I'm really worried about my snail right now...

[MCools]

I have a golden mystery snail, and normally he's all over the tank. The last few days though he's been sitting on the bottom not doing too much. He hasn't even gone up to the surface for air (he's got a syphon- does that make it an apple snail?) Yesterday he crawled around on one of the ornaments for about 1/2 hour then went back to sitting there in his shell.:scry: I don't think he's dead *yet*, but he hasn't moved at all today.

I'm wondering if I should wait it out and see if he gets more active or if I should take him out of there before he does die? :help:

[Trillianne]

I had an assassin snail that I swore was likely dead for a couple days as I hadn't seen it move from a small rock cove spot. So figured I'd take him on the next day during my WC.

WC day came... and he must have gotten the word because he was hiding someplace else. My theory is he had gorged himself on pond snails and was waiting around like people after turkey dinner unable to move far but just letting his dinner digest.

I'd keep an eye on him and be patient if I were in your shoes.

[MCools]

Thanks for the reply! It's good to know I'm not the only one to wonder if a snail is gone.

I'm going to wait and see what happens, I guess. When I checked on him a few minutes ago he had moved a bit in response to my movement by the tank, so I know he's still with me. I just hope he had too much to eat and is now sleeping it off. I thought it was the goldfish that ate all of the zuccinni, hopefully I'm wrong!

[Sursion]

Apple Snails have syphons. Mystery snails don't :ssmile:

If he changed places yesterday, chances are he's still alive. They only move when they're hungry. Also, if his trap door is closed, he's definitely alive. They need muscles to keep that door shut.

[CassieLEO]

All my gold mystery snails have syphons! Are they actually apple snails????

[Sursion]

All my gold mystery snails have syphons! Are they actually apple snails????

Yes. Mystery Snails are just Apple snails without air-breathing abilities.

[CassieLEO]

Well ill be damned... LMAO!!!!

[MCools]

Apple Snails have syphons. Mystery snails don't :ssmile:

If he changed places yesterday, chances are he's still alive. They only move when they're hungry. Also, if his trap door is closed, he's definitely alive. They need muscles to keep that door shut.

Thanks for clearing that up! I keep hearing about the fact that there is a distinction, but I never remember which is which!

As for the trap door bit, though...My first snail was sold as a black mystery snail (I don't remember if it had a syphon). When it died it was tight in its shell. I was changing the water that day and went to move it so I could vacuum the gravel and it's trapdoor fell off!! It was pretty gross...So now I'm a little paranoid, even though I know that's not normal!

I saw him moving around a bit this evening, still not much though. I won't relax until he's back on the glass doing laps around the tank:hmm3grin2orange:

[Wild Turkey]

Mystery snails are apple snails. Yes they all have siphons and a small lung for breathing air. If your mystery snail doesnt have a siphon, you are probably misidentifying the species.


They dont need to breathe air however, its a survivability trait and aids them when they leave the water to lay a clutch of eggs so him not going up to the top isnt a concern, he doesnt need to use both methods to "breathe", only one.

Him not moving is a concern though, its a sign of stress. Have you checked your tank parameters? Most invertebrates are quite sensitive to nitrate.

How long have you had him? These snails rarely live more than 2 years at tropical temperatures so that could be it if youve had him a while.


If you start to wonder whether he is alive or dead, remove the snail from the tank and give it a sniff. Dead snails start to rot immediately and emit an unpleasant odor. If it doesnt stink, its probably still alive.

Good luck, hope you figure it out soon

[CassieLEO]

Alright, so now im really confused!!!!!

[MCools]

I'm confused now, too! I know I read somewhere that there was a distinction between apple and mystery snails, but I don't remember where. The article had also stated that most LFS either don't know or don't care about the difference and just sell them all as mystery snails. I guess I'll have to do more research, eh?

I've only had this snail since October, so I doubt he's that old. My tank has been at the lowest range for tropical temps since it's gotten cold out, so I don't know if that has anything to do with it. I ran out of testing stuff, so I'll have to take a sample down to the lfs today- I was going to do a big wc today anyway though.

Could snails react this way to leaking voltage? The day after my snail decided to start sitting around I put my hand in the tank and got a shuffle-your-feet-across-the-carpet type zap. I took out the heater I had in there and haven't had another problem, so I think that was the culprit. Looks like I'll be returning that one, even though it barely ever turned on. It's been out of the tank for 2 days now and my snail is still very inactive.

[Wild Turkey]

Cooler temps will make them live longer but be less active, unless its a decent difference in temperature though I dont think thats the cause. Did it drop 10 degrees or better? That might do it.

Good move removing that heater, time may prove that to be the issue.

Did you test the nitrate though? Inverts can be really sensitive to it so thats what I would check first.


----------

"Mystery Snail" Is just a petshop-coined term to describe apple snails that are sold in the hobby and usually bred for color. Its all the same family of snails, Apple Snails.

There is a similar looking snail to apple snails (that ive never run across yet in the hobby) that doesnt have a siphon, but its not an apple snail (or mystery snail) just close enough to be misidentified as them. If you have a "apple snail" without a siphon, chances are its probably "Viviparidae" aka live bearing snail.

Applesnail.net has some good info and you can determine the actual species of an apple snail if you so wish, it goes by shell shape and some other factors, but other than curiosity's sake it doesnt make a difference in care.

[CassieLEO]

Well that helps!!! :D

[MCools]

Thanks for the great info, Wild Turkey!!thumbs2:

I haven't taken my water sample down to my lfs yet, but I just did a 50% wc and he's starting to perk up a little now. There probably was a problem with the water. I really need to pick up a good liquid test kit- I go through the stupid strips WAY too fast!

[Wild Turkey]

No problem.

The liquid test kits are cheaper than the strips if you test a lot. You can get 80-100 tests out of one reagent typically. I strongly recommend the kits over the strips.

[MCools]

Well just to update...My poor snail died today:scry:

I had moved him to my 10g so I could watch him better without having to worry about the goldfish messing with him or eating his algae wafers. All he has done in the last few weeks was sit on the bottom and peep out of his shell once in awhile. I was really hoping he'd recover.

I think I'll wait a while before I try snails again. Of the three I have gotten this one lasted the longest at 4 months. Not too good a track record.

[mermaidwannabe]

My coldwater trapdoor (pond) snails would drive me crazy trying to figure out if they were still alive or not. More than once, I've removed one from my tank and placed him in a sink or bucket with water for observation. He would just sit there and do nothing, with the trapdoor sealed shut, for days at a time. Then all of sudden I would see the little thready wisps of eyes poking out from beneath the shell, and know that at least it was still capable of that.

I had problems with eroding shells due to insufficient calcium, and my snails not eating the algae pellets I gave them.

One did finally die, and his trapdoor was still shut. Only after I picked him up and carried him a ways did his trapdoor fall off and this indistinguisable dark blob fell onto the floor. He was smelling pretty bad, so I figured he was dead and was in the process of getting rid of him.

But it's really hard to tell, sometimes, if they're dead or just temporarily dormant. And how to get them to eat -- I guess they eat on their schedule, not yours, which means some of them might feed at night. They do crawl up the glass and feed on the biofilm, though I'm not sure just how nutritious it is for them.

If in doubt, remove them from the tank. If they are still alive, eventually you'll discover it and you can always put them back. Just keep them fed while they're out, though. And change any outside water you put them in, and it can become fouled, too, just like the main tank water can. Remember to dechlorinate and acclimate.

-- mermaidwannabe

[lotus flower]

Alright, so now im really confused!!!!!

As I understand and have read it, Mystery Snail is just a name given to many different species of apple snail (Ampullaridae family), the most common of which is Pomacea diffusa...that's the species generally sold as a "Mystery Snail", and it is an apple snail. "Apple Snail" is a term for a family of many species of snail (the Ampullaridae) INCLUDING those called "Mystery Snails" and other species.

Some people with larger "Apple Snails" may have Pomacea (pomacea) bridgesii, which is a lot like Pomacea (pomacea) diffusa (the common Mystery Snail) but larger.

Go to [Only Registered Users Can See Links.] for lots of great info!

[Trillianne]

Sorry to hear the bad news.