Snails dying

[hrdneglcry]

Not sure what is going on. I have had my 120 up for maybe 8 months maybe 10. Recently my snails have been dying. I tested ammonia and its zero. I did have a problem with some "reef safe" medication a while back that killed a lot of my crabs. I was using Melafix and Pimafx so they could have been the cause. But Rally Pro is supposed to be invert and coral safe. I read another post where a guy said it wiped out half of his crabs. But that was quite awhile ago I used it. Crabs aren't dying. Water has been changed. These are Mexican Turbos dying. Also my Trochus snail died. I just did a big water change. Just in case. Any ideas? They could have fallen. I found one on its back. I righted it and it went to the glass but it died a few hours later. The one I saw in the back is in its back also. I read Trochus snails sometimes can have trouble getting off their backs even though usually that is not a problem.

 

[kharmaguru]

Chemical additives for sure can wipe out snails but I don't know specifically about the ones you mentioned.

Snails are particularly sensitive to salinity swings and high nitrates. EIther of those happened or happening?

 

[JohnL]

Chemical additives for sure can wipe out snails but I don't know specifically about the ones you mentioned.

Snails are particularly sensitive to salinity swings and high nitrates. EIther of those happened or happening?

This ^^ plus... are they starving?

 

[Noah_Reefing]

mabye starvation

 

[hrdneglcry]

Omg thank you. I have algae all over my glass. But they don't seem to get it off. Probably starving. Algae wafers at night after lights are off?

 

[kharmaguru]

Omg thank you. I have algae all over my glass. But they don't seem to get it off. Probably starving. Algae wafers at night after lights are off?

Like film or hair algae? That's snail food.

 

[JohnL]

I did have a problem with some "reef safe" medication a while back that killed a lot of my crabs. I was using Melafix and Pimafx so they could have been the cause. But Rally Pro is supposed to be invert and coral safe.

My guess is this is the root cause.

 

[hrdneglcry]

I have green algae all over a nice rock by the top. The two sides of the tank have a greenish tint. I am constantly scraping them . The back of the tank I rarely can get to so there is always some kind if algae there. No hair algae though. I did do a 25 gallon water change just in case something in the water was the cause.

 

[FunkieReefJunkie]

I’d run some poly-bio marine to remove anything left in the water. Snails can also die with high magnesium which probably isn’t the cause but I’ll put that out there.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Besides the possible chemical issue, it sounds like your snails and algae aren't a good match. That's why it's important to diversify your snail crew. Try some other snail species to see if they like your algae. Snails that reproduce in your tank are the way to go. Their population can self-adjust to match algae growth. Cerith Snails do this, so you may want to try them.

If you have hermit crabs consider removing them. They kill snails to get their shells, and they aren't near as good for algae control. Once they get a taste of fish food, they lose interest in algae. Conversely, if you really love hermits, try diversifying them and get rid of the snails.