Hope they pull through..this situation with your tank is at the very least a learning experience for everyone here.
Water frustrations... more apple snails, same problem!
- Thread starter Chickadee
- Start date
On the applesnail forum it was suggested that the terra cotta pot might have absorbed something. I had that in an old snail tank. No meds were used in that tank but I did fertilize the plants once and it made a mess all over (noob, didn't realize what I was doing.) So I just took that out of the tank. She also said that high pH can make snails slime. I'm going to get some RO water today and mix that in to bring the pH down.
what is your ph? don't do any adjusting without knowing that parameter.
all my snails i raised in water with a ph of 7.8 without any issue at all, and my water is hard enough to leave water spots on dishes that air dry. fish nerds here say the water we have is perfect for african cichlids due to it's hardness. you don't want the ph too low because that can cause shell issues (soft water isn't good for snails).
i've also used ferts in my tanks with apple snails, and dosed more than i should have (oops! lol). no issues at all, no sliming. since you've done all these water changes, and removed the terra cotta, i don't see much for residual ferts bugging the snail at this point.
edited to add: the ferts i've used have been Flourish and API Leafzone (i think? it's been a while).
all my snails i raised in water with a ph of 7.8 without any issue at all, and my water is hard enough to leave water spots on dishes that air dry. fish nerds here say the water we have is perfect for african cichlids due to it's hardness. you don't want the ph too low because that can cause shell issues (soft water isn't good for snails).
i've also used ferts in my tanks with apple snails, and dosed more than i should have (oops! lol). no issues at all, no sliming. since you've done all these water changes, and removed the terra cotta, i don't see much for residual ferts bugging the snail at this point.
edited to add: the ferts i've used have been Flourish and API Leafzone (i think? it's been a while).
The pH is 8.2. In the past I've gotten readings of 8.4. The RO water only brings it down a tad and I'm doing it gradually. So are you saying it would be harmful to bring the pH down a bit? Since the tank visit yesterday she's really been sliming and hasn't moved much at all. I don't think she's going to last much longer unless I try something. As for plant ferts, I had used one with iron and it leeched all over the tank. My golden snail's shell was permanently stained from it. I was chastised pretty harshly by a few forum people for doing that.
API leafzone has chelated iron in it, and i had no ill effect on my snails while using it.
i personally would not change the ph, but i'm one of those people that doesn't mess with ph at all. never had an issue with any fish or inverts in my tanks.
i personally would not change the ph, but i'm one of those people that doesn't mess with ph at all. never had an issue with any fish or inverts in my tanks.
I'm just grasping at straws here but trying to come up with something to help you. You wouldn't happen to live in a house with a lot of copper pipes would you? I am not even sure how much copper could leach into your water but just a thought.
Does anyone know if copper pipes could leach enough into your water to cause issues with snails or am I really out there on this one?
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Does anyone know if copper pipes could leach enough into your water to cause issues with snails or am I really out there on this one?
Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
