!
 
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