I think some of my snails died??

[networkguy]

I bought seven snails at my LFS to use as a cleanup crew and they were all doing fine for about 3 days. Now four of them are fine but three of them havent moved in about 3 days. I even used a net to move them around a little and no movement from the three I suspect are dead. The other four are eating like pigs... the question is could it have been something in the algea that bloomed that killed them?? The bloom is all but gone now partially the snails partially introducing live rock. I just want to see if anyone has ever heard of toxic algea....also I checked my levels today and everything pretty much at 0. I would have expected higher ammonia if the snails had died....also maybe someone can recommend a good cleanup crew for a 55gal with 70lbs or LR 2 clowns, 1 foxface and 3 blue damsels. Here's a picture of two of the suspected dead snails...any ideas?

 

[julie853]

Can't really tell but they don't really look dead to me.I have purchased alot of snails and some die but most will survive and do fine.If you have any crabs (blue legs and scarlets)they will kill snails for there shells.I rescued a snail today in my tank from two crabs.
The reef packages on this site offer good clean up crews.

 

[bigarn]

pick them up and smell them ..... you'll know if they died real quick.

 

[reefreak29]

Originally Posted by bigarn
pick them up and smell them ..... you'll know if they died real quick.
lol aint that the truth

 

[networkguy]

could you have warned me that a dead snail is most henious smell in the whole world!! I did loose three of the seven and I can't say I'm happy about it. One of them actually fell out of the shell back into the tank...anyways that was pretty disgusting!!
Maybe I created my own problems here...I have six fish which I acclimated with the drip method for about three hours (all seperately over the course of 3 weeks). The snails I just temp acclimated for about an hour and then put them in the tank. I am sure they were all alive when I put them in....but like I said i lost 3 so now I'm down to 4. Any acclimation tips or past experiences??

 

[saltn00b]

LOL
you should have at least a shrimp or brittle star in their to clean up dead snails, because they wont eat carcasses really.
also, i have a feeling you lost them because you did not drip acclimate your inverts. they should be dripped for 2-3 hours. failure to do so will give you dieing snails for a month period or so.

 

[walmart]

my fw snails like to do that for days even weeks. they like to chill out and do nothing curled up in there shell. like he said smell them. but give it more time if hes not dead.

 

[bang guy]

Your Snails are exibiting the classic signs of osmotic shock.
How did you acclimate them to your water?

 

[payton 350]

how about salinity and temp?

 

[networkguy]

I acclimated them by floating them for an hour....I figured they're snails they are a little more hearty then fish. I always drip my fish for at least 2 and half hours or more.
Salinty is between 1.022 and 1.023...I have always had a hard time getting it below 1.022 but it's not like its totally out of whack. Temp is a nice constant 80.5 my heater works great!
Next time I will just drip them I learned my lesson the hard way...should have known better then to just temp them they need to slowly acclimate to my water parameters too. Thanks for all the help everyone...this forum has been super beneficial for someone as myself who is just starting out!

 

[reefreak29]

Originally Posted by NetworkGuy
I acclimated them by floating them for an hour....I figured they're snails they are a little more hearty then fish. I always drip my fish for at least 2 and half hours or more.
Salinty is between 1.022 and 1.023...I have always had a hard time getting it below 1.022 but it's not like its totally out of whack. Temp is a nice constant 80.5 my heater works great!
Next time I will just drip them I learned my lesson the hard way...should have known better then to just temp them they need to slowly acclimate to my water parameters too. Thanks for all the help everyone...this forum has been super beneficial for someone as myself who is just starting out!
your sg should be at 1.025 to 1.026

 

[networkguy]

Originally Posted by reefreak29
your sg should be at 1.025 to 1.026
ok now I'm a little confused.....
first let me say the SG flucuates between 1.022 and 1.025...I just did a water change today and my water was a little low but I am expecting some LR tomorrow and needed my mix bin to cure it (I will be buying a new water change mixing bin this weekend). However that said IO's 160gal bucket recommends 1.021 - 1.024 and my hydrometer shows the ideal levels at 1.020 - 1.024. So I guess really now my question becomes what level do you keep your SG at??

 

[payton 350]

get a refractometer...it will be by far one of the best and cheapest buys for your sw tank....about 40 to 50 for a decent one.....hydometers break, only good for a few uses if used properly...need to be cleaned after every test ....and will cost more to buy them and possibly messing up your tank because of inaccurate readings.....

 

[saltn00b]

Definite +1 on the Refracto. it is a must. those swing arm hydrometers are junk.
if you are keeping a FOWLR or Reef tank, then you want to keep it at 1.025. much lower is not safe for inverts.
you are also 'dead wrong' about snails being heartier than fish. quite the contrary, Inverts are much more sensitive to chemical changes in the water than fish. this is why you need to drip acclimate your inverts. look at the side bar button to the left of this page that says Acclimation. it has a great new Flash show on what to do.

 

[bang guy]

Originally Posted by NetworkGuy
I acclimated them by floating them for an hour....I figured they're snails they are a little more hearty then fish. I always drip my fish for at least 2 and half hours or more.
They are not hardier than fish. They are 100 times more sensitive to changes in salinity than fish.

 

[murf48]

If you've got Crabs try adding some extra shells, you can buy them cheap. That will give the crabs better places to climb into instead of killing the snails. If you don't have any get some

 

[reefkprz]

Originally Posted by Murf48
If you've got Crabs try adding some extra shells, you can buy them cheap. That will give the crabs better places to climb into instead of killing the snails. If you don't have any get some

HUH?

 

[reefreak29]

Originally Posted by saltn00b
Definite +1 on the Refracto. it is a must. those swing arm hydrometers are junk.
if you are keeping a FOWLR or Reef tank, then you want to keep it at 1.025. much lower is not safe for inverts.
you are also 'dead wrong' about snails being heartier than fish. quite the contrary, Inverts are much more sensitive to chemical changes in the water than fish. this is why you need to drip acclimate your inverts. look at the side bar button to the left of this page that says Acclimation. it has a great new Flash show on what to do.

 

[crazievegg]

Why on my order I placed with Saltwaterfish.com does it say this in my e-mail conformation.....
"If you have Snails or Hermits in your order you will find they are not shipped with water. You can float them in your aquarium for fifteen minutes and then pour them in.
"

 

[bang guy]

Originally Posted by crazievegg
Why on my order I placed with Saltwaterfish.com does it say this in my e-mail conformation.....
"If you have Snails or Hermits in your order you will find they are not shipped with water. You can float them in your aquarium for fifteen minutes and then pour them in.
"

Dry shipped animals such as Snails & Anemone do not require acclimation to salinity, only to temperature.