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A few weeks ago I put about 5 snails in my 20 gallon tank to eat some of the "new tank" algae.
Last week I moved two into my new 90 gallon tank. They were both fine and then a few days later they were dead. I moved another snail into the tank and now this ones dead too.
My fish are perfectly fine and my water qualities are good too. any suggestions as to why my snails are dying?

Thanks Julie

any possibility copper based fish medicine got into the tank?

As far as I know there shouldn't be any copper in the tank. I've never used any medication with copper in this tank. Is there a tester for copper I could use?
Its a saltwater tank, temp and water qualities are good except for maybe the PH. Its always been a little low at 7.8. I tried using PH up but it didnt do anything. I don't know if that would be something that could have caused the snails to die. My KH is usually around 10 by the way.
My fish are still doing great so i'm not sure what happened. Let me know if you have a tester for copper or if you have any other suggestions.
Thanks
Julie

What steps did you take to acclimate the snails when you moved them between the tanks? Snails are particularly sensitive to changes in water parameters, although they will ultimately accept a very wide range of conditions. They don't always die right away from acclimation stress; a few days to a week is not unheard of. Do you find them dead in their shells, or are the shells empty?

It is possible that your low pH played a role in the snail death, but I would bet that it was the change from your prior tank (does it run closer to 8.2?) and this more acidic 90gal.

I would look at your stocking rates if you are having trouble keeping your pH above 8.0 in the day time. Build up of carbon dioxide and the breakdown of wastes may be driving you pH down. Otherwise a tank with regular water changes, average biomass, and a KH of 10 shouldn't stray that much. Fish may seem fine at that pH, but its a subclinical stress that will make them more prone to illness, ich, and you name it. Be sure there is proper surface agitation to drive of any CO2 that may be building up and test pH just before you turn on the lights in the morning to get an idea of just how low the pH is going.

As for copper poisoning, if it were my I'd purchase one of the absorbent pads that changes color as it removes toxins, rather than buying the test kit. The one I'm thinking of is called PolyFilter by Poly-Bio-Marine. It will turn blue (green?) if it's absorbing (adsorbing?) copper. It also removes some phosphates which is the real solution to your algae problem!

Good luck!

do you have emerald crabs or other crabs in the tank?
many crabs can eat snails.

Hi, my neighbor just got a 10 gallon tank and he all of a sudden got thousands of snails! They just don't stop coming. Now, they are starting to grow bigger and he can't stop it. We actually went to your store today but he forgot to ask about it. Any ideas why he might be getting these snails??