12 Nano Cube

[wdb1009]

I have a 12 gallon nano cube that is 8 weeks old, have 1 green chromis and 1 snail. It has live rock in it. Problem is everytime I add some more nails or crabs they die off after being in tank for about 5 minutes. I have been acclimating them for over an hour, but nothing seems to work.

Ph 8.3
salinity 1.024
ammonia 0
nitrite o
nitrate 10

Anybody have any ideas on what to do..am do regular water cycles of 10 percent every week.

 

[Anonymous]

I think you should acclimate them longer. An hour is pretty short.

 

[Juck]

I never acclimate anything (except corals) for longer than 40 minutes and haven't had any problems. How exactly are you acclimating them?

What do you use to test the Specific Gravity? If you're using a swing-arm hydrometer then find someone with a refractometer or glass hydrometer to test your SG,,,, make sure your swing-arm isn't way off.

Are you topping off with RO/DI water?

Are you dosing any additives?

What kind of snails/crabs are you adding?

 

[wdb1009]

I acclimate in the tank in bag they come, with it open, adding shot glass full of water every five minutes. Am using a swing arm and has same reading as my neighbors refractomer. Yes topping with RO/DI water. Not putting anything in tank water.
Mexican turbo snails and blue and scarlet leg crabs.

 

[Meloco14]

Hmm, sounds like everything checks out. How many times have you tried to add more snails and crabs? Are they from the same source? Sometimes you just get bad batches. I have had a whole bag of astraea's die while my margaritas and nassarius were fine, all acclimated at the same time in the same way. I just think the astraeas were bad, maybe sick or something. But since you say they die within 5 minutes of being in the tank, it sounds like it must be related to the water somehow. I would take your water to an LFS and have it tested. Have them test everything, in case your test kits are off, and then check things like copper. I also think iodine in high concentrations is bad for inverts. Also, you havent mentioned your alkalinity. Make sure that checks out. Other than that im stumped...good luck

 

[wdb1009]

Ph is 8.3, took it and already had it checked and it was perfect.

 

[Juck]

You got me dood,,,, can't think what it could be.

 

[Meloco14]

pH and alkalinity are different

 

[Anonymous]

you know i couldnt keep snails long either for quite sometime..Im not sure to this day why either...they wouldnt die in 5 minutes but over several days they would..now i have snails and all is good..everything you mentioned sounds good..ph, nitrites, ammonia etc....

 

[SaltyMist]

I have no problems keeping snails, in fact I took my redfooted moon snail out of my 20 gallon tank and just plunked him into the nanocube tank without aclimation and he's been fine every since along with the other 6 snails (oops 5 snails - one fell down and couldnt get up and I found him out of his shell and covered with grit [like sand], but those 6 were properly acclimated to the tank initially).

By the way I only pulled him out of the 20 because it's now a POWLR (Puffer only with liverock) tank and they were constantly trying to eat the snail.

Anyway, it's got me stumped too, unless some funky chemical has managed to get into your tank, perhaps ssomething you had on your hands if you stuck your hands in the water etc.