Mosly all my inverts die. Why?!

So bascially all my snails except for a few, and most of my hermits except for a few all die. And sand sifting star is missing, i used to see him a lot now he is never spotted. I purchased about 20 snails and within a few weeks they all died. And i find dead hermits often.

All my fish are fine. All parameters are good. Diamond sand sifting goby is doing awesome. Tank has a lot of 6yr old live rock, and tons of new dry base rock. There is no algae at all really. So maybe they are just having a hard time finding food? 75 gallon. Kole tang sucks all the algae off everything.

Cant figure it out. Its not like ive had them for months. Just a couple weeks and they all die. Maybe its just "thinning the heard" so that the amount of inverts is equal to the amount of food produced for them. hmm any ideas?

 

How big is your tank? Are you seeing algae on the rocks or glass to the point that you need to add a bunch of inverts?

 

I have a 75 gallon. And I guess i really have no need for inverts. The tank is pretty much spotless. Just kinda like having snails and hermits crawling around....is there something i can feed them?

 

Well, the other question is in regards to copper- have you ever dosed with anything containing even a minute amount? Copper is deadly to inverts. My guess is no, but worth mentioning.

If it is food related you can just feed a little more often, so that a little bit of the food falls to the substrate. They will eat it there.

 

I feed a lot, once a day. And i have 2 peppermint shrimp, and 1 cleaner shrimp, they have been thriving ever since i have set up the tank. And i have never dosed with anything! And there are a few of the bigger hermits left(3-4) and a few small snails. So i have to believe it is just a food issue. Even with me over feeding my tank my nitrates never go over 10ppm. Everything else is perfect.

 

have to ask what are your params?
high alk or sudden changes can kill your inverts aswell.

 

There's your answer.

 

Hermits are notorious for killing snails-mostly for fun sometimes for their shells.

 

Do you find the snails and crabs in pieces? If they look eaten up, you might have a mantis

 

Do you find empty snail shells or dead snails still inside.

They do absolutely die off based on available food.

If you are finding empty shells you might want to look at night for a Polyclad Flatworm.
If the snail is still inside the shell and dead make sure pH and SG are in line without large swings.