Why Did My Snails Die?

[CrazyDiamond88]

I bought two mystery snails about 6 days ago and put them in my tank.
 
It's a 12g, and a betta & 11 pygmy cats live in it. Well planted. Cycled.
 
I checked the parameters about 5 days ago, and all was normal. Nitrate was about 5-10ppm.
 
Today's results:
 
pH - 7.4
Ammonia -  between 0 and .25ppm? could be a false reading due to Prime
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 5ppm
 
A few days ago the snails seemed okay... admittedly one was much less active than the other. But they were both eating algae off my plants. Then one stopped and began to float, and the other just sat on the bottom and did nothing.
 
Any help would be appreciated.
 
I also have an MTS in there and he is fine by the way. 

 

[Ninjouzata]

I'm sorry if this sounds dumb, but are you sure they're dead?
Did you acclimate them at all?

 

[CrazyDiamond88]

Yes - one of them is stinky. The other one does not react when I touch it's flesh, and I just pull and it hangs out.
 
I did not acclimate them, which was clearly a mistake. 

 

[Ninjouzata]

Aww The lack of acclimation is the only thing I can come up with, but I don't know much about snails. Hopefully someone else will come along that knows more. Sorry for your loss by the way.

 

[ech0o]

Were these snails rather large?  I have heard of big snails dieing from starvation, as traces of algae are not enough to sustain them, I have 2 really large mysterys in my tank and I feed them algae wafers as well, the 2 of them can polish an entire wafer overnight.

 

[betta fish]

Is it the tank in the pic? nice tank but can't see a filter or heater lol! I take it you do have these what is the temp of the water? do you have a thermometer? I agree it is probably the lack of acclimation that caused their demise, snails are quite sensitive to rapid changes in water parameters.

 

[Ch4rlie]

Is it the tank in the pic? nice tank but can't see a filter or heater lol! I take it you do have these

what is the temp of the water? do you have a thermometer? I agree it is probably the lack of acclimation that caused their demise, snails are quite sensitive to rapid changes in water parameters.

 
Looks like a Aqua Nano tank, I have one as well, heater, pump, filter media are all at the back behind the black glass wall.
 
Sound like the snails died from either as already mentioned for poor acclimatisation or lack of algae.
Next time you get snails, just add a small amount of fish food or algae wafer, they will eat that quite happily.

 

[CrazyDiamond88]

Ninjo - thanks arg it's so upsetting.
Echo - they weren't terribly large, maybe the size of a chestnut. There is a lot of diatoms and green spot algae in my tank which is mainly why I got them.
Betta - yes, as Charlie says, all of those are behind the black well. I have a thermometer, water temp is around 25.
Charlie - thanks, I know what to do now. Got to take it as a learning experience I guess.

Thanks guys