Problems with my CUC

B

bwig333

Premium Member
I have recently(numerous times) added a few snails/hermits, etc. to my tank. I have been acclimating them and have noticed only 30-40% have survived. I checked water parameters and they are where they need to be... Nitrates are slightly high b/w 5-10ppm. I also just bought a big clean up crew from reefcleaners, they have only been in the water for a few hours, but majority are still where they landed in tank. Are there any other parameters I should check, beside nitrate, ammonia, Ca, alk, pH, phos? I even checked copper and it was 0ppm. Would an electrical issue cause this? I have not felt anything with my hand in water, but not real sure. I do have a hair algae issue that I am trying to clean it up. Any suggestions on what else to check...I just have a bad feeling that it is my tank and not the livestock(maybe a bit paranoid). Thanks in advance guys
 
Quote:


It's normal for cuc critters to take a day or two to get going. A few hours is not enough time to judge. Most of the suppliers send a sheet thst states it's normal to not see much movement in the first few hours. Crabs usually get going right away but snail especially cerith can take a long time to start moving. Best of luck. Hoping there is nothing else wrong.
 
thanks, I know that it can take a while for them to move around...The supplier actually told me 3 days. My tank has been up and running since january/feb and the CUC i had in there basically disappeared(few snails and hermits, and 1 emerald crab is all I have seen). So I went to LFS bought a few big turbos 4 of 5 died the first day, but 1 hung on and seems to be doing fine. It just seems that the CUC is affected/dying pretty rapidly compared to what I remember with my 55g setup I had. My fish seem to be doing fine and haven't noticed a problem with the few corals I have left....Just an FYI... my tank got really hot during July, went up to about 87-88degrees following week long AC issues. So the first CUC i will chalk up to that....I am probably just being paranoid, but want to make sure there is not something I am missing while checking water parameters.
 
Might be worth buying a copper test kit. Is it possible that the tank, sump, rocks, etc. may have been treated in the past? That might explain why the inverts are failing and the fish seem to be doing OK.
Stab in the dark. You can borrow my kit if you want, but it most likely cheaper to just buy your own.
I take it with me when peeps are selling live rock/sand/etc to test on the spot. :p
 
Mg levels maybe? At least for the snails? I seem to recall reading really high Mg levels tend to kill off turbos and other snails.
 
thanks for the idea... need to check Mg, and have ordered a MG test kit due to fact that I am trying to go SPS dominant.. Hopefully that is my prob
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top