Snails very unhappy

[MitchM]

You mentioned that you made a change from a 20g to a 40g.
You could have triggered a mini-cycle.
It sounds like a lot of animals did not immediately like the change.
How frequently did you track your parameters and how did you go about making the change?

Mitch

[ScubaSteve]

There was a very small cycle in the first week or so but all params have been spot on since. I was tracking params every day the gradually to every other day, now I'm doing it every few days (except right now while I'm trying to figure out what the heck is going on).

When I made the change I switched to a new substrate; because of this switch I was careful to feed sparingly for about 4 weeks until the denitrifying bacteria could catch up. Other than that the change was as per any other move I have done (which is a lot) and that is: very slow and methodical. Brought close to 15 of the 20 gollons of water over to the new tank during the move. The new tank had been sitting for about 5 days with saltwater and the new substrate at temperature before I did the move. Everything was acclimated very slowly over about 6 hours. I went to bed at about 5am.

The only thing that I have done different than any other move/tank switch is go to a used 40G square tank.

[MitchM]

Any chance you had some H2S released from the old live rock if it was previously sitting in a sandbed?

[ScubaSteve]

Possibly, though I wouldn't expect that is the culprit. That would have been something that would have showed itself pretty quick after the move and when I recently move stuff around I didn't move rock around, only the frags and colonies. If there was a continual source, then it's a possibly but it's pushing close to two months since the move with at least 8 sizable water changes.

[MitchM]

Originally Posted by ScubaSteve

...That would have been something that would have showed itself pretty quick after the move and when I recently move stuff around I didn't move rock around, only the frags and colonies. If there was a continual source, then it's a possibly but it's pushing close to two months since the move with at least 8 sizable water changes.

Right, but a combination of a really large water change (doubling of the tank size), acro die off and the resulting decaying tissue, 8 sizeable water changes, a nudi dying (even though you think you caught it before it released any toxins), 8 sizeable water changes...may have added up to enough of an unstable environment to negatively affect the invertebrates.

I don't know for sure that that's what happened, but I do think it's a possibility.

Mitch

[ScubaSteve]

I completely agree with you. There are SO many things here that could be the culprit. Moving stress I think had a big impact though things have been, for the most part, stable (except for an initially low pH). I have other more sensitive creatures in the tank which have always been my 'canaries in a cage' and they're all doing great which is why I am concerned about these other things that are happening, whether they are signs of something I am not seeing or monitoring (if even possible).

I've been doing all the things we've always been told to do (check params, check temp, check salinity, is there something stinging your leather?, is there a worm eating your acro?, Is something dead?, etc) and nothing is coming up. I've even moved my tanks like 4 or 5 times now and I haven't seen this before. I'm just... so confused....

[MitchM]

Which more sensitive creatures are you referring to?

Mitch