Adult Brigs keep dying

[jamesstill84]

So in the past 2 weeks I've lost 4 adult Brigs. The one that died this morning was fine last night. I came in this morning and she was hanging out of her shell and the shrimp were all over her. When I pulled her out, she was stiff. She wouldn't move at all. Prior to her, the male that I lost was staying locked up in his shell, but the baby MTS and RCS were still knocking on his door trying to get in. He stayed like that for around 3 days before he finally died.

In the same tank, I keep RCS, MTS, Ramshorns, Pond Snails, and baby Brigs. None of the other inhabitants are acting like this. They all still retain their bright colors, are very active, eat like no tomorrow, etc. I haven't lost any baby Brigs and it seemed to start with the largest and go down. I no longer have any brigs to lay clutches because of this.

This is a 30 gallon tank with a 55 gallon filter running with a sponge (I keep it turned down a bit). I keep up with gravel vacs and water changes. I dose with Prime when I add new water... It's moderately planted with DIY-CO2.

This tank has been going to several months without any problems.

Anyone have an idea what could be causing this?

[Reframer]

I always ask the same questions: are you sure there isn't any salt, do you have a water softener, copper pipes? I have some kind of heavy metals in my water and when I switched to prime from aquasafe, I lost my 2 snails. Then I switche dback to aquasafe and they have been fine ever since. This was because prime does not treat heavy metals.

[Hollygirl]

It is possible that you are starting out with bad stock? Where did you get the adults? I can never get a Petsmart adult Brigg to live past 6 months.

What kind of diet are you feeding? A varied diet with lots of fresh veggies helps, as well as calcium supplements.

[jamesstill84]

I always ask the same questions: are you sure there isn't any salt, do you have a water softener, copper pipes? I have some kind of heavy metals in my water and when I switched to prime from aquasafe, I lost my 2 snails. Then I switche dback to aquasafe and they have been fine ever since. This was because prime does not treat heavy metals.

I don't add any salt what-so-ever to the water. We don't have copper pipes. I use both AquaSafe and Prime, although I tend to favor Prime more. I don't use a water softener. I add calcium to the water with calcium tablets, and add it to the snail jello that I feed them.

[Reframer]

What kind of calcium do you use, are you sure it doesn't have anything else in it?

[jamesstill84]

It is possible that you are starting out with bad stock? Where did you get the adults? I can never get a Petsmart adult Brigg to live past 6 months.

What kind of diet are you feeding? A varied diet with lots of fresh veggies helps, as well as calcium supplements.

The first brig that died did come from Meijer, so I didn't think too much about it. However, the next one that died was my largest female and I've had her over a year (she survived the ice storm in 56 degree water for 2 days). She was a trooper! I haven't purchased any PetSmart brigs.

I feed them snail jello made from either vegetable medley or fruit medley baby food + fish food + various herbs + calcium tablets. They've been eating this for over 8 months without any bad reactions. I also throw in some zucchini from time to time.

[jamesstill84]

What kind of calcium do you use, are you sure it doesn't have anything else in it?

I use regular Calcium supplements for humans. It's only calcium. All of their shells are fantastic. My dwarf crays shovel it in their mouths when I put some in their tank.

[msjinkzd]

how much are your pest snails and shrimp harassing them?

[jamesstill84]

how much are your pest snails and shrimp harassing them?

Normally, I will see them casually graze across the shells and don't bother the actual snail. But this morning when I found my last adult, they were literally all over her. The male that kept himself locked up was pestered for 3 days. I've only recently noticed them doing this...

[msjinkzd]

I noticed when I tried to house bridgesii in a tank of shrimp that was getting really high on teh stockign end for shrimp, the shrimp would graze so much on the bridgesii that they would stop feeding and die. Not sure if that is what is happening here. What is your tank temp?

[Reframer]

I ask about the calcium, because one time I was going to put some in snail jello and I saw in tiny print on the label that it had copper in it.
Well, I see 2 options. One is that you could put what you have in an isolation tank and keep very clean water for awhile with good food and see what happens. The other is to buy high quality stock form the vendors here.

[jamesstill84]

I keep the temp around 76-77. My shrimp population is starting to get large. I've got approx. 50 or 60 in there now. I had 2 other smaller blue brigs in there and they seemed to be fine, but i moved them to my 55 gal.

[jamesstill84]

I do plan to buy from Rachel again soon, I'm just waiting on the right moment to tell the wife (last time, she got the brigs from Rachel & I was left without..lol). :)

[Reframer]

lol, did you see what she got in today, maybe get some of those babies!

[jamesstill84]

No, I haven't seen them yet. I didn't think she was going to post pics until tomorrow... I'll have to go check it out!

[BettaFishMommy]

the three snails i have had pass away were veeerrrryyy prolific breeders, lol. i could have a clutch appear every few days for a good time stretch with two females and two males in the tank. i now have only one female of the 4 left, and funny thing is, she's the oldest of the bunch.

isn't it true that some creatures that breed often and have many offspring throughout it's life will have a shorter lifespan due to the extra stresses of reproduction? might apply to my passed shellkids and to yours?

[jamesstill84]

That would explain why the 2 females died, but not the male. If anything, he would've still been looking for more.. ;)

[BettaFishMommy]

i would think that the males would have extra stresses from mating often as well, and that might result in a shorter life span. it is a lot of energy put out, even if the male is not the one laying the eggs.

it is possible that your snails were not cared for properly prior to you having them, and that would certainly shorten their life spans.