snail behavior question

[justrelax]

why would my apple snail have been floating around? came home after a couple days away, and he was bobbing around. i thought he was dead at first and was going to dispose of him, but then thought i would wait a bit and boy am i glad i did! any reason for him doing that?

 

[Guest]

maybe he had gas....


SNAIL FARTS

sorry, i am supposed to be lurking but i couldn't resist.

 

[lyquidphyre]

Sometimes they collect air bubbles in their shells and just float around. You will be able to tell when they are dead, I can promise you that much!

 

[tropicfishman]

prolly just released the air sack and was refilling it with its siphon, its normal behavior

 

[Purrbox]

Actually depending on how long they do this for it could be a sign of water quality issues. If they only do it for a little while and then go back to trolling around the tank, then they just felt like it. However, if they do this for several hours, it's often a sign that they are unhappy with the water quality and trying to float to better water.

 

[Tostada]

I thought my mystery snail was dead last week. He was sitting in the same place for a day, then just bobbing on top for at least a full day with his door not quite closed. It had to be a full 3 days that he seemed to be dead. Then I took him out and tapped on the door and he didn't shut it the rest of the way, so I figured he was dead. I mean, it had been several days with no movement and the snail was normally very active.

I took him out and put him in a Ziploc bag with cold tap water, then put that in a bag from the LFS and set it by the door. The next afternoon, I took him to the LFS to see if they'd be nice and give me a new snail, but they said no. So I went to throw the bag away in the trash can in front of the LFS. For some reason I peeked in the bag, and right as I did he stuck out his tentacles and started crawling around. Now at this point he had been sealed shut in an airtight bag with just about 2" of straight tap water for 24 hours, and it was about 90F outside and I had the top down on my car and the bag had just been sitting in the sun. It was a 15-min trip to the LFS and now I still had to drive back.

Anyway, I got home and put him back in the aquarium and he's fine. I guess next time I'll just assume he's alive until I see his guts fall out of his shell and start to rot.

 

[joannde]

Dead snails smell like low tide ... you'll know when they are dead.

Tostada - "cold water treatment" is one way to help a sick snail, so by you putting him in the cool tap water you probably helped him without even realizing it.

 

[justrelax]

i just tested the water and there's no indication that anything is wrong there. glad to hear this is normal, but i'm wondering why i haven't seen him do this before. is it something they will usually do after lights out?

nice to see you posting fishypeanut...

 

[AquaJoe]

From what I have read snails often float around for what ever reason. I am not sure how much truth there is to that, as is the case with alot of information on the web, but it seems to be the case. In my experience, snails will float around. My advice? Enjoy the spectacle!

Joe

 

[joannde]

Sometimes the "bad water" doesn't mean ammonia or nitrites. It can mean a contaminant in the tank. However, my snails also float around - the ones that floated for days died, the others float for an hour or so and then finally decide its time to eat again LOL so they let out their air and sink. I've seen a floating snail play in the bubble wand bubbles - talk about a specticle ! What a hoot. He had his head out of the shell and just rode the bubbles up, then released air and sank so he could do it again.
Another funny event is when a snail hitched a ride on top of another snail (on his shell) and the lower snail decided to "go for a float", with the second snail still hanging on him. It was like a snail amusement park to the rider ! LOL
And people say snails are boring ??? No way - I love watching my snails.

 

[smithw14]

My apple snails do the same exact floating thing. Especially when they crawl up the glass to the top of the tank, they (scurry, slide, walk, crawl, glide, whatever) across the tank for a bit and then let go. Since they have accumulated air bubbles they just float to the top for a little while. A few times they have floated around for 10-15 min and other times they realize they are not dropping to the bottom as they wanted and they release the bubbles. Maybe its like free falling and it gives them a rush?!? lol

One of my snails was doing the same "hitching a ride" thing a week and a half ago. He was doing it all the time, then I realized they were actually doing the nasty dance. I now have accumulated 4 egg sacs in 7 days.

Apple Snails for sale in about 4 weeks!!!

 

[Pleco]

my snail was in the same place that i left it the night before which kinda freaked me out. When i went to remove leftover veggies from the tank i had to move him a bit and his trap door shut completely so i guess maybe he is just full and hanging out.

-Pleco

 

[talloulou]

They're body surfing.

 

[justrelax]

anyone ever do fly on a leash when you were a kid? maybe i could tie him to an angel and he could get a lift..

 

[Pleco]

Its odd my snail will close his trap door if i move him or touch his shell for that matter but he seems to be in the same place with his trap door partly open. Do snail sometimes just chill out and not move around/stay in their shell, he used to be pretty active so im a bit worried. I see him poke out a feeler every now and then, or the air tube thingy, but thats it, hes been in the same place that ive moved him for a while.

-Pleco

 

[zacusmaximus]

I've never paid too much attention to my snails, but I've definitely never seen them float! I'll have to keep an eye out for that.

I did, however, see one doing the usual trolling maneuvers (zipping all over the tank) but once it got up to the HOB intake pipe near the surface of the water it looked like he just let go of the glass. I only noticed because I was working on a nearby tank and I was surprised at how quickly he made a lap around the tank. I looked over right as he kamikazed to the substrate. It didn't even phase him, he just kept on trucking. It was very comical, to say the least.

 

[joannde]

Pleco - if the snail stays in the same place for more than a day I'd venture to guess he's sick. Each of my snails that died showed the same behavior that you described. Take him out and put him in some cool dechlorinated water for a few hours. That seems to work most of the time. If not go to www.applesnail.net. They have a forum for sick snails where you can look at old posts or join and make a post yourself.

 

[Pleco]

Pleco - if the snail stays in the same place for more than a day I'd venture to guess he's sick. Each of my snails that died showed the same behavior that you described. Take him out and put him in some cool dechlorinated water for a few hours. That seems to work most of the time. If not go to www.applesnail.net. They have a forum for sick snails where you can look at old posts or join and make a post yourself.

He moved last night, but i found him upside down and his trap door facing toward the top the tank this morning. I was running late for work so i didnt have time to check on him.

-Pleco

 

[Mosaic]

I had a snail that floated for weeks. I moved him to a QT tank to be safe, but I know it wasn't a water issue, as I have 5 snails between the two tanks, and everyone else was fine. Then twice I saw him floating, but his entire body was hanging out of the shell, just limp. His antennae were moving a around, so he was alive, but he was obviously having some serious issues. He died when I went out of town.

I'm very wary of getting rid of floaters now, as I've thrown away snails in the past that were probably still alive. I feel so bad.

Edit - Joannde, where's that forum? I looked around and couldn't find it.

 

[Pleco]

Welp, Gary the snail is moving around and eating the algae wafer. I put him in cold water before we had soccer practice and then did a PWC later in the evening. He seems to be a different snail today. Hopefully the past day was just a fluke, or whatever it was has passed.

-Pleco