# Suicidal snails spiked nitrites/nitrates?



## Traumarama (Jun 15, 2011)

This is a 2 part question:
To start I have a fully cycled 55g aquarium. I'd recently added 4 larger snails from my LFS to help with the algae growth on the sides of the tank. I'd been checking the water quality at least twice a week - parameters having been normal (most importantly 0 nitrites/nitrates). 

Unfortunately, after a long stretch of 12 hour shifts, I finally got around to checking the water quality and my nitrites/nitrates were off the charts. It was then that I noticed that 2 of my snails had had their faces sucked into the intake of my filter and were now dead. I immediately removed them, cleaned the filter, and did a 50% water change. I've since done a second 50% water change and plan to continue 25% water changes until the parameters normalize. Could it have been the dead snails that jacked up my tank and is there anything else that I should be doing or not doing? 

Secondly, my fish seem totally healthy (active and eating) aside from my BGK. I've been told it's normal for BGKs to occasionally lay on their sides, but he seems more sluggish than usual. I've since moved him into my 10g tank to see if he perks up. He seems more active, but is continuing the behavior on laying on the gravel or against the leaves of plants. How worried should I be and what should I be doing for him?


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

Laura,

Welcome to the forum. For starters, I'm not entirely sure your tank is cycled - two things tell me this; 1) The fact you didn't test for ammonia, and have zero nitrites and nitrates, indicates that you could be just starting the cycle and are seeing a potential ammonia spike in conjunction with your nitrites and nitrates going up, and 2) you didn't say how long your tank has been up and running.

Your snails` deaths could very well have driven your readings up, however, if your tank had been cycled there would have been less of an impact.

I would suggest you add a bottle of Tetra SafeStart, or continue with daily 50% water changes until your nitrite readings get near or below 1 ppm. In addition, invest in an ammonia test kit and let us know what the readings are.

Hope this helps!


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Did you take any ammonia readings by chance? By large snails, I'm presuming these are Briggs right (mystery snails)? When the die, it will jack up the ammonia levels pretty fast and high. This will directly impact the BGK as they can't tolerate any ammonia.

How old is the tank to touch on what Giz was asking?


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