My Nerite Snails having a bad time

Hi,

I have no way to keep my Nerite snails. I kept 2 of them for about 5 months. Than, I lost two in the same day. I first thought it was my 50% first water change as they died 2 days later. Than, I also saw I have a CO2 problem (CO2 test on yellow) and also figured my GH was too low (that is GH 3)

I increased the GH now to 7, my CO2 is well dosed, and I introduced a new pair of those lovely snails. I made my water change before I acclimate them. And yes, I acclimated them, even if I never did with snails.

48h later, they stopped moving, and now they're dead.

Anyone can help me understand why I can't keep them anymore? PH is near 6.6-6.8 I think, NO3 is kept near 10ppm, of course no NO2. My aquarium is doing very well, and my fish too (no diseases or deaths since more than 6 months)

Could it be the low PH? My Tateurndina Ocellicauda that all the time try to eat their extremities? Having no algae in aquarium (but shouldn't explain a death in 48h)? I really like those snails and would like to keep them, or at least understand why, suddenly, they began to die my aquarium.

Many thnaks for any one sharing such an expierience

 

Oh, very sad indeed :-(

They begun dying with using distilled water and lowering the GH indeed. Now, they don't make it in my tank for more than 48h. I still have one alive but it doesn't move at all nor stick at a support for a week. I think it will die in the next days, I'll just keep monitoring it

The Horned Nerite (Clithon corona) I introduced the same day as my last 2 Nerite are still alive and moving, but they move very slowly and sometimes don't move for many days. But they still stick at their support.

Do you think acclimating them longer to the soft water can help before I introduce them? Anyone succeding with Nerite and the use of distilled water?

 

Many thanks for all your feedback. The problem is that they no longer make it above 24-48h in my tank. The 2 first stayed for 6 months, and when I begun distilled, they died one day after a water change. The next 2 I put, did it for 48h before stopping to move and than die (one of them is still alive, but doesn't move at all)

I add Mg and Ca now and my GH is at 7-8, but PH is below 7

Guess what: GH 14 and KH 17

 

I moved to a new city. They were fine with my previous tap water: GH 10 and KH 6

Now, where I live, is a region with known very hard water and extremely high KH (even with the precise Salifert test). I even didn't give it a try when I moved. I took with me some barrels of my old tap water and made a progressive move to a mix of distilled-tap water from my new location.

I could try to increase the amount of tap water I mix, but I always end up with too high KH for a given GH. Probably excess of sodium carbonate explaining this KH > GH. High carbonate is not good for plants and my fish

 

Today, the remaining Nerite that was no longer moving since many days is dead for real. The body no longer reacts to the touch at all and remains open

Also, I just lost one of my 5 Clithon Corona snails (Horned Nerite)
The other 4 still move, but really very very slowly. They were very active in the shop and on the first 48h in my tank

Also, my Trumpet Snails (Malayan Livebearing) could never do it for more than few days.

The only snails that are still doing it are the Pond Snails (Lymnaeidae), even if their population decreased drastically in the last weeks

Anyone using EI, distilled water, low GH and KH, acidic PH or other such things and having same bad expierience with keeping snails?

I'm really disappointed not being able to keep them anymore with my fish. Also, my Amano shrimps all died. Looks like my tank is now damned with invertebra

Please any help is appreciated

 

I just read this on Peacock Goby (Tateurndina ocellicauda) fish

Fishkeeping - Caresheets - Peacock Goby (Peacock Gudgeon, Eye-spot Sleeper) - Tateurndina ocellicauda

I also have noticed this behaviour and even took a photo few weeks ago when my Nerite was still alive:



The Goby stays in a fixed position waiting for the snail to get out of its shell. There, it falls on the snail trying to get a piece of it :-(
But, would it explain the death of my Trumpet Snails?

Anyone having some expierience with keeping this fish with snails?

 

Hi,

I just read in a french forum that these fish can even extract the pond snails from their shells. They are also reported by some forum members to eat small snails with their shell

Forum Link

I'm getting more and more convinced that this explains all the empty shells I see in my tank. I have these fish since about 8 months and their appetite to my snails begun only a few weeks ago, but hey, they also increased in size and became adults

If anyone can share/confirm this expierience, let me know

 

If you read through the whole topic, you'll see that:
- I have to use distilled because of my tap KH
- I add Mg and Ca for a GH of 6-8
- My snails say bye bye in 48h usually, so not by hunger
- I change 50% weekly, with a 17% tap and 83% distilled, so doubt any toxic accumulation


Well, to sort it out: I'll try to introduce new Nerite snails, but isolate them in a breeding box inside main aquarium. If the peacock are the criminals, the snails should survive this time.

Let's see and I'll feed back with the results

 

Tonight, I looked better at the still moving Clithon Corona snails (Horned Nerite) I have.

I could take these photos:





The pointed white spots are the snail tentacles, or rather what remains from them: just some white floating tissue


So, it really seems they're missing some parts, and my Gudgeons are strongly suspected to eradicate my inverts population, even the pond snails

Sad, I love those fishes as much as the Nerite :-(

Anyhow, anyone having such an expierience with this fish?

 

No copper detected by salifert test
The Red Cherry are doing fine in the external canister, so same water, just out of the main tank
It wouldn't explain the missing tentacles on all the Nerite and Clithon Corona

When I can, I'll introduce a Nerite and isolate it in a breeding compartment. If it survives, I'll move it in the tank to see how long it lasts. At leat I'll be sure that the water is ok that way

I'll give a feedback when I do it