mystery snail sucked clean out of shell (who dunnit?)

[talloulou]

My two mystery snails are always so active but this afternoon I noticed the black one hadn't moved since last night. Upon closer look the shell looked vacated. Upon even closer inspection, (plunging shoulder deep into tank to dig shell out) I found the shell is actually completely empty. No snail, no dead snail smell. Just gone. I suspect my severum. However my severum isn't that big yet and I wasn't expecting this murderous snail behaviour so soon. I looked all around the tank for a glob of dead snail, but no glob in site, nothing stuck to the filter. So I assume the killer sucked it clean out of the shell and into its bowels...... I put my other mystery snail in my ten gallon so it doesnt suffer a similar fate.

[severum mama]

A mystery snail mystery... how ironic. My guess would definitely be the severum. My sev can be quite nasty as well.

[Fishyfanatic]

I'm not sure on how South/Central American Cichlids are with Snails, but most fish will eat the snail if it has died. So it could have just died one of the fish ate it. Or it could have eaten it alive. Just one of those mysteries of fishkeeping.

[Andos99]

I guess that's why they call it a mystery snail

[talloulou]

Okay now I think I'm losing my mind. As I said earlier snail shell was empty. No smell, just a big empty looking hole. So anyway After finding that I cleaned my tank, did pwc, and threw my other snail in the 10 gallon. I threw the dead snail (empty shelll) in the old dirty water bucket from my pwc. Now fast forward a couple of hours and I finally get around to watering my plants with the old fish water, first all the indoor ones and then I drag the bucket outside to empty in the garden. Well upon emptying the water in the garden I see the snail shell and decide to take another look at it before pitching it in the garden and now.........

low and behold their is a trapdoor and it is closed? How the heck can that be? So I don't know if its alive, but its now right there in its shell where it should be. Plus, as I said earlier the shell doesn't smell, and in my experience dead snails smell. So I plopped the sucker back in my tank and I'm off to get my head examined!

Hey maybe aliens abducted the snail and then put it back.......

[krazymom]

I'm happy for you he's alive and well and there are no murderers in your tank!! Crazy!

[talloulou]

I can't believe it but here is my snail climbing the glass tonight. I'm going to have to stick with my alien abduction/replacement theory 'cause I got no other answers. Good thing I double checked before tossing that empty shell in the garden though, LOL.

[Fishyfanatic]

What I used to do is watch the snails in the morning, then at night. If they didn't move all day, I would take them out and put them in the QT. If the next morning they haven't moved, I toss them. This way I don't mistakenly throw away a live snail. Glad to hear that he's still moving around.

[krap101]

the best way to fidn out is push the lil part that they cover themselves with. if it pulls in its alive, it air comes out and it doesnt move its probably dead

[talloulou]

Originally Posted by krap101

the best way to fidn out is push the lil part that they cover themselves with. if it pulls in its alive, it air comes out and it doesnt move its probably dead

That's what I normally do with snails if I think they might be dead, that and the sniff test. But I am telling you this shell was empty. I could stick my finger in it, so I guess the snail had pulled way back up in the shell, but I didn't realize that was possible. I have had snails for along time and never experienced anything like thinking a shell was empty when it wasn't. None of my mystery snails had ever pulled so far in their shell that you couldn't see their trap doors or anything before. Crazy but interesting. I guess you learn everyday.