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suicidal turbo snails?


zaichotic

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im in month 2 of my cycle, all parameters are good. perfect even. ive had my turbo snails in there since week 2. lately, my snails have been slowly extracting themselves from their shells. happened to 2 of my snails already. maybe around 5 days apart. is there something wrong with my tank or turbos just normally do that??

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Did you see any hermit crabs waving dollar bills.lol( sorry couldnt help it) I have never seen them do that but I have never had much luck with turbos(either hermits or fish getting them) I go with trochus snails cooler looking and way better cleaners in my exp.

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There shouldn't be a snail in your tank at all if you are still in a cycle. Anything you ad just makes the cycle longer and longer.

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Are you really still in cycle? You say your params are good but what are they? Is there enough to eat in your tank?

 

I have no experience with turbo snails but I'll ditto the comment to add trochus snails instead. I have 3 and they are awesome!

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...all parameters are good. perfect even... is there something wrong with my tank or turbos just normally do that??

Snails do not normally do that, so something is definitely wrong. Any chance of copper contamination?

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Captain Hook

I agree it could be a food problem...turbos need alot of fuel and get pretty big. Super tongan nassarius are cool snails, however astrea are great for algae...never had a trocus in my tank but they sound good too. Not sure why they would come out of theirt shells from no food tho....hmmm

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I have turbo snails. and they dont remove them selfs from there shells. do u have crabs in there at all? or a shrimp? either way you should do some tests and post results here. so we can all help you discover whats going on with your tank.

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Maybe a picture of them doing it? Sometimes when mine is reaching for another rock with a gap in between, you can see above his head/ under and inside it's she'll. I guess it sort I looks like he's trying to peel himself out.

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There shouldn't be a snail in your tank at all if you are still in a cycle. Anything you ad just makes the cycle longer and longer.

 

 

yeah, unfortunately my LFS said i should add snails during the cycle so that's what i did.

 

Are you really still in cycle? You say your params are good but what are they? Is there enough to eat in your tank?

 

I have no experience with turbo snails but I'll ditto the comment to add trochus snails instead. I have 3 and they are awesome!

 

 

ammonia: 0

nitrite: 0

nitrate 0

ph: 8.2

specific gravity: 1.023

 

 

what do you mean by "is there enough to eat?" i have diatoms in the tank if that's what you mean. or should i be feeding them something else? sorry, total noob.

 

Snails do not normally do that, so something is definitely wrong. Any chance of copper contamination?

 

 

hmm. idk? how would i find out if it is?

 

Maybe a picture of them doing it? Sometimes when mine is reaching for another rock with a gap in between, you can see above his head/ under and inside it's she'll. I guess it sort I looks like he's trying to peel himself out.

 

 

yeah i know what youre talking about. ive seen them do that. but no i dont catch them doing it. i just find the shell with its flesh laying beside it. dead. obviously. lol.

 

oh wait. i just realized, i did my initial water change a few days before this started happening. could this have been a factor??

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There are copper test kits, but I wouldn't go buy one just yet. What is your source water and how are you treating it?

 

 

i buy my water from the LFS.

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Captain Hook

LFS is one of the worst possible sources for water. They could be selling you tap water and claim its RODI but unless you watch them prepare the batch.....I used LFS water onetime and immediately after I got cyano, and had never had it in my tank prior.

 

Most CUC dont really eat diatoms that well, especially if there is another food source. Since your tank is still new, I wouldnt add anything with the intent it will eat the diatoms. They may have came out of their shells due to some ammount of stress from water parameters. Adding and removing things from your system as well as shifting rocks can cause a change in your systems stability and nutrient buffering capacity.

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Recap:

  1. Started cycle 2 months ago.
  2. Added turbo snails at 2 weeks.
  3. Performed initial water change with LFS water.
  4. Snail died about a week ago.
  5. Snail died a couple days ago.
  6. Currently perfect parameters.

 

Does this look right to you?

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Are you really still in cycle? You say your params are good but what are they? Is there enough to eat in your tank?

 

I have no experience with turbo snails but I'll ditto the comment to add trochus snails instead. I have 3 and they are awesome!

 

I know this is off topic, but I thought I'd chime in and say that I also prefer trochus over turbos these days. IMO, they clean about the same, but what I really like about trochus is that they can flip themselves back over if they fall.

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I know this is off topic, but I thought I'd chime in and say that I also prefer trochus over turbos these days. IMO, they clean about the same, but what I really like about trochus is that they can flip themselves back over if they fall.

 

I'll chime in as well. Trochus and Cerith snails are simply my favorite. I need the ceriths for the health of my deep sand bed, and I need the trochus for clean glass. Other snails could clean the glass, but margarites aren't that interesting, astraeas can't flip over, and turbos are well known for knocking things over. Trochus can take awhile to finally right themselves, but eventually it happens. I like to keep a few nerites and strombus grazers as well, for different reasons, but except for that, it's all trochus and cerith.

 

That said, I do believe turbos eat more than any other snail out there. I think that's how they got their name. ;)

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Recap:
  1. Started cycle 2 months ago.
  2. Added turbo snails at 2 weeks.
  3. Performed initial water change with LFS water.
  4. Snail died about a week ago.
  5. Snail died a couple days ago.
  6. Currently perfect parameters.

 

Does this look right to you?

 

To the tee

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Buy your own salt mix and RO/DI water and do the biggest change you're prepared to handle (50% would be good). If you really want control over your tank buy yourself an RODI system like a SpectraPure. LFS water could have any number of contaminants or toxins that you can't test for. Don't add anything else until your snails stop dying and try adding a pellet or two every 2 or 3 days to give them something to clean up.

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I wonder if there are any LFS out there that just hand out their own dirty tank water and keep the fresh batch for themselves. :D Let us hope not.

 

Must be an internal parasite. Nobody's fault, just buy more!

guy_with_opinions.gif {whistling innocently}

 

More seriously, at this point it's pretty hard to tell. A couple dead snails a couple weeks after being introduced too early, could mean very little. It's my personal belief that snails regularly receive abuse during collection, transport, and retail. This is why I always keep at least one hermit. Snails... the "other" aquarium food.

 

I wouldn't be too quick to assume it's the LFS water, but banshee is right, you should have control over your own water and make it yourself. Then at least if you do have a problem, it'll be easier to determine where it is coming from. Not to mention, you'll save money in the long run.

 

I once heard a story of a hobbyist who had their open top mixing bucket in their basement. As with many basements, there were pipes that ran along the ceiling. Some of these pipes were copper. Occasionally, they would sweat. Test kits are really only good for a year and it's not often most of us ever need to test for copper. All they had to do was add a lid to their mixing bucket, problem solved. But how long do suppose it took for all the kings horses and all the kings men to figure it out? :)

 

Try another snail. Maybe a cheaper one. See if it dies right away. Sorry, but that's ultimately a more reliable test than any single test kit, and I'm betting it'll do just fine. Two dead snails is not the end of the hobby, it's the beginning. ;)

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doppelganger

did you acclimatize the snails properly? I only ask cuz one time I just dumped a few snails in cuz I was lazy (don't do it btw...) and they eventually died. Not right away, but after a few weeks or so. Every other snail I've added properly is fine.

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Most CUC dont really eat diatoms that well

 

My dwarf ceriths and nerite eat diatoms. It's other kinds of algae they don't eat.

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I had some snails do this, and turns out.. my heater was dead. Whats your temps?

 

temps are good. ranging from 79-80

 

I wonder if there are any LFS out there that just hand out their own dirty tank water and keep the fresh batch for themselves. :D Let us hope not.

 

Must be an internal parasite. Nobody's fault, just buy more!

guy_with_opinions.gif {whistling innocently}

 

More seriously, at this point it's pretty hard to tell. A couple dead snails a couple weeks after being introduced too early, could mean very little. It's my personal belief that snails regularly receive abuse during collection, transport, and retail. This is why I always keep at least one hermit. Snails... the "other" aquarium food.

 

I wouldn't be too quick to assume it's the LFS water, but banshee is right, you should have control over your own water and make it yourself. Then at least if you do have a problem, it'll be easier to determine where it is coming from. Not to mention, you'll save money in the long run.

 

I once heard a story of a hobbyist who had their open top mixing bucket in their basement. As with many basements, there were pipes that ran along the ceiling. Some of these pipes were copper. Occasionally, they would sweat. Test kits are really only good for a year and it's not often most of us ever need to test for copper. All they had to do was add a lid to their mixing bucket, problem solved. But how long do suppose it took for all the kings horses and all the kings men to figure it out? :)

 

Try another snail. Maybe a cheaper one. See if it dies right away. Sorry, but that's ultimately a more reliable test than any single test kit, and I'm betting it'll do just fine. Two dead snails is not the end of the hobby, it's the beginning. ;)

 

 

i think my other snail's dying. there's definitely something wrong. :/

 

did you acclimatize the snails properly? I only ask cuz one time I just dumped a few snails in cuz I was lazy (don't do it btw...) and they eventually died. Not right away, but after a few weeks or so. Every other snail I've added properly is fine.

 

did the floating method of acclimation. for about 2 hours.

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Well, just a few possibilities then.

 

  1. Inaccurate ammonia test, actually toxic.
  2. Snails in poor health due to prior stressors, coincidence.
  3. Water change water was actually toxic.
  4. Contamination from some other source.
  5. Other?

 

Time to tell us a little about your tank. What is it and where did you get it? What kind of substrate are you using and how much?

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Well, just a few possibilities then.

 

  1. Inaccurate ammonia test, actually toxic.
  2. Snails in poor health due to prior stressors, coincidence.
  3. Water change water was actually toxic.
  4. Contamination from some other source.
  5. Other?

 

Time to tell us a little about your tank. What is it and where did you get it? What kind of substrate are you using and how much?

 

It's a brand new marineland eclipse 12. It's an AIO. I know it's not meant for an elaborate saltwater tank but my LFS said it could stand as a FOWLR tank.

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