Mystery snail PH sensitive?

I lost my golden mystery snail a few weeks back, now it looks like my blue mystery is gone too. The only thing off on my parameters is the PH. Its at 8.2

 

My pH is exactly the same and I have no problems with mine. Could copper be coming from your pipes maybe?

 

Could be, however non of my other fish seem to be affected by it

 

Inverts like mystery snails are highly sensitive to copper and will be killed by levels that are harmless to other fish.
Another thought: Could a fish be killing them?

 

Inverts like mystery snails are highly sensitive to copper and will be killed by levels that are harmless to other fish.
Another thought: Could a fish be killing them?

Doubt any fish are doing it I got a pair of angels, a school of Cory cats,a school of glow fish tetras, and a school of red rainbow fish

My blue mystery is fine now he's back on the glass munching away on the algae.

 

My blue mystery is fine now he's back on the glass munching away on the algae.

My snail keeps me guessing daily where he is and what he's doing. This morning I got up, certain he was dead because he was sucked onto the intake for the AquaClear. I turned off the power, tapped his shell lightly with a net, and he disappeared back into his shell and fell to the bottom. Little nuisance is doing great.

 

They seem to play hide and seek and then show up just as your getting ready to tear everything apart looking for the dead body that must be in there. I've given up. There are two snails in my tank and they take turns being the one I can find!

 

Mine disappears all the time lol. I guess that's why there called mystery snails.

 

I said to my husband this morning that the mystery lies in how they've survived to maturity lol

 

Lol

 

For any of you with an HOB running, I would strongly recommend that you grab a pre-filter sponge if you don't already have one to avoid your snail getting sucked in and seriously injured from it. Additionally, extra spot for BB to colonize

To answer the pH question, I don't think 8.2 will be too much of an issue, but it is a little higher than ideal, which may end up leading to shell deterioration. Goal would be between 7 and 8, as extremes on either end can cause shell issues.

Glad to hear your little blue guy is doing well. If you'd like, we can run through a bunch of "trouble shooting" to see what may have happened to the gold.

 

Where would I find a suitable pre-filter sponge?

 

Just check your LFS and the internet. Also you can use nylon stockings. Just use a rubber band to hold on place.

 

That's something I can do today. Thanks!

 

You know, I've never had a problem with any of my fauna getting stuck in either filter intake - I have a HOB on the left and a canister intake on the other side. Both my mysteries and nerites cruise the intakes all the time. I've thought about doing a pre-filter, especially in my bigger tank, but in my mind it would prohibit larger particulates from being filtered from the water column. How do you deal with this?

Edit: I can't say anything about high pH, but I do know they don't do well much under 7.0. Acidic water will eat at their shells eventually. I'm running my bigger tank with a pH controller and it stays constant at either 6.9 or 6.7 (I can't remember where I have it set at the moment and I'm really too lazy to go over to that cabinet and check.) I have a handful of mysteries and ramshorns (and a single nerite that is a ninja snail who stays hidden.) I keep cuttlebone scattered around the tank for them to stop by for a calcium snack when they feel like it. They seem to have no issue with the pH, but I'm keeping a very close eye on them - any sign of shell erosion will result in every one of them being moved to my other tank (between 7.2 and 7.4 pH.)

 

Pull off the sponge and clean it when you do water changes, at least that's what I do. It will get somewhat gross because yes, some of the larger particulates will get stuck to/in it.

I keep referencing back to this, but here's someone whose poor snail ended up getting stuck...
It's not a risk I'm willing to take after the first time one of mine climbed onto the intake and didn't seem to be able to get back off until I unplugged the heater.

 

I keep cuttlebone scattered around the tank for them to stop by for a calcium snack when they feel like it.

How on earth do you get it to sink? I tossed in a piece and it's floating on top of the water.

 

Wedge it under something, tie it to something, etc. If you prefer, you can just put it in the filter instead.

 

^^^ This

I have three ways of doing it, depending the application. I can bury/anchor it - right now I have a whole piece mostly covered by sand in my big tank. I can put it in the filter near the final outflow. I can also boil it - rolling boil until it sinks, let it cool/rinse with cold water and it'll sink right down to the bottom and stay there. I keep chunks all around my tanks for them.

A very important warning if you would like to try the boiling water route: It takes a good bit of boiling for it to sink. It's easy to forget that it's boiling. Aside from the very obvious fire hazard, it's important to note that cuttlebone smells VERY bad if it gets burned. As in - your whole house will smell like burnt cuttlebone. For days. Ever burn popcorn in the microwave? It's like smelling roses compared to the stench of burned cuttlebone. You may now carry on with your regularly scheduled fish shenanigans.

 

Lol thanks for the tips, and the warning. I'll anchor it.

Edited to add: Okay, so last night I added a pre-filter sponge to my HOB AquaClear, and I also added a small piece of cuttlebone to my tank. When I got up this morning, my water looks cloudy. I did a 5 gallon WC/ substrate vacuum yesterday so my water was nice and clear and levels are identical. Any idea what's causing the sudden cloudiness?