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Mysterious simultaneous death of ALL apple snails in the tank

5K views 12 replies 8 participants last post by  FishGirl 
#1 ·
Hi
I have a question: what could be the cause for a sudden mass death of all the apple snails in one of my tanks?
Recently I have had a lot of trouble (leakage) with my tanks and I had to change water a lot. To speed it up (I usually use 'aged' water) I applied some water conditioner Aquavital in two of my tanks. I was very careful about the dosage. It all went well.
Then I had to do the usual clean up in my tank at work and decided to use that conditioner as well. I might have been a bit careless with the dose - but only just a bit. In a couple of days I discovered that all my applesnails - about twenty were dead! One fish - a crooked rummynose was found dead too. But the rest of the fish population was perfectly alright - about 15 cardinals and neon tetras, black neons and rummies, ancistruses as well.
All my tanks have applesnails in them. Nobody was hurt, but the snails at work. The stuff container and the description note do not give any warnings concerning the snails. But something went terribly wrong... Oh yews, the temp was as usual - 25C - and the filter works well and is regularly cleaned. I would suggest that the fish - tetras - would go first if there was something wrong with the water.
That was a sad mystery, but maybe someone could kindly shed light???
 
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#4 ·
Mirta, what are the water parameters? Could you please run me in the ingredients of the AquaVital? Check your tapwater for possible copper traces.
 
#5 ·
Sure - it's the same stuff: pellets for vegetarian catfish and granules. But anyway, the food definitely couldn't kill them all simultaneously.

No, they were not members of any cult - they were unfortunate family members.

I will test the water in that tank first thing on Monday. I do suspect something might be in the tap water. Copper is possible, I guess. I wonder how my neons and cardinals stand it...
I am surprised but I cannot find the info on the Aquavital conditioner neither on the packaging nor on the leaflet inside. It only says that it 'is a concentrated water conditioner for freshwater aquariums, makes fish-friendly and plant-friendly aquarium water out of tapwater, helps to protect the mucous membranes of your ornamental fish, stabilizes the ph, binds harmful heavy metals' - I wonder how it does the latter. I used this stuff in all my tanks. But I might have SLIGHTLY overdosed at work since I was in a hurry - had to start work.
 
#7 ·
I do not know how to check for copper. But I think the place has copper tubes. The water params are as follows: NO3 - 25 - I know it's high but I have just changed about 2/3 of the water, nitrites - zero, but could be imprecise, dCH >21, dKH 3-6, ph - 6.8 - 7.2. I cannot get a better test here, so that's that. But the fishes are alright but for two - one crooked rummy nose and one mummy guuppy is half alive.
 
#8 ·
Vertebrates wouldn't be affected by copper in the water. You can get a copper test kit at any fish store that sells saltwater fish. Or at least you should be able to.
 
#9 ·
well i know apple snails filter water through themselves so a lot of chemicals in the water could effect them. It is obviously something you did, not a freak natural accident (no offense to you).
 
#10 ·
I quite agree - it was something I did, but what? Overdosed conditioner? But another tank of mine got the same minimal overdose and everything was fine... I want to bring more snails from home to work, but I do not want them to suffer. I wonder if I should do a complete water change in that work tank?
 
#11 ·
I don't think slightly overdosed water conditioner would do it. Is this the water conditioner you normally use, or did you switch brands? I also don't think any water conditioner would have copper in it, as many of them (like yours) are even designed to bind with heavy metals like copper to prevent them from harming your pets.

I would suspect copper in the water supply. You could bring a water sample to a LFS and have them test it for copper since copper test kits (at least here in the US) run about $10 a piece which is fairly expensive just to test one water parameter a couple of times. Unfortunately, copper is very lethal to invertebrates in even small doses, so even doing several water changes with copper-free water might not make your tank safe for invertebrates.
 
#12 ·
Well, an overdose could have happened but not to a dangerous extent... The only difference actually between my home tanks and the tank at work is actually the water source. At work I take the water from a yellow tap which I think is copper. There is no other choice for me other than bring the water in big bottles...
Yes, I have used this conditioner before and there were no problems. But I do not often use the conditioner - only when I have to do a quick water changer with a large amount.
I decided not to bring any snails to the work tank yet, anyway, it is cold outside and snails will not like it.
I have also noticed that surface plants were not doing well in that work tank - looks like their petals get dry and some of them even die. Something is going on there. Surprisingly, but the fish feel great and greet me happily every Monday to be fed and talked to...:)
 
#13 ·
That many dead snails at one time could have caused the water parameters to get out of wack and might account for a dead fish.

As for the snails, I'm not sure. I wouldn't think it was the water conditioner. I've put more than the recommended amount in my WC and never had an issue with fish or invertebrates. Perhaps the water at your work is not good. I would try 2 30% or 2 50% (if their is a good amount of bacteria present in the gravel/filter media) WCs per week until it is stable again. Taking all the water out at once might cause a mini-cycle and you don't want to stress the fish you have any more than whatever is going on already has.

Sorry that you lost all your apples. Mine are special to my heart too.
 
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