snails??

[guppy_puppy1]

I have a 46 bow, my water readings are fine. I now have 7 large snails and so far they seem to do okay, my fingers are crossed. I am puzzled to see that while I add like 6 at a time I still seem to lose 2 or 3, my tank is soon to 6 mon. old. I try adding my water to the bag also before releasing them. The small snails dont do well at all, I give up on them. I have 6 red leg crabs, no blue leg cuz I saw them attack to many snails. How many snails and crabs should you put in a tank?? Thanks. Also, should you remove the old snail shells?

 

[wolfeel]

guppy,
many invertebrates do not adjust well to shipping stress. You should do a slow drip acclimation on all new animals to make sure they adjust properly to your tank parameters. Double check that your tank parameters are what the snail needs (NH4=0, NO2=0, NO3=0-10ppm, pH=8.2, salinity 32-35ppt, etc...) Don't forget elements, your snails need trace elements for tissue and shell integrity!Also, if your snail falls upside down (mantle facing up) you need to turn him over because many species of snail cannot turn themselves right. Remove old snail shells (so the dead animals doesn't pollute your tank). If you clean the shells well (tap water only) and put in the sun to dry...you can put them back in once they are clean as new homes for your hermits (if the snails shells are bigger).
Hope this helps!
wolfie

 

[marine fanatic]

Guppy,
I too have had terrible luck with keeping snails alive. I can never keep them alive for more than a few days and I never could find out why. I was losing crabs at an alarming rate as well but somehow that stopped on it's own. Sorry to hear your troubles with keeping snails.

 

[bdubbya]

Be sure that you are not using any kind of meds that are harmful to snails. I ran into the same problem, come to find out it was the ick treatment I was using. I now have a quarantine tank so no longer have this problem. HTH.

 

[guppy_puppy1]

nope,not using meds. Funny ,some of the big ones do live. I will check all elements just to be sure. thanks bunches!!