Snail problem

[ZeRoC00l]

Got a snail for clearing my brown algae on the glass and sand... but it looks as if it's dying!!

When i got my first snail 2 wk ago, it dies just 2 days after. I thought becos my tank still very new, and there is 0.1 of NO2.

Now, my NO2 is 0. and the new one looks as if it's not going to make it for another day. It's been with me for less than a week...

Is there somthing wrong with my water cos my clown and damsel are not showing any signs of stress....

I can;t keep getting snail... kinda$$

Thank you

[hongqixian]

Copper??? High nitrates??? But your tank is new......

[derf]

check ur nitrate...

[ZeRoC00l]

Just checked

NO2 - 0.1ppm [ok rite?]

NO3 - 40mg/L [high???]

No other test kits...

[wedgee]

I have the same problem too, 3 snails have died, and i thot it was the acclimatisation (maybe i rushed), so now testing again with anither 3. My water tests turn out fine - negligible NO3... funny thing is, 3 hermits i bot 2 days ago are doing fine now. The snails seem to be stoned out once i put them in...they dont move an inch!

[tigershark]

read the instruction of your tester again.... i'm using sera NO3 tester, when the reading shows 40ppm, it must be re-test again with 10ml of distilled water + 10ml of the tank water.... and read the result again.... if your nitrate is only 40ppm, it is not likely to be the cause of the death of your snail.... snail is quite hardy.... my cowlie and turbo can survive eben at 60ppm..... but my boxing shrimp can't

[wedgee]

Me using Sera NO3 tester too, and to be honest, I HATE IT! So inaccurate; i always get the yellow color (unless the water is REAL BAD), and why so troublesome, have to use distilled water? Can RO water be used?

--- And if i test 20ml of tank water alone, and the result is in the yellow color zone, it means that the water has 0mg/L? Or do I have to use another approach (mixed tank and distilled) to get the reading down to a specific amt? How do u get ppm anyways? Issit equal to ?mg/L...

Me so confused by the test kit, unlike Aquamedic sets, which use color changes after certain no. of drops to calculate the KH...

Pls teach me, o' mighty pros...

[derf]

u've got a hermt too??? dun think hermt's mix well wif snails... the hermit's gonna murder ur snail b4 u know it for their shell...

[ZeRoC00l]

Erm. My friend hermit crab doing fine with his 2 snails.

Just can't understand why my snails died.

NO3 is 40ppm. [rechecked, dilute and tested again]

Finding other factors.. My brown algae is growing ALL over.. argh... any other natural methods to get rid of them??

[wedgee]

ZeroCool; me using all out attack against those damn 'brownies' - Raising my PH to optimum level, Using Phosguard, Using RO water for water changes, and 3 hermits who have scraped much of the liverock for the stuff (guess i got lucky to have algae-eaters)... I dont see much being done yet, but keeping my fingers crossed, hope to see results soon... U trying any measures dude?

BTW, can anyone answer my previous query regdg the test kits?

--> Me using Sera NO3 tester too, and to be honest, I HATE IT! So inaccurate; i always get the yellow color (unless the water is REAL BAD), and why so troublesome, have to use distilled water? Can RO water be used?

--- And if i test 20ml of tank water alone, and the result is in the yellow color zone, it means that the water has 0mg/L? Or do I have to use another approach (mixed tank and distilled) to get the reading down to a specific amt? How do u get ppm anyways? Issit equal to ?mg/L...

Me so confused by the test kit, unlike Aquamedic sets, which use color changes after certain no. of drops to calculate the KH...

Pls teach me, o' mighty pros...

[hongqixian]

Zero, it's the nitrates.

My snails died long ago. With the Sera kit I always get bright deep RED.

[Tanzy]

Theroretically DI water is advised because it is the purest, but realistically, even Singapore tap water is fine for dilution when you are measuring nitrate in the fish tank.

[derf]

damn! i shld hv read tis thread carefully b4 buying the nitrate test kit. i juz bot the sera one too!!!!

wedgee,

i've the same problems as u, the stupid test kit is so confusing. wif 20ml of tank water i got the lite brown color reading(the one after the yellow). i tried again using the diluted method, 10ml + 10ml, i got the yellow reading. so wat's the the nitrate level???? anyone can help???

[wedgee]

I dont know whether to laugh or cry when i read yr reply, DERF... Dono which silly idiot came up with such a confusing concept in the first place! Worst of all, there are ZERO instructions abt how to get the reading down to exact numbers, only dat stupid scale there...

PLS, ANYONE? HELP US!!!

[derf]

haha... i'm oso not sure if i shld laff or cry either... the 'instruction' onli tells u how to use it but does not teach u how to get the reading... some instruction!!! furthermore, it said to compare wif the chart, i was looking for the stupid chart til i realised the chart's printed on the 'instruction' manual too!!! tok abt cheap quality products!!!

[Achilles Tang]

Ahhh guys... I should have been in here earlier...

Did you know that snails and shrimps need to be acclimatized longer than fish?

That's because the way they osmoregulate themselves is very different from fish.

You have to take a longer time, maybe 25 to 30 mins to get them used to your tank water...

There are many factors that will shock them, especially salinity and temperature...

So pls don't just dump them inside your tank straight from the bag... you have to either drip or use the pour out old water, pour in tank water until it's almost all tank water.. then you release them into your tank.

In my newbie past, I bought like 3 or 4 cleaner shrimps and dumped them into my tank... to see them spasm and float down stiff and very much dead by the time they hit bottom.

Snails too.

[tigershark]

Me using Sera NO3 tester too, and to be honest, I HATE IT! So inaccurate; i always get the yellow color (unless the water is REAL BAD), and why so troublesome, have to use distilled water? Can RO water be used?

--- And if i test 20ml of tank water alone, and the result is in the yellow color zone, it means that the water has 0mg/L? Or do I have to use another approach (mixed tank and distilled) to get the reading down to a specific amt? How do u get ppm anyways? Issit equal to ?mg/L...

Me so confused by the test kit, unlike Aquamedic sets, which use color changes after certain no. of drops to calculate the KH...

Pls teach me, o' mighty pros...

not very sure but i think snail should be very hardy.... at least compare to shrimps.... when my nitrate reading was 80ppm.... my turbo still survive.... but my boxing shrimps RIP liao....