Snails keep dying

[FRANK GRAZIANO]

If they are in the range required I feel it's a waste of time to post them

 

[sfin52]

If

If they are in the range required I feel it's a waste of time to post them

if you want help it will be asked. Ive seen people who said they are good only to find out something was off.

Any way how big is your system. It maybe that you are ordering to many at a time. Snails is not a great way to prevent algea. They do a better job of keeping it in check.

 

[PghReef]

Seems this topic got way out of hand but my 2 cents anyhow.

Nitrates aren't always as bad as people make them out to be, plenty of tanks with higher than optimal nutrients and they are successful.

However heavy metals and ammonia are extremely fatal to snails and aren't tested for unless you do an ICP test. Do you use RODI? Do you have copper pipes? Is you ammonia test kit a good one that's not expired or are you like many of us who only use it for cycling purposes and never invest in a good ammonia kit?
Also how much algae do you have? Are they starved or is it an algae known to be toxic? Any hermits ans how do they fare in the system? They are affected less so than snails IMO so if hermits survive but snails dont I'd lean towards heavy metal toxicity of some sort without knowing much about your system.

 

[Alexreefer]

I believe you should stop drip acclimating and just float. During the shipping process, ammonia levels in the shipping bags build, while the ph level goes down. As the ph goes down the toxicity of ammonia also goes down. However, when your tank water with normal ph is introduced to the shipping bags, and the ph rises, so does the toxicity of the ammonia, and you will be poisoning the livestock. Just my own .02

 

[FRANK GRAZIANO]

I was wrong and so was everyone else why they were dying it was stray voltage. My uv sterilizer pump was bad and everytime the snails went to the top to sit at the edge of the water and air they got shocked and died after a while.

 

[FRANK GRAZIANO]

Not so perfect afterall.
Don't be salty. If you had posted your parameters like you were asked, you would have received the help you were looking for.

My parameters were still in check when all this snail death accrued it was stray voltage that killed them when the went to the top of the tank caused a ground and they got shocked.

 

[FRANK GRAZIANO]

Seems this topic got way out of hand but my 2 cents anyhow.

Nitrates aren't always as bad as people make them out to be, plenty of tanks with higher than optimal nutrients and they are successful.

However heavy metals and ammonia are extremely fatal to snails and aren't tested for unless you do an ICP test. Do you use RODI? Do you have copper pipes? Is you ammonia test kit a good one that's not expired or are you like many of us who only use it for cycling purposes and never invest in a good ammonia kit?
Also how much algae do you have? Are they starved or is it an algae known to be toxic? Any hermits ans how do they fare in the system? They are affected less so than snails IMO so if hermits survive but snails dont I'd lean towards heavy metal toxicity of some sort without knowing much about your system.

Would you be talking about copper metal toxins? My pipes aren't copper.

 

[Bret Brinkmann]

Sorry to hear about your snails. Glad to hear you found the issue though. How did you figure it out? I heard people talk about it but never knew how they figured it out.

This thread actually helped me with my snail problem. So thank you. I also have have high Mg. I know that wasn't the main issue, but talking about it made it show up in my search. There is surprisingly little info about Mg poisoning and snails on this forum. In any case, the Mg wasn't helping. Let us know how snails do in your tank now.

Members on this forum can get weird with help. My two biggest complaints are members that ask for some water parameter you just gave and posting pics with blue lights. Especially if they are a more senior member that should know better.

Again, glad to hear you got it all straightened out.

 

[FRANK GRAZIANO]

The pump I had running my uv sterilizer must of been putting out stray voltage since day one that was fatal to the snails when they climbed up the glass and got to the top. Once at the top the air and water mixture caused a ground and shocking the snails. I would notice them falling of the glass and didn't know why. When the hit the sand they seemed disoriented and couldn't flip themselves over . I used a stick to help them flip but they would flip back upside down. I only figured it out when the tank started to shock me when I put my hands in it. Turned off each pump 1 at a time till it no longer shocked me. I replaced the pump and the 2 remaining snails I have went to the top of the tank a hour later. Ordered 50 snails to replace all my dead ones.