Something Has Killed My Trumpet Snails

[Alm0stAwesome]

Hello All!

I've got a mystery on my hands here. My trumpet snails have disappeared and I'm hoping you guys can tell me why! As of a couple of weeks ago there were LOADS of babies in the tank along with the adults that I already had. However I haven't seen the adults in ages and I can only spot a few babies.

I have somewhat hard water so their shells should be fine.
Here's what I add to the tank: Prime, Flourish Excel (this has now stopped) and TPN+
Temp is just under 26c

Stock:

1 Betta
2 BN Plecos
3 Bolivian Rams
10 Sterbai Cory
12 Endlers
30ish Espei Rasbora

The rams, endlers and most of the corys are recent additions. Oh and some of the espei are new too

I really liked having them in there so any help would be appreciated!

Edit: I also had a massive nitrite spike about 2 weeks ago I put it down to dying algae (hence the liquid carbon) but it may have been decomposing snails

 

[FishFanatic04]

THe mafia did it

 

[jojouk]

Maybe there is less waste food now the fish populations have increased, so less food for snails, so decreased population?

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

lol FF - they be breakin' snail shells instead of kneecaps!

mmm, maybe so it was quite a large die back though, seems to me they have nearly all gone from a population in boom

 

[Noahs ark6]

I often see my betta trying to eat snails, but i doubt it could that many snails.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

I don't know if it applies to other dwarf cichlids like your Rams, but my Lionhead/Blockhead Cichlids are avid snail eaters. They even caught a 4-5cm ~3-month old livebearer (Ilyodon xantusi) within minutes of adding 8 of them yesterday and the poor thing was ripped apart in seconds, but that is another story.

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

Thanks, thing is if the nitrite spike was caused by a snail die off under the sand, then that happened just before I got the rams, I remember because I was stressing about getting them when I wasn't sure if the spike was over.

 

[FishFanatic04]

I have seen my rams pecking at my snails...but assassins are good a burying partly in the sand and are fine so far.

 

[Akasha72]

I thought trumpet snails had one of those cover things that protects them from being eaten?
Since I changed to sand I rarely see any of mine now - they bury them selves so well in sand. They are tough little things, are you sure that they're just not buried so well that nothing and no-one will find them until they are ready? Have you found empty shells?

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

Nope, no empty shells I suppose I could go digging.... it's just that I used to see them out at night at lot, why would they stop coming out?

 

[Akasha72]

Nope, no empty shells I suppose I could go digging.... it's just that I used to see them out at night at lot, why would they stop coming out?

breeding? gone on holiday?

I wouldn't worry too much unless you find empty shells. I'm pretty certain the fish can't eat them cos of the cover thing they have (I've no idea what it's called, you might have to look in the invertabrates section) I bet they turn up fine and healthy in a few days

 

[FishBlast]

A lot of my ramshorns are being eaten by my fry. One of the fry began to peck my apple snails too... I find empty shells every now and then, I had no idea what was the cause until I saw two fry pecking and basically tearing apart tiny snails.

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

Sorry for resurrecting this one but I've been googling (dangerous I know) and it seems there are some out there who have noticed snail deaths after dosing Flourish Excel and I'm sure that my snail die-off occured at the same time I started dosing the FE. I've started with EasyCarbo now so I also goggled that and I've got results saying it kills snails booohooohoo!!

Anyone have an opinion on this?

 

[FishBlast]

Sorry for resurrecting this one but I've been googling (dangerous I know) and it seems there are some out there who have noticed snail deaths after dosing Flourish Excel and I'm sure that my snail die-off occured at the same time I started dosing the FE. I've started with EasyCarbo now so I also goggled that and I've got results saying it kills snails booohooohoo!!

Anyone have an opinion on this?

This is why i am hesitant with using ferts on my tank. Although my java fern seems to have some problems: darkening edges and veins on new leaves. X_X It kind of points to excess phosphate, trying to change more water in hopes of reducing it.

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

Well liquid carbon isn't a fertiliser so you can still dose fertilisers without harm. We're really going off topic here but you usually have P deficiency, not excess But I may be wrong lol