jabeuy Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 Ok, so I've lost about 5 or 6 trochus snails over the past month. I've just been seeing empty shells on the sandbed. I've also recently been having some cyano issues and slight GHA problems (don't notice until you really inspect), making me think the rise is nutrients is caused by the dead snails. At first I thought it was my hermit crab killing them, but an hour after I tossed it in my back chambers, I see my cleaner shrimp feasting on a dead snail. Wrongfully accused and thrown in jail! It's not an acclimation issue either. All of these snails come from my original batch of 3 I started with 8 months ago. Almost all were born in the tank. The only thing that changed, was that I started dosing 2-part about a month ago. But now alk is steady at about 8. Any ideas or theories as to what's going on? Link to comment
amphipod Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Could be some parasites, also maybe a hitchhiker you don't see, what all lives in the tank? There was this one time I had hundreds of ramshorn snails in freshwater, I added Malaysian trumpet snails and strangely nearly every ramshorn died over several weeks in all my tanks, not just the tank I put the trumpets in, I thought that was freaky. I now have about 2 ramshorn snails in only one tank to my knowledge. Link to comment
ajmckay Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 It seems like a bit of a coincedence but do you know how old they are ? Could just be dying due to age and wearing out... Alternately, have you had any large fluctuations in salinity or temp? I'm not sure how starting a dosing schedule for 2 part would cause issues.... I don't think it would. Sorry can't really help too much... Link to comment
jabeuy Posted March 20, 2015 Author Share Posted March 20, 2015 It seems like a bit of a coincedence but do you know how old they are ? Could just be dying due to age and wearing out... Alternately, have you had any large fluctuations in salinity or temp? I'm not sure how starting a dosing schedule for 2 part would cause issues.... I don't think it would. Sorry can't really help too much... Hmmm...most aren't very old. I originally got 3 big trochus. 2 of them are still alive, so the ones dying are their children, no more than 6 months old. Link to comment
Dramad1 Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 ^^this, or what kinda of fish are in the tank? My wrasse loves to eat snails. Link to comment
clownfitch Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Something is munching them. other snails, fish, or crabs Link to comment
amphipod Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 I'm thinking more disease than other animals eating them Link to comment
jabeuy Posted March 21, 2015 Author Share Posted March 21, 2015 Thanks for the input guys. I've got a yellow tang, clowns and a 6-line wrasse. As for lack of food, I've got lots of algae lol. Brown "hairy" stuff on sand and some tips of rock, and cyano too! And I'm still needing to clean the glass about once a week so there's food there Link to comment
amphipod Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 Only little ones are dying? Link to comment
Maniu Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 Have you been dosing magnesium? Other possibilities are copper, starvation (try dry seaweed. I know you have some home grown algae but it's worth a try), pyramidellids (hard to spot as these are nocturnal ninjas). Link to comment
ndrobey Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 Did you make any changes to your plumbing when you started dosing? Any other inverts effected? Link to comment
Cencalfishguy56 Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 How long have you had your 6-line? He could be eating them Link to comment
jabeuy Posted March 21, 2015 Author Share Posted March 21, 2015 Only little ones are dying?Nope, it's the mid size ones. In between the adults and tiny babies. Have you been dosing magnesium? Other possibilities are copper, starvation (try dry seaweed. I know you have some home grown algae but it's worth a try), pyramidellids (hard to spot as these are nocturnal ninjas). Thanks, gonna look into the pyramidellid snails. No mg or copper. Did you make any changes to your plumbing when you started dosing? Any other inverts effected?No plumbing changes, but thinking along the same lines, I did DIY a media rack made of plexiglass that I put together using Two Little Fishies glue (just to be safer lol). No other inverts affected, seems to be solely the trochus. How long have you had your 6-line? He could be eating them Had the wrasse for 4 months now. Thanks for the suggestions everybody! So far it doesn't seem like I lost any more snails. Just that short concentrated period where most deaths occurred. I'll keep an eye on it. Link to comment
amphipod Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 Unusual, are the babies growing just fine? Link to comment
ndrobey Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 The only other thing I can think of is that the snails that died were inbred and had a fatal gene. Link to comment
Polarcollision Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 There's a polyclad flatworm that eats snails. I was loosing them left and right in my very first tank. Only saw the flatworm once in an entire year, but it was HUGE - 6" long, 2" wide. Link to comment
jack1978 Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 There's a polyclad flatworm that eats snails. I was loosing them left and right in my very first tank. Only saw the flatworm once in an entire year, but it was HUGE - 6" long, 2" wide. Not sure why.......but worms give me the creeps. Link to comment
nidding Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 What are you measuring your salinity with? I had a miscallibrated refractometer which caused a low salinity. Snails were dying left and right, but since I got it corrected they are fine. Link to comment
jabeuy Posted March 21, 2015 Author Share Posted March 21, 2015 Unusual, are the babies growing just fine?Just fine, I have a steady supply of trochus There's a polyclad flatworm that eats snails. I was loosing them left and right in my very first tank. Only saw the flatworm once in an entire year, but it was HUGE - 6" long, 2" wide.Wow thanks, this might be it! I've seen at least 2 hiding within the rock and 1 under a frag plug before. I'm gonna have to pull 'em out whenever I see them again. What are you measuring your salinity with? I had a miscallibrated refractometer which caused a low salinity. Snails were dying left and right, but since I got it corrected they are fine.Measuring with refractometer. Luckily I just picked up some calibration solution the other day too Link to comment
nidding Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 Just fine, I have a steady supply of trochus Wow thanks, this might be it! I've seen at least 2 hiding within the rock and 1 under a frag plug before. I'm gonna have to pull 'em out whenever I see them again. Measuring with refractometer. Luckily I just picked up some calibration solution the other day too Good to rule that out. I must admit to having felt a little dumb when I stood there with a regular snail cemetery and realised what silly mistake I had made Link to comment
amphipod Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 Just fine, I have a steady supply of trochus Wow thanks, this might be it! I've seen at least 2 hiding within the rock and 1 under a frag plug before. I'm gonna have to pull 'em out whenever I see them again. Measuring with refractometer. Luckily I just picked up some calibration solution the other day too before you pluck the polyclads read this so the decision is a little more informed. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycladida as you can see some groups of them can be fierce to clams especially. But since you have only lost snails of a particular size range/generation over a shorter period of time and yet all the other snails are fine leaves me with hints of doubt of the wormsEating the snails Eol.org is something I often use to get pics of some species Link to comment
jabeuy Posted March 21, 2015 Author Share Posted March 21, 2015 before you pluck the polyclads read this so the decision is a little more informed. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycladida as you can see some groups of them can be fierce to clams especially. But since you have only lost snails of a particular size range/generation over a shorter period of time and yet all the other snails are fine leaves me with hints of doubt of the worms Eating the snails Eol.org is something I often use to get pics of some species Thanks for the links! The Eol site looks like it'll serve a lot of use in the years to come Link to comment
Polarcollision Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 Just fine, I have a steady supply of trochus Wow thanks, this might be it! I've seen at least 2 hiding within the rock and 1 under a frag plug before. I'm gonna have to pull 'em out whenever I see them again. Measuring with refractometer. Luckily I just picked up some calibration solution the other day too Does it look anything like this? I grabbed it with tongs, but only got half of it. They regenerate apparently. Link to comment
jabeuy Posted March 21, 2015 Author Share Posted March 21, 2015 Does it look anything like this? I grabbed it with tongs, but only got half of it. They regenerate apparently. That's the one! Hahaha Really sticky too, it just didn't wanna come off the plug it stuck to when I 1st saw it. I was wearing gloves and really had to peel it off. Link to comment
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