Dead snail and a Dormant Snail

[tomm10]

I posted this over in the freshwater forum but it was suggested I post over here instead. I apologize for posting in two different forums.

I introduced two snails to my 10 gal tank last week. The gold inca snail and the ramshorn both took to the tank pretty well and pretty quickly. They explored the tank, they were eating and even though the tank was showing slightly high nitrites (the snails only dealt wih those for two days) they looked to be adapting well to the tank.

After a few days I noticed the gold snail acting strange by floating to the surface and spending almost all of his time on the glass at the surface near the filter. I posted about it and was reassured that it was pretty normal activity.

The gold snail died yesterday so while that behavior could have been normal, he was definitely not well.

I would take this in stride if it weren't for the fact that the ramshorn is not acting well now either. He has withdrawn into his shell and not come out or moved for three days. I keep checking him to see if he's alive by poking him with net gently. He doesn't move so I net him and pull him out of the tank. As soon as I do he withdraws further into his shell so I replace him into the tank.

Any ideas as to what is wrong with these guys? My levels of ammonia and nitrite have been at 0 for almost a week and the nitrates are under 15.

[MrGoodbytes]

Your tapwater might have heavy metals in it like copper. Are you using RO water for your tank, because if that is the case it's coming from somewhere else? However, I would generally think that heavy metal would kill the snails rather quickly.

Do you have any other invertebrates in your tank to compare to?]

Sorry I can only make a guess,

Graeme

[tomm10]

Thanks for the reply! This is apparently a stumper ;)

My tap water is from a well but there are, of course, copper pipes in the house so this is a possibility. The only other invertebrates I have are four ghost shrimp that are going on day 6 in the tank. They are doing fine.

My Ramshorn is not yet dead. He still just sits in his shell without moving much at all. I figured if it was a water quality problem he would be dead already.

Do you have any ideas as to how I can determine whether or not there are heavy metals in the water? Is there some way to remove the metals without RO (I don't have the money for that)?

I do treat my water with a dechlorinator that claims to remove metals ( I realize that can't truly be done chemically)

[MrGoodbytes]

You could call your water utility company (lol sounds like Monopoly) and ask them for a report or a chemical analysis, not sure what it's called.

You might be able to remove it with a deionization filter if you can't go with RO. If you want to keep it alive, try acclimating it to some distilled water and see if the problem persists.

It sounds like it may be copper (I can't think of anything else), but since your shrimp are doing fine it this may not be the case. Does anyone else know if shrimp have a higher tolerance to heavy metal poisoning than snails?

Graeme

[Wazzucycler]

Originally posted by MrGoodbytes
Does anyone else know if shrimp have a higher tolerance to heavy metal poisoning than snails?

Graeme [/B]

I too had a similar problem. I put a snail in my 10gallon and it seemed to be doing great for a few days. Within a week it wasnt doing as well and eventually died. I too have a few ghost shrimp in my tank and they are doing great. I am currently using tap water that has been filtered by a Brita and then dechlorinater is used as well. I may switch to using destilled water instead, but I have heard that metals stick to your substrate and cant be removed, thus requiring replacement of the substrate. I am assuming I have some metals getting into my tank as the water coming out of the pipes isnt the tastiest in the world and requires traveling to the fifth floor before I get it. I really dont want to replace the substrate as everything else is thriving. So I have given up on the snails, but am still curious on this subject.

Jeff

[MrGoodbytes]

I will keep an eye on this post to see if anyone else has any ideas. I too am interested to know what the real problem is.

[Captain Hook]

I don't know much about snails but could it be lack of food?

OT: MrGoodbytes u need to clear out some PMs. The ones you have sent are taking up room too so click by the inbox dropdown and u will see sent items.

[Wazzucycler]

Originally posted by Captain Hook
I don't know much about snails but could it be lack of food?


I am pretty sure my snail loss wasnt due to a lack of food. It had its choice of excess flake food and frozen brine shrimp along with algaes and what not. I know all the levels of my tank were fine as well, dont recall anything in particular as it was a while ago, but nothing that would catch my eye. It acclimated well and what not. Why is it that the hitchhiker snails on live plants survive so well but if you want a specific snail it dies????? :confused: Oh well.

[tomm10]

I know mine didn't pass on due to lack of food. I had been over feeding. I'm doing better with that now but they are still nowhere near undernourished.

I got a black mystery snail a little over a week ago. He's showing the same behavior patterns as the last gold snail. He floats but isn't dead. This is after a few days of being very active.

I guess it could be metals but I would think that would have killed him as well as the ramshorn rather quickly. They both, however, are clinging to life. Also, my ghost shrimp are doing great so the argument that the water is intolerable to invertebrates doesn't hold...water ;)

I'm really at a loss for what's wrong. The fish are doing fine. My levels are both within healthy limits and very steady.

Also, last night I counted 6 very small snails that I can only assume are MTS. They are probably only .25" long and seem to be nocturnal. I've noticed them for about four days now. I'm figuring they hitched a ride on wisteria that I bought about a week and a half ago.

:confused:

[MrGoodbytes]

That's really bizzare....

Maybe you should cut your losses and not get anymore snails (you have chosen), and stick with what lives now.

Thanks for the tip CaptainHook, I will do that now,

Graeme

[tomm10]

Oh, I am most certainly done with the snails now until I can find out what is wrong. The only reason I bought the mystery snail was that the first two were purchased at a petco. I thought they might have been sick to start. The Mystery was bought from a trusted LFS.

Maybe at some point I'll get the water tested more thoroughly.