Probably a dumb question, but how do I keep snails?

[jackie dh]

Alive that is. I have bought dozens and dozens of Turbo snails over the last couple of years and within a few months they are gone. I even bought a dozen Mexican Turbo snails last fall and I'm down to one now. I have tons of algae for them to eat, no real predators except for the blue leg hermits that I wish that I never bought. Every once in a while I will see a hermit cleaning out a shell but I'm not sure if they are killing them or just eating dead snails, all I know is that I'm algae rich and snail poor.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by Jackie DH
Alive that is. I have bought dozens and dozens of Turbo snails over the last couple of years and within a few months they are gone. I even bought a dozen Mexican Turbo snails last fall and I'm down to one now. I have tons of algae for them to eat, no real predators except for the blue leg hermits that I wish that I never bought. Every once in a while I will see a hermit cleaning out a shell but I'm not sure if they are killing them or just eating dead snails, all I know is that I'm algae rich and snail poor.

What kind of algae do you have? Crabs will sometmes eat a snail if they need a new shell, but they will definately eat them if they are already dead. If you have diatoms (brown ugly mess) most snails won't eat that. What are your water readings? Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, salinity, ph, temp? These are very important!

 

[fishlover921]

if it is the webby alage u can just clean it of the back but get more snails they clean it very good

 

[promisetbg]

There most likely is a predator that comes out at night. An oenone,eunice,hermodice, polyclad flatworm, or perhaps some predatory whelks.I stay up to catch the predators at night with a flashlight...I have caught countless whelks, and 3 polyclads. I found the oenone worms when I moved, one was a couple feet long. There may be more of them, but lately my snail population seems to be stable.

 

[maingo]

Have you ever dosed your tank with copper based med.? this can be your problem as well since they have a near 0 tolernce for copper.

 

[promisetbg]

The hermits would be dead too if there was copper.

 

[tizzo]

Originally Posted by Maingo
Have you ever dosed your tank with copper based med.? this can be your problem as well since they have a near 0 tolernce for copper.

No copper if the blue leg is still there...
Another hurdle for snails is the salinity and the consistancy of your level. What is your salinity or specific gravity?

 

[payton 350]

calcium, and nitrates??? temp too....turbos like cooler water

 

[maingo]

Originally Posted by Tizzo
No copper if the blue leg is still there...
Another hurdle for snails is the salinity and the consistancy of your level. What is your salinity or specific gravity?

Doh, I didn't think about that. Sorry copper is out of the question..

 

[team2jndd]

How many snails do you have in what size tank? Alot of snails starve in tanks without sufficient algae. Mexican turbos ecspecially eat alot.

 

[team2jndd]

Also, have you found any dead snails or do you only find the shells? If you are finding dead snails or snails that are being eaten by hermits, you most likely dont have any preditors because the hermits are most likely just eating the remains of the dead snail.

 

[jackie dh]

The temp in 79* and the salinity 1.021. I don't have time to check the rest, but it should all be good. The tank is around 3 years old and I've never had any major problems with it. It's lightly stocked for a 120, a medium sized (4" to 5")Emperor Angel, a fairly large (4") Heniochus butterfly, (4") blue hippo tang, and a (3") purple tang and several other small fish and shrimp. I also have a single serpent star and 3 pincushion urchins who do a better job of algae eating than my snails ever did. No brown algae and very little hair algae and there's around 120 pounds of live rock and a three to four inch sand bed. The filter system is a large wet dry under the tank. The fish are fat and healthy too.

 

[promisetbg]

Originally Posted by Jackie DH
and the salinity 1.021.
This is why you are having a hard time keeping snails.
salinity should be 35 PPT
or a specific gravity of 1.025

 

[team2jndd]

shouldnt be enough to kill snails. My LFS keeps all tanks at 1.018 to help avoid parasites and has snails without problems. My tank is 1.023 and I have no problem keeping snails either. 1.021 is a little low so I would gradually bring it up but I wouldnt say thats whats killing off your snails. Your hermits would most likely go first if salinity was the problem. Snails are generally fairly hardy which is why im thinking its a lack of food source.

 

[ophiura]

IMO, over several months, that specific gravity is certainly likely to cause stress, if not death, of snails. It is certainly abnormally low. I would say first thing it is the specific gravity. Some snails may tolerate this better than others, but it is a stress.