Snails Dying :(

[Mike4242]

I have gotten 4 different snails since I got started with fish keeping as a hobby. No matter what tank, with what fish. They always end up dying. Any ideas why?

 

[mfdrookie516]

Moved to Freshwater & Brackish - Unhealthy Fish. Please read this sticky before posting in the Profiles forum.

 

[Atxpunx]

Could it be the hardness of your water or the lack of appropriate food or water changes. I add a piece of cuttlebone in my filter media compartment to give inverts more dissolved calcium to give stronger shells and exoskeleton.

 

[CatmanDru]

Mike, what kind of snails did you have?

Common aquarium snails are Nerites, Mystery (Pomacea Difusa/Bridgisii), and ramshorns.

Different snail species require different water conditions and different foods.

How did the snails behave before they died?

 

[Mike4242]

Mystery snails. Very active for first day and night and the the next day found him dead

 

[kelly77143]

Mystery snails will "sleep" alot... ESP if they are full from eating. They are kinda lazy. Are you sure they were dead?

 

[gabysapha]

All of my pet store adult mystery snails died too, but my juvenile snails are thriving! I think in my case my adult snails did not adjust as well to my tanks. Try getting juvenile mysteries through a breeder, they look way better too! They are sensitive to imperfect water quality, so add them only to stable tanks

 

[jpchin]

Mystery snails will "sleep" alot... ESP if they are full from eating. They are kinda lazy. Are you sure they were dead?

i totally agree with kelly. my mystery snails would stay in the same place for a day or two. the best way to tell if a snail is dead is to pick it up and if it's dead the insides will come out of the shell since the muscle will no longer hold it in after death. that's the only way i know to tell. before i found out i'm sure i threw a few out that were just "sleeping"

 

[absolutangel04]

i totally agree with kelly. my mystery snails would stay in the same place for a day or two. the best way to tell if a snail is dead is to pick it up and if it's dead the insides will come out of the shell since the muscle will no longer hold it in after death. that's the only way i know to tell. before i found out i'm sure i threw a few out that were just "sleeping"

Yeah, my friend did that too.
I have lost a few mystery snails, but in general they have been pretty hardy. They do need good water quality. Another thing to do, is make sure you buy one that looks healthy. A healthy mystery snail should barely be practically overflowing form its shell when it pulls itself in. If the foot is sunken in at all, it means the snail is unhealthy. The foot should be flush with the shell, or else out of it a bit, but never sunken in. Many places sell unhealthy ones.
Also, add a source of calcium to the water like a cuttle bone. Acclimate carefully. I suppose my juvy snails have had a higher success rate, so that is good advice too.
Also, mine have been known to sit inactive for even a couple of days. Mystery snails are famous for looking dead.

 

[Mike4242]

Wow thanks for the responses everyone. Although I could've sworn it was dead. Juvy snails? Are they cool? And how would I go about getting cuttle bone. Not sure what that is

 

[gabysapha]

Wow thanks for the responses everyone. Although I could've sworn it was dead. Juvy snails? Are they cool? And how would I go about getting cuttle bone. Not sure what that is

In my experience my juvenile snails are quite active and grow quickly. People on aquabid sell juvenile mysteries all the time in lots of colors. The idea is that juvenile snails adjust to your water better than an adult. Not sure if that's true but i've never had a juvenile die on me, but then again i only have six. That's still way better than any of the adults did from Petsmart.

 

[absolutangel04]

A cuttle bone is a calcium suppliment for birds. They are white ovals with a hard back a texture sort of like hardened baking soda. They should be available in the bird section of any petstore.

 

[Rossario23]

Also a good source of calcium for snails are those 5 day fish feeders that look like little white pyramids or sea shells and stuff. They are pretty much all calcium to. I break them up and put in my tanks for the snails. You should be able to find them in ant local fish store