snails. acting wierd

[matrixxmaxximus]

We all have had snails from time to time. I have gotten use to that. My question is , what makes them all go to the top of the take ( at the same time )ever so often?

[AlishanAS]

It could be a water quality issue.
Check your nitrogen levels.
I've also noticed that it may occur if you perform a water change and do not use enough water treatment product(chlorine, chloramines).

[matrixxmaxximus]

thanks. I failed to mention that this accrued in my tropheus tank. They were all at the top like they were gasping for air. I even have a net breeder hanging with fry in it and they were gasping as well. I have since added air to a sponge filter that i had cut off the air supply to weeks ago and added some more cloram x( just did a water change last night) . Status: the tropheus are not gasping for air anymore. They are swimming around, just not they way they normally do.I give them a hour. Any more input will be welcomed

[joe_jaskot]

Snails are very sensitive to heavy metals in water, especially copper. They are also sensitive to pH changes. When you do a water change, you change the chemistry of the water. These factors cause the snails to climb to the surface. Try aging the water and dechlorinating it before adding it to the tank.

[BlondeFishGal]

It sounds like something is up from the water change from last night. If you think the fish are going to be lost if you leave them like they are, I would try another water change. Maybe something was on your hands, maybe the water company added something to the water supply, etc., no way to know for sure.

Can you move the fish to a different tank? If they are doing really poorly, it might be worth a shot.

[Aqualung]

If you are talking about MT Snails,They will come out in the dark and cover the glass

[matrixxmaxximus]

so far so good. The tropheus are acting normal, even the fry are back to normal. I had taken out enough water so that the spray bar could spray the water up and cause a little bubble action.. I have two 1 niche gobies int there as well , but have not seen them. The lack of oxygen might have done them in. Sorry to say but, I would rather lose 2 gobies than a colony of 44 wild caught Linangu. Yes they are mt snails. The only mystery about these snails is why do people BUY them when there way more people that would give them away

[triscuit]

Hmmm- something doesn't sound right. If everybody is looking okay, I'd wait a few days before doing another WC. But- watch them next time, and add extra tap water conditioner.

I hope your gobies are fine- they are pretty tough little buggers.

[Aqualung]

I shoulda read all the threads LOL Sounds like a lack of O2..

[AMBUSHPREDATOR]

1- Different municipalities add chloramines at different amounts at different times. Never think you water will always come from the faucet the same way. You can go years bragging about how good the water is by you and wipe out everything the next day. When I lived in Staten Island years back I barely had to condition at all so I became cocky. One day did my normal 50 % water change on my Discus tank and killed 40 - 4" fish . I always dechlorinate now. It's safer when you use your own well, if you have one. 2- You always need some sort of oxygenation in the tank if you don't want an air stone you at least have to have surface agitation, particularly with oxygen guzzling machines like Trophs. You got away lucky , you still have your fish thank god. I'm happy this wasn't another postmortem thread.

[Flareside]

1- Different municipalities add chloramines at different amounts at different times. Never think you water will always come from the faucet the same way. You can go years bragging about how good the water is by you and wipe out everything the next day. When I lived in Staten Island years back I barely had to condition at all so I became cocky. One day did my normal 50 % water change on my Discus tank and killed 40 - 4" fish . I always dechlorinate now. It's safer when you use your own well, if you have one. 2- You always need some sort of oxygenation in the tank if you don't want an air stone you at least have to have surface agitation, particularly with oxygen guzzling machines like Trophs. You got away lucky , you still have your fish thank god. I'm happy this wasn't another postmortem thread.

couldnt agree more. Unfortunately I learned this lesson the hard way also...:beerchug:

If you want to see some weird behavior displayed by snails- try a few drops of a product called "Had-a_Snail":whistle: Kill those f'ers dead LOL
(sorry, I hate snails....they litter up my nice white sand with those unsightly shells- yes, self admitted OCD problem Ha Ha)