nassarius snails + high nitrates = missing ?

Hello again everyone,

5/8/2006 I decided it was time to start adding some LR to my MT. I put 25lbs in my 90gal setup. A serpent star and a small snail were hitch hiking with the LR. The next day I ordered a 220gal rated coralife super skimmer and received it two days later and immediately put it into service. On 5/12 I added a cleaner shrimp and 3 nassarius snails. on 5/12 my nitrates were less than 20, now there going upwards of almost 40 : I haven't seen my nassarius snails since I put them in the tank.

I know my nitrates are WAY too high, is it still b/c of the new LR? Perhaps the 3 nassarius snails are dead and decaying?

One thing I would like to add is I spotted the hitchhiker snail this morning so that must be a good sign. All the life in the tank is doing well but I'm worried about the rising nitrates and missing snails.

I feel inclined to do a 20% water change, or should I hold off?

Thx all.

 

Definitely do a water change.

 

I'd bet it's the rock. It will go its course.

 

If nitrates are high it never hurts to do a water change.

 

Yah. Usually when you buy rock and it smells it's often a dead sponge who's the culprit. When choosing your rock at the LFS, rinse it well and remove the dead sponge to prevent nitrate spikes.

Nassarius snails dig in the sand, I bet they are under the sand bed looking for food. You can tell whether they are buried if you can see their little snout sticking out of the sand. If they are not in the front of the tank, they will be in the back, those guys really do travel and are fast! I added 7 of them and am thinking of adding more, they move like tanks! According to vamp, they are hardier than astrea's and turbos, so I shouldn't worry about them.

Water change will not hurt but only benefit.

 

DO A WATER CHANGE! Test your water again. Don't add anything else to your tank til nitrates are gone.

 

I doubt its the snails...i never see them unless i over feed the tank on accident and the food lasts long enough for them to smell it and wont in on the action...or at night, i see them chilling with the cowries

 

Those guys eat meat, huh? Man, when chunks of meat hits the sand bed while feeding, those guys zoom to it! They also seem to always follow each other too. Pretty neat.

 

Yup, they eat anything, its really cool when they eat, the food gets sucked into their long mouths, natural straws.

 

I did a 20% water change last night and tried to remove as much of the detritus as i could from the sand bed. My nitrates are down around 20-30 ppm. I have cut the feeding to probably 25% what I used to feed them. I'm pretty sure that the nitrates are due to overfeeding or the live rock. I stared at my sand bed for an hour last night looking for a sign of the snails. Unfortunately, no sign of them. I'm sure there in there somewhere, unless they slimed their way out of my tank? I haven't found any corpses near my tank so I guess that's not where they are I'll keep hoping that the nitrates were b/c of my mistake and not their poor rotting corpses 8)