question

[superjalami30]

I have a goldie tank thats been established for two years now.
In the beginning I had all the usual problems for a "beginner".
Now that things are goin well I still have one small problem.

I cant keep a snail alive if my life counted on it!!!!!
My first one lived approx 6 months, the rest havent lasted nearly as long.
Every time I buy a nice little mystery snail it dies within days, if not hours of putting it in the tank.

I did an experiment awhile back.
I bought 3 mystery snails, housed them in my 40 gallon planted tropical tank (to clean up all the leaf litter) and they did fine.
They were in the tank only a few days and had eaten nearly all the dead stuff and started in on my live stuff, so I decided it was time to start my experiment.
I put each snail in a different tank, including one in the goldie tank.
The two in the other tanks are still alive.
You can guess what happened to the third in the goldie tank!!!

Tank specs are fine.
ammonia-0
nitrite-0
nitrate-0
water temps are pretty much the same as my tropical setups, its hot here in the summer, mind you I'm able to keep the goldie tank around 72-74.
I did climatize the snail before putting him in the goldie tank.

This also happened to a plec just a week ago or so.
He was in the tank for 3-4 days and **poof**..dead.
(I know, I know....plecs/goldies are "apparently a no no, it was actually 'sposed to be temporarily in with them, just not temp alive)

Could it be something parasitic that the goldies are resistant too for one reason or another?
I treat the tank with melafix and pimafix regularily as a preventive, so I'm almost sure its not a parasitic problem.

I'm stumped.

 

[Sandusky]

Melefix and the Primafix are your problem right there. For some reason plecos cannot take the normal doeses, 1/2-1/3 is fine but one full dose knocks them off. I have a feeling this is also true for snails, that or it's just the place you buy them. I went to a (not so good) mall store and bought an apple, he died the next day, no idea what happened. Then I went back into my journal and checked what I used, salt. It might be true for aquatic snails, salt the snail and he'll fail to trail. I just gave up on snails entirely except in my warmer betta tanks.

Snails are awkward to me, I don't know much else about them. Try doing some more research on an invertibrate forum?

 

[superjalami30]

I cant see it being the melafix and pima fix.
I use that in all my tanks, which house plecs and snails of one sort or the other if not both and had no problems with them.
I also use it on my clawed frog with no ill effects, I'm pretty sure its what saved its life actually.
Its just this one tank I'm having problems with.
I'm thinking theres a strand of bacteria in there that is resistant to mela/pimafix and the goldies have become resistant to it.
I used to have my clawed frog in with my goldies for over a year, until its recent escape and subsequent attack via my cat.
(reference from above about pima/melafix saving my frog)
The time my clawed frog spent in that tank had no ill effects on him either.
Just those damn snails and plecs.


Ya think my goldies are maybe eatin 'em?

 

[sylvia]

Are you sure those parameters are correct? Unless this is a heavily plated tank (unlikely with goldies), and hopefuly a big one at that (considering it's plural goldfish ), it's impossible for you to have 0 nitrAtes. Check your parameters again and post the results. It may be old tank syndrome. I don't know how this affects snails but it could deffinately have killed the plec.
Do you use salt in this tank? The snails commonly kept in aquariums actualy have quite a surprisingly high tolerance for salt but it can still kill them and most plecs can't deal with it either.
What kind of plec was it (may help indicate problem)?
Have you recently treated for ich or velvet? Certain things in most meds of this type can kill snails and also negatively affect plecs if used at full dosage.

 

[superjalami30]

I use phosban and algone in my goldie tank, both absorb nitrates.
I also use "prime" as my water condintioner, which also detoxifies nitrates, along with ammonia and nitrite.
The nitrate levels are at 0, at least thats what my aquarium pharm. test kit tells me.
Bright yellow=0ppm?
'Bout the nitrate killing the plec, i dunno.
This plec "was" housed in a 40g planted that I "add" nitrates too, (KN03) for a few months, the KN03 was being added for a month before I rehoused him in my goldie tank.

I do use salt in my goldie tank, would that kill a plec in 3 days? probably right?

That may be the problem then, with the snails as well.

However, I have kept a snail for at least 6 months before it died in my goldy tank.
And my other unplanted tanks I have I use salt and the snails havent died.


The plec was a common plec, 'bout 5 inches long.

As for med's.
I dont use anything other than pimafix and melafix, unless absolutly needed.

Remember I had a frog with my goldies, no meds ever used in the goldie tank, cept mela/pimafix.
I havent treated a tank with "harsh" meds in a long time.

**my goldie tank "was" quite heavily planted with crypts, val, duckweed, and annubius awhile ago, but have since took all of it out.
Those goldie sure love that duckweed dont they.

 

[squeeker]

What's your tank's pH and hardness readings? This has a huge impact on snail health.

Also, your goldfish could be picking on your snails and stressing them out.

I have also heard that mela/pimafix are toxic to snails.

 

[vantgE]

Maybe the snails died of lack of food in a goldie tank, and the pleco is just a coincidence stress from the move?