feeding snails

m3rcury · 07/24/2006, 12:10 PM

i had 9 turbo snails and over the past 2 weeks, 3 have died. i suspect this may be from starvation. how would i feed the remaining snails so that i can avoid unnecessary deaths? my tank is a 40 breeder.

bertoni · 07/24/2006, 12:15 PM

You could try placing some nori into the tank. The snails might eat that.

m3rcury · 07/24/2006, 12:21 PM

how would i do that in such a way that my hermits and fish don't simply eat it all up? maybe take the turbos out of the main tank for a while and put them in my fuge with some nori?

bertoni · 07/24/2006, 12:49 PM

Hmm, that's a lot of work. I'd just try putting some in the tank first. Otherwise, I'd give away the snails, but the refugium idea might be fine.

angelsj247 · 07/24/2006, 12:52 PM

my snails kept dying because my nitrates were ranged 20-40. I finally got them to 0 and now they are all fine. Make sure your nitrates are down.

angelsj247 · 07/24/2006, 12:53 PM

9 might be to many for a 40 gal. also

jerehmy · 07/24/2006, 12:54 PM

do the snails hang out by the surface, I was told once that if the water is bad then they will die and hang out by the surface more

Good Luck

m3rcury · 07/24/2006, 01:13 PM

my nitrates are a bit high - around 20ppm. i'm currently working on getting that down. no, they don't stay near the top of the water. they mostly stay in the sand during the day and then crawl the walls at night.

moving them into the fuge would be easy - they are big, easy to catch, and almost always toward the front of the tank.

there's only 6 left, so i'll try feeding them in the fuge. when you say nori, you just mean the sheets of nori they sell at the grocery store. right?

angelsj247 · 07/24/2006, 02:34 PM

yah the sheets. your nitrates may be the problem, snails are very sensitive to that.

bertoni · 07/24/2006, 03:53 PM

I don't particularly believe that snails are sensitive to nitrate in that range. I've kept snails and not had problems with higher levels, and there's no evidence of nitrate toxicity that anyone has ever found in the literature.

[17]shawn[17] · 07/24/2006, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bertoni
I don't particularly believe that snails are sensitive to nitrate in that range. I've kept snails and not had problems with higher levels, and there's no evidence of nitrate toxicity that anyone has ever found in the literature.

i agree

bsaastad · 07/24/2006, 06:13 PM

You don't say how long these snails have been in your tank. Are they an established population that just started dying, or are they new? Just a thought, but if they are new, how were they acclimated? Their vascular systems are quite delicate and can easily rupture if not acclimated slowly.

m3rcury · 07/24/2006, 07:14 PM

they have been in the tank for 4 months. that's why i'm puzzled. they were fine, then suddenly i lost 3 in two weeks.

07/24/2006, 12:10 PM	#1
m3rcury Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Madison, WI Posts: 325	feeding snails i had 9 turbo snails and over the past 2 weeks, 3 have died. i suspect this may be from starvation. how would i feed the remaining snails so that i can avoid unnecessary deaths? my tank is a 40 breeder.

07/24/2006, 12:15 PM	#2
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	You could try placing some nori into the tank. The snails might eat that. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

07/24/2006, 12:49 PM	#4
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	Hmm, that's a lot of work. I'd just try putting some in the tank first. Otherwise, I'd give away the snails, but the refugium idea might be fine. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

07/24/2006, 12:52 PM	#5
angelsj247 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Joliet, IL Posts: 866	my snails kept dying because my nitrates were ranged 20-40. I finally got them to 0 and now they are all fine. Make sure your nitrates are down. __________________ 2 perc clownfish, 2 peppermint shrimp, astrea, turbo, & nassarius snails, 20 lbs Live Rock Current Tank Info: 20gal FOWLR

07/24/2006, 12:53 PM	#6
angelsj247 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Joliet, IL Posts: 866	9 might be to many for a 40 gal. also __________________ 2 perc clownfish, 2 peppermint shrimp, astrea, turbo, & nassarius snails, 20 lbs Live Rock Current Tank Info: 20gal FOWLR

07/24/2006, 12:21 PM	#3
m3rcury Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Madison, WI Posts: 325	how would i do that in such a way that my hermits and fish don't simply eat it all up? maybe take the turbos out of the main tank for a while and put them in my fuge with some nori?

07/24/2006, 12:54 PM	#7
jerehmy Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: san diego Posts: 511	do the snails hang out by the surface, I was told once that if the water is bad then they will die and hang out by the surface more Good Luck __________________ Fish are the best medecine for body and mind Current Tank Info: 55g, 40g, 29gx2, 60g, 10g African Cichlids (Breeders) 40g SW Reef with a 20g sump/refugium 75lbs prime LR Mag 9.5 SCWD and Remora skimmer, 2x96w PC's

07/24/2006, 01:13 PM	#8
m3rcury Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Madison, WI Posts: 325	my nitrates are a bit high - around 20ppm. i'm currently working on getting that down. no, they don't stay near the top of the water. they mostly stay in the sand during the day and then crawl the walls at night. moving them into the fuge would be easy - they are big, easy to catch, and almost always toward the front of the tank. there's only 6 left, so i'll try feeding them in the fuge. when you say nori, you just mean the sheets of nori they sell at the grocery store. right?

07/24/2006, 02:34 PM	#9
angelsj247 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Joliet, IL Posts: 866	yah the sheets. your nitrates may be the problem, snails are very sensitive to that. __________________ 2 perc clownfish, 2 peppermint shrimp, astrea, turbo, & nassarius snails, 20 lbs Live Rock Current Tank Info: 20gal FOWLR

07/24/2006, 03:53 PM	#10
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	I don't particularly believe that snails are sensitive to nitrate in that range. I've kept snails and not had problems with higher levels, and there's no evidence of nitrate toxicity that anyone has ever found in the literature. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

07/24/2006, 06:13 PM	#12
bsaastad Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Rancho Cordova, CA Posts: 275	You don't say how long these snails have been in your tank. Are they an established population that just started dying, or are they new? Just a thought, but if they are new, how were they acclimated? Their vascular systems are quite delicate and can easily rupture if not acclimated slowly. __________________ "The moment we want to believe something, we suddenly see all the arguments for it, and become blind to the arguments against it." -- George Bernard Shaw Current Tank Info: 52 gal reef, 17 gal sump, Radion gen 3 LEDs, Reef Octopus 150 skimmer

07/24/2006, 07:14 PM	#13
m3rcury Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Madison, WI Posts: 325	they have been in the tank for 4 months. that's why i'm puzzled. they were fine, then suddenly i lost 3 in two weeks.