[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Malaysian trumpet snails disappearing
I've noticed something unusual in my 75g tank. All my MTS seem to have
disappeared. If i dig thru the substrate, I find lots of shells, but no
live MTS. I do have red ramshorn snails roaming the tank, looking completely
healthy. The shells I find show no signs of decay, so I don't think it's
related to low calcium (I had that problem for a while, then I started adding
a little calcium carbonate and epsom salts to provide calcium and magnesium.)
The MTS had been very prolific in the tank, I'd regularly see hundreds of
them at night. Now, even by digging thru the substrate, I can't spot
a single live one.
The tank maintenance hasn't changed recently (although I did recently
increase my KNO3 dosage, but the nitrate levels are only 5ppm). I also
recently added some Potassium Chloride for the plants.
This had happened once in the past, about 6-8 months ago. I never did figure
out the cause, and re-introduction of MTS from another tank (which has never
had an MTS dieoff) resulting in a thriving MTS colony.
One thing that MIGHT be related... I recently started feeding live
blackworms (which I think are tubiflex) to the rainbows. Is it possible
that some uneaten worms reached the substrate, and somehow killed the
snails? The only reason I raise this possibility is that I've got a
container in the back room. The container had some ld tank water and
mulm in it, and a few MTS turned into dozens very quickly. At one point,
I rinsed a couple worms into that container. Since then, the worms have
thrived, and all the MTS are dead. Just a bunch of empty shells.
So, did the worms do it, or is there another explaination to the mts
disappearance?
--
Chuck Gadd