Cannot keep sanils alive

[1990jpyj]

ok so in my second attmept i have tryed to get some sanils in my dads tank. and once again they die in like a day or 2. i cannot figure out why. his tank peramiters are:
Ph-8.2
NH3-0
not sure witch was which but one of the nit??? was 0, and the other was 20.
the 20 reading was the safe one i do remember that.
i just cannot figure out why he cannot keep any snails. he has like 25 hermits in there. we just cannot seem to get any sanils to live. lots of algee and stuff for him to eat and everything.
im just lost

any ideas

 

[geoj]

How did you acclimate them and what was the salinity. Get them from different LFS. Did the hermits eat them?

 

[1990jpyj]

salt was 1.23 if i remember right. i tryed a different FS this time and same results. so im at a loss when it comes to this.
o and as far as acclimation went i think it was in the 3 hour range, cuz he also got s few fish at the same time. so everyone acclim. at the same time
idk if this helps but its a 125g tank

 

[geoj]

I would guess it is the hermits. You can also try a salinity of 1.025

 

[1990jpyj]

the hermits never really got to them. they just kinda deid where we left them. they had this filmy stuff after 5 days so i figured they were dead. none moved so i gave up. as far as saltinity goes, my dad feels thats to high and it will kill the fish.(he wont listen to his son who has no life and researchs SWF all day) so i cant figure it out.

 

[geoj]

Do you have your own tank if so how are your snails?
I cant say that salinity is the prob. only it could be...

 

[1990jpyj]

i have 3 tanks all my snails do great. i keep my salt at 1.025 so idk if thats the problem or not. but our tanks are the same basically. except sizes and what not. the only thing we do different is that i use RO and he uses tap(i think, he used to so im guessing he does the same) but there arnt any metals or anything in the water. he test every few weeks

 

[geoj]

Well if it is good enough for him let it be...

 

[texasmetal]

How long has the tank been set up as saltwater?
Was it ever freshwater before?
Have any Ich or other illness medications been used in the tank?

 

[b-diddles]

so your nitrites are 0ppm? what about nitrates? i understand that inverts can not tolerate high nitrates.

 

[1990jpyj]

the tank is 1 years old.
has only been salt water
and only 1 fish has ahd ick and he was treated in a QT.

 

[1990jpyj]

nobody else has any ideas?

 

[bang guy]

If they only live 2 days then that limits the possibilities.
It's either Copper, PH, or Osmotic shock.
Do you use tap water? Is your Salinity less than 35ppt? How did you acclimate the snails?

 

[1990jpyj]

he does use tap water
salt is perfect 1.023
and a 3 hour acclimtation. they got acclim. with a fish thats y the got so long of an acclimation.

 

[1990jpyj]

i dont know if this helps or not but, he has about 15 hermits in there that are doing great, also 1 huge banded shrimp.

 

[vinnyraptor]

bad batch of snails is a possibility. i think it's the hermits though. why do hermits live and a shrimp but not snails. thats not a water quality issue IMO. experiment, take a snail from your tank and add it to your dad's. place it near a hermit or two and observe.

 

[1990jpyj]

i did do that the first time. he got one of my huge turbo snails. and i also bought him a few marg snails. and they all died. he hasnt ever been able to keep snails. a few years ago befor ehe set up this 125g. it was a 35hex and he had about 15 bumble bee snails that died within 1 week. so there really hasnt been to much success with keeping sanils. the is lots for them to eat on the glass so its not a food issue. i think we might try 1 last time with some of mine. and if id doesnt work then idk know what could cause this. i hate knowing that i am killing snails that cant control there fate.

 

[jbird0420]

I had that problem, where I would find my snails dying. I thought it was lack of algae in the tank or poor water conditions. I had algae, plenty of it and excellent water params, except for my calcium levels. Way to low! I could not figure it out what was killing them. Since, I started monitoring my Calcium and KH levels, not one dead snail. Had these current Astrea snails for about 6 months and their growing by leaps and bounds!

 

[1990jpyj]

ok i will have him check his calcuim levels. that might be it. its a FO tank so i dont think he even checks that. what level is needed for snails?

 

[jbird0420]

Cause I have them in my coral tank, I like to keep my Calcium levels at about 420ppm/KH 160ppm. Even though water changes are supposed to replenish calcium and Kh levels. Depending on what brand of salt, it's not enough calcium. Have him try dripping some kalk to boost his calcium levels. It's cheap, inexpensive and efficient. Look up a DIY yourself Kalk drip either here or Google. From what I understand, kalk also precipitates phosphates!!!!

Good Luck!