How do you tell if a snail is dead?

[Tropical]

I have a black mystery snail. He hasn't moved from under a cave in my tank for a few days. He was upside down, with the top of the shell on the gravel, and his trapdoor was partly closed. I figured he had died but when I took him out the trapdoor slowly closed. Also, it doesn't really smell. I don't want it to add ammonia, how do I tell if it's dead?

 

[Homedog98]

Well... If it doesn't smell, it's still alive, so just wait and see. He could be sick, have you treated your tank with anything recently?

 

[Tropical]

I have not treated anything recently. I do use FloraPride, chlorine removers, and occasionally MelaFix. Has any of these been known to cause snail deaths?

 

[Homedog98]

See if any of them are copper based. Those can hurt inverts.

 

[siva]

FloraPride, Melafix, and dechlorinator are all invert safe.

This is normal snail behavoir. It is possible it is slowing down and about to die, or it may just be in a semi-hibernation state for a few days. I wouldn't worry yet, just keep an eye/nose on it

 

[Sarcothelia]

Take it out of the water and have a sniff. Doesn't work quite so well when you're sick, however.

 

[Tropical]

Still no smell, I put it in a seperate container for now so I can keep an eye on it.