Gold mystery snail not moving?

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nicolecandy44

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Aug 6, 2011
Messages
42
I have a gold mystery snail and it hasn't been moving ever since we got him. Is there something wrong? Here is a picture of him below:

img_1541073_0_29c686e37fe9e684313a75ed9a1f6a0b.jpg
 
When did you get him? Most snails are active at night. His foot is outside of the shell so that is a good sign. If the foot was retreated far into the shell I'd be 98% sure it'd be dead from experience. You can read up at The Apple Snail (Ampullariidae) Website it's a great resource for snails. Your snail is probably adjusting to the tank. Or it's sleeping. Try turnin the light off and see if there's activity. Also I keep my tank at 82 degrees and they love that temp.
 
I got him last night. I will definetly try turning off the light and see if anything happens. Thanks for the website too.
 
What's your tank parameters and temp? At least you only have one snail, i have 3 and 10 babies. And 2 egg clutches
 
My temperature's 80 degrees F. Lat time I went to the pet shop I asked them to test my aquarium water and they said that that the nitrite was really high and told us to change the water about 75% so we did that.
 
Have you picked up API master test kit? If not I recommend it. Have you cycled your tank?
 
Snails are usually your first indicator of poor water quality. How did you acclimate him? If you just plopped him in the water, it could very well have shocked him. Are the other fish curious of it? I noticed when I first introduced larger snails, some of my fish would try to "investigate" him when they tried coming out of the shell and that did NOT make them happy. If you're afraid he's dead, sniff him. You'll be able to tell cuz they stink!

Edit: just reread where you said your water was tested. did they say nitrIte or nitrAte? If it's nitrites, your tank is not fully cycled. You'll have to be very diligent with water changes until you are fully cycled if you'd like the snail to make it. The reason they're your first indicator to poor water is because they're a tad bit more sensitive to high levels than fish in my experience. Good luck.
 
I also have a golden mystery snail & when I first got him, it took a minute before he started exploring- I just went through a period of about a week when he stayed in his shell and didn't move & was scared to death that he died. Then he just suddenly started moving again & is back to normal now. I also had a black one who did the same thing at the same time and unfortunately, he just never reanimated & he died after about 3 weeks of this "hibernation". You can try putting him on an algae wafer & see if he reacts to it. Mine goes nuts for them! Best of luck! :)
 
No offense but If your Nitrite level is high enough to warrant an emergency 75% water change sounds to me like your tank is not cycled sufficiently and really shouldn't have any fish or snails in it at all.

How long have you had the tank running?

What are all your levels? NO2, NO3, Ammonia, PH etc.

As one I the others suggested, you really should get yourself a test kit and the API Master Test kit is a great start.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
ozmo
 
when we got our snail it didnt move for 2 days so we thought it was dead. we put it back in the container he came in but didnt have time to take him back for a day. when we picked the container up to return him we saw he was stuck to the side of the container lol. so yeah, it seems normal for it to not move for a while
 
Tigroscr said:
The reason I'm asking is salt and snails don't go well together could potentially die from it:-(

Im just wondering... then how are saltwater snails surviving?
 
This is common apple snail behavior, they often stay in their shells for days at a time. If you wanted to check and see if it's dead you could always do the "smell test", and trust me you'll know if it's dead.

And BTW, I have both pond snails and MTS in my brackish tank and they are thriving, I know apple snails don't really like salt but there are plenty of snails out there that adjust really well to it (y)
 
IME with mystery snails, they did not do well in a aquarium with salt, sorry I should have explained this better!
 
Thanks for al the replies :) I have been observing him and doing the smell test, he will be completely in his shell during the day and just come out a little during the night.
 
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