dead snails

[gambler1]

I posted an add about my snails last night. I chucked them today they were dead. My fish and crabs are doing great what is the secret to keep the darn things alive. My local fish store said they are the hardiest things you can put inton youre tank. Any ideas?

[demonsp]

How long tank been going ? How much LR ? What type of substrate ?

[gambler1]

Tank has been up and going for over a mnth these are the first things I have added 90lbs rock. 150 gallons.

[kathainbowen]

What are your water stats (heat, pH, SG, NO2, NO3) and how did you acclimate them?

[gambler1]

All levels are normal acclimated for 30 min like i was told from my local fish store where they were bought

[WingnutSr]

I would say you did not acclimate them long enough. Also, did you just float them in the bag, or did you use a drip method to acclimate them? They need to be drip acclimated.

[Crimthann]

What type of snails were they? Did they just fall of the glass onto the substrate? Whenever i buy turbo or astrea snails the retards always end up flipping themselves over. I have to pick them up and stick them back on the glass. Eventually they stop doing it or i get aggravated and let it sit there. Just something to look at assuming your levels are alright.

[kathainbowen]

Originally posted by gambler1
All levels are normal acclimated for 30 min like i was told from my local fish store where they were bought

"Like I was told from my local fish store" does NOT tell us how you acclimated them. Sorry to bust your bum on that one, but it's true. Your LFS could be anywhere in America, with any level of experience and knowledge behind its staff. "Like I was told" could mean any number of things.

When seeking advice on something that is at a remote location, your best bet is to include as much information as possible. What truly is normal levels for your tank. For example, I normally sit my SG right at 1.022-1.023 because, while 1.025 really is considered to be more appropriate (and really is better for sharks and rays), it gives me some wiggle room for evaporation. My training at a particular LFS in their commercial techniques taught me that this was "normal" and "right," despite other preferences for other people.

So, let's talk about acclimation for snails. In the LFS I worked at, standard procedure for *most* snails (mexican turbos, margaritas, bumblebees, nassarius, among others) was to acclimate over the course of 1.5 to 3 hours, adding an average of between 1 to 2 cups of water from the tank water to the snail water per hour. Some people might call this overkill, and I would be lying if I didn't say I wasn't among them. However, to also be brutally honest, I can't argue with results, and we rarely lost any more than one to two snails a 50 snail batch.

Admittedly, at home, however, I just drip for an hour.

[Aimforever]

Honestly I've never acclimated any snail I've ever put in either of my tanks. Snails (tubros, astreas, ciriths etc..) from Drs. F&S as well as two different LFS... I've just always plopped them in, and haven't had any problems. IME most of those types are nearly impossible to kill unless , as crimthann pointed out, they are flipped over and cleaned out by a crab or something. I would double check your water parameters or maybe have the LFS verify your results with their test kit. I very highly doubt they died b/c your acclimation wasn't adequate.

[Aimforever]

After reading the previous post that was put up at the same time as my last, I guess I would take my advice with a grain of salt. I'm just relaying my experience, but it is by no means the definitive truth.

However, I've also never acclimated bumblebees or nassarius either, and my populations have remained unchanged since I introduced them over the last 6 months.

Heck, almost half of the liverock that I introduced to my first tank when it was about 1 month old was fully established (taken from a LFS reeftank that was taken down) and I didn't acclimate the rock, let alone anything living on/in it. After just plopping it into my tank I watched over the next few days as several small snails, bumblebees, brittle stars and countless other creatures came out.

In retrospect this was definitely an ill informed choice, but the point is again that many snails enjoyed the move to my tank... and they were transported for 20 minutes with nothing but wet newspaper over them and then immediately placed in my tank with absolutely no acclimation.

So again, I would suspect your water parameters are the problem rather than your acclimation procedure at this point.

[kathainbowen]

Originally posted by Aimforever
IME most of those types are nearly impossible to kill

Lol. You CAN, in fact, kill them. Trust me. The one time I let a newb-ish coworker get some mexican turbos without going over acclimation with him (thinking, surely, after watching us acclimate every week, of all people, he would know to acclimate), he killed the entire lot within minutes despite having pretty decent water quality (SG a touch low for my taste at 1.021). I laughed in his face, but I still had to refund his batch.

While I would not advocate "just dropping them in," I do agree that most snails CANNOT get off their backs and, once flipped, often die. Either that, or potentially an unseen predator that hitchhiked in on liverock (mantis shrimp or, in rare cases, cephalopods)

[gambler1]

thanks for the posts I will try it again and try it diffrently next time all the fish and crabs are doin well I will keep you all posted on the next batch thxs again everyone,

[sunfish11]

I hate to tell you this but you have a problem of some kind. I have yet to acclimate a snail of any variety and I find them extremely hardy. In fact they are one of my test critters in a new tank. If the snails don't survive than you have a problem. I wouldn't put any fish or coral in until a snail can survive, thats for sure. This isn't normal so you need to go back an re-evaluate.

Lisa