Snails Seem to Keep Dying

[Hallowhead]

What about oxygenation? You have any fish breathing hard? No glass top and plenty of surface agitation?

Very good surface agitation and no fish breathing heavy.

You mentioned in an earlier post you have GHA. Is that still a problem?

Overall do you have enough food? Snake won’t go to GHA while the urchin will (usually). An urchin will outcompete snails. Maybe a picture of your tank? Also what temperature is the tank?

Will get a photo later, GHA is substantially subsided.

 

[ScottD]

Still needing help with this, I let the tank fallow from inverts for a month. I added 3 astrea and a trochus about 1.5 weeks ago. The trochus is paralyzed, won't move, just gets picked up by urchins and does nothing. 2 of the astrea died. I then added 12 Cerith snails this passed weekend, seems like half if not more went paralyzed, and a few are moving. The smell test says they're still alive. I am again floating these to temp acclimate for an hour then drip acclimating for another hour before adding to the tank.

It's interesting the snails in my sump (fuge) are not dying.

I am not sure what else to check or test for, but I need snails in the tank to help finish off this GHA.

How long have the snails in your sump been there? If a while, try taking a couple snails out of your sump and put them in the tank and see if they become paralyzed as well. If so then I’d say you’ve got a predator in your tank that is killing them.

Some other thoughts.
Can you tell us more about the tank? How big is it? How long has it been running for? Do you have live rock or sand in it or is it dry rock and something like caribsea sand?

I find it hard to believe it’s a chemical thing or over/under trace elements since the sump snails are fine.

Is there something growing in the sand that’s toxic to the snails that they’re eating? Have you tried putting snails on your rock instead of the sand bed and do they survive?

 

[Hallowhead]

Full tank shot attached

 

[Hallowhead]

How long have the snails in your sump been there? If a while, try taking a couple snails out of your sump and put them in the tank and see if they become paralyzed as well. If so then I’d say you’ve got a predator in your tank that is killing them.

Some other thoughts.
Can you tell us more about the tank? How big is it? How long has it been running for? Do you have live rock or sand in it or is it dry rock and something like caribsea sand?

I find it hard to believe it’s a chemical thing or over/under trace elements since the sump snails are fine.

Is there something growing in the sand that’s toxic to the snails that they’re eating? Have you tried putting snails on your rock instead of the sand bed and do they survive?

Not long in sump, maybe 2 weeks. But upon getting home the cerith are not moving in sump. So it's same from display to sump and there is plenty of food in sump to eat.

It's a reefer 425 been up 3 years now. Live rock and sand (caribsea arag alive sand), when adding new snails always put on rocks never sand.

 

[Mrcote1]

Do you have bumblebee snails or an emerald crab?

I posted earlier im in an identical situation as you. I just bought another sea hare and batch of snails from a different source 3 days ago and snails are already ending up on their backs and dying and sea hare is starting to also die.

So there must be some commonality between our tanks

 

[Hallowhead]

Do you have bumblebee snails or an emerald crab?

I posted earlier im in an identical situation as you. I just bought another sea hare and batch of snails from a different source 3 days ago and snails are already ending up on their backs and dying and sea hare is starting to also die.

So there must be some commonality between our tanks

I had a green emerald crab, have not seen in a while, no bumblebee snails

 

[ScottD]

How long have the snails in your sump been there? If a while, try taking a couple snails out of your sump and put them in the tank and see if they become paralyzed as well. If so then I’d say you’ve got a predator in your tank that is killing them.

Some other thoughts.
Can you tell us more about the tank? How big is it? How long has it been running for? Do you have live rock or sand in it or is it dry rock and something like caribsea sand?

I find it hard to believe it’s a chemical thing or over/under trace elements since the sump snails are fine.

Is there something growing in the sand that’s toxic to the snails that they’re eating? Have you tried putting snails on your rock instead of the sand bed and do they survive?

Not long in sump, maybe 2 weeks. But upon getting home the cerith are not moving in sump. So it's same from display to sump and there is plenty of food in sump to eat.

It's a reefer 425 been up 3 years now. Live rock and sand (caribsea arag alive sand), when adding new snails always put on rocks never sand.

But the ones in the sump have lasted longer than in the tank?

I’d say you need to send off an icp and see what that comes back at. I’d also try a different store or supplier for snails.

Was there anything you added to the tank before the snails started dying? More rock, corals?

 

[Mrcote1]

I was starting to be suspicious of the crab and bumble bee snails late at night but sounds unlikely then. Your nitrates are around 10ppm right?

 

[inferior plank]

I had this issue recently, there was a whelk prowling around the tank in the dead of night. Since being banished, snails seem to be doing fine.

 

[Hallowhead]

But the ones in the sump have lasted longer than in the tank?

I’d say you need to send off an icp and see what that comes back at. I’d also try a different store or supplier for snails.

Not really, no. ICP test ordered.

I was starting to be suspicious of the crab and bumble bee snails late at night but sounds unlikely then. Your nitrates are around 10ppm right?

Yes 10-25ppm

I had this issue recently, there was a whelk prowling around the tank in the dead of night. Since being banished, snails seem to be doing fine.

Wait what?! They look just like nass snails ? But again, the snails are like paralyzed they're not being blatantly cannibalized

 

[inferior plank]

Wait what?! They look just like nass snails ? But again, the snails are like paralyzed they're not being blatantly cannibalized

Yeah, the snails would just lay there until they would get eaten by bristleworms or hermit crabs.

I’ll also throw out there - back in the day I never trusted bumblebee snails, I think there was a reference in (I believe it was) Julian Sprung’s Invertebrates book that they prey on mollusks, but never specified that they don’t eat snails so I always assumed they did.

 

[Tahoe61]

Have you seen any Pyramid snails or larger flatworm varieties?

 

[Hallowhead]

Have you seen any Pyramid snails or larger flatworm varieties?

Negative I've seen none of these.

 

[Hallowhead]

I checked this morning before I left the house, no pests or vultures cruising through the tank. Just nass sitting on top of sand cruising for food. I can't find the one Astrea that seemed to be healthy and okay, will have to look again tonight.

ICP test ordered, should have those results in 3 weeks.

 

[Hallowhead]

Came home, saw 3 cerith on the sand turned them over the foot is fully pulled into their shells, and they're not moving, alive but paralyzed and will die... ugh what the heck

#reefsquad help! What could be in the water that could be doing this so I can just start removing it?

 

[BriDroid]

I can’t keep margarita or astrea snails alive for some reason? I have nassarius, two kinds of ceriths, trochus and a tiger conch with no problems. I also have limpets and stomatella that have hitchhiked in. For some reason astrea and margarita snails die in a few weeks???

 

[Hallowhead]

I can’t keep margarita or astrea snails alive for some reason? I have nassarius, two kinds of ceriths, trochus and a tiger conch with no problems. I also have limpets and stomatella that have hitchhiked in. For some reason astrea and margarita snails die in a few weeks???

The rock work and glass clearly has algae for them to eat and I feed pretty heavy so they can't be starving, it has to be a trace element or a pest getting behind their foot and eating them from inside out.

 

[salty joe]

do you have access to a microscope?

 

[Rocks reef]

Ok, I read through this. What do you mean by "paralyzed"? Also, when you take the "empty" shells out, are you for certain they are empty? Reason I am asking this, is the operculum (hard foot/trap door) of some snails recede pretty far back when retracted in the shell. It may look empty.
I have snails that don't move at all while the lights are on. I have others (checkered nerites) that stay in the same spot for days.
I do not know of a chemical that would selectively kill certain types of snails, after all they are all gastropods.
One more thing to mention, most snails are active during low light/night time, it helps prevent predation.
The only snails I see active during the day are nassarius and the two turbos.

 

[Hallowhead]

Ok, I read through this. What do you mean by "paralyzed"? Also, when you take the "empty" shells out, are you for certain they are empty? Reason I am asking this, is the operculum (hard foot/trap door) of some snails recede pretty far back when retracted in the shell. It may look empty.
I have snails that don't move at all while the lights are on. I have others (checkered nerites) that stay in the same spot for days.
I do not know of a chemical that would selectively kill certain types of snails, after all they are all gastropods.
One more thing to mention, most snails are active during low light/night time, it helps prevent predation.
The only snails I see active during the day are nassarius and the two turbos.

It is confirmed the snail is gone from the shell, and if I was wrong, the trash I throw the empty shells in would stink eventually as the snail truly died.

When I say paralyzed, they will go from moving regularly when first added to sitting in the same spot until dead