Mystery snails - thrive in 30 gal die in 5 gal

**fishmommie** · 07-12-2012, 07:58 PM

HI
Got a question. I have 2 mystery snails in my 30 gal community tank that are thriving.
At the same time I bought them, I bought 2 for my 5 gallon (betta) tank.
Both snails in the 5 gal died within 2 weeks of purchase. This is the second time I've tried snails in the 5 gal - first time they died too.

I drip acclimated for both tanks.
Use same water source/ Prime conditioner
Water perimeters in both fully cycled and stable tanks are: A - 0, NI - 0, NA 10 - 30, PH 6.4
I do wkly 65% W/C in both tanks.

Anyone have any ideas what might be the problem with the 5 gallon?
Thanks so much!

**escamosa** · 07-12-2012, 08:16 PM

The only thing that I can think of that might be making a difference is the oxygen level in the 5g. Did you notice if the snails were around the top of the 5g tank most of the time?

**fishmommie** · 07-12-2012, 10:22 PM

Seems like they might have hung around at the top most of the time - definitely, they were floating when we realized they were dead. :o(
I have 2 filters on that tank - a small tetra whisper for a 10 gallon and a submerged filter for a 10 gal. Seems to be plenty of water flow.
But maybe I should get an air bubbler?

thanks so much for answering.

**Tiari** · 07-13-2012, 02:45 AM

Could be the air flow, a bubbler might help, but the Betta may not like it much. Its also possible that since it is a different tank, there may be traces of copper leeching into the tank somehow. Has any inhabitant been medicated in this tank prior? Was it brand new when you bought it? Some medications contain copper or other chemicals that are hazardous to snails, and can get impregnated into the tank silicone and released later.

**escamosa** · 07-13-2012, 07:31 AM

Tiari has brought up a really good possibilty here! I never gave that a thought!

If the left over medication isn't the case, and before you put a bubbler in and risk upsetting your Betta, we should probably look at how your filters are set up.

Couple of questions. Has your submersible got a little spray bar on it, or did it come with one? And is the tank filled all the way up to the Whispers overflow, so that the water is just kind of pushing its way back into the tank, or is the water falling a little way back into the tank - kind of splashing a little? What I'm getting at, is that if you can break or agitate the water surface a little more, then that will allow more oxygen into the water. So if the submersible has a little spray bar on it, you could possible turn it, so that the little holes are pointing to the water surface. And/or, you might be able to drop the level of the tank water a bit, to make the water fall into the tank a little, when it comes back out of the Whisper.

**fishmommie** · 07-15-2012, 03:44 AM

Thanks to both of you.
And yes to the medication/copper question. I used Coppersafe once almost 3 months ago on some neons that showed signs of ick (then I moved them to the 30 gal after 30 days). After so many W/C, (weekly 65 - 70%) is it possible that trace amounts of the Coppersafe is still in the tank/filter media/filter?

If so, new carbon to get it out? I haven't changed or added carbon since.
Or would I have to take more drastic steps? Hate to mess with my filter media as the tank is so stable but I could scoop out all the gravel and the betta's hollow log and clean it.
What do you think?

As for the filters: No spray bar on the submersible. Tank is full to the top and no water fall or splashing. That's concerned me a bit but the betta seems to be thriving so I haven't done anything about it.
I can change that though by lifting the submersible a bit and repositioning it to create a bit of a water fall affect/splash. Makes perfect sense. I should do it anyway, regardless of the copper issue.

I don't want to try more snails, however, until I hear back from either or both of you regarding the copper - and if you think it might still be in the tank and if so, how to get rid of it.
thanks again