Snail questions...

[DrConnie]

I've had a couple of mystery snails for a couple months now & noticing odd behaviors as I go along & have been fortunate enough to get good sound advice about it here. Here's the newest...
Both snails had been inactive for about a week, to the point I thought they might be dead. I was told to pick them up and smell them & that I'd definitely know if they were dead. There was no foul odor, so I returned them to their tanks. One of them suddenly started moving again a couple days ago & seems fine now, but the other one still has not moved...going on 2 weeks now.
What's up with this?? Any insight would be very much appreciated!

 

[siva]

They are probably going to die. I've seen this type of slow down behavior from mystery and nerite snails in the weeks before death.

 

[DrConnie]

They are probably going to die. I've seen this type of slow down behavior from mystery and nerite snails in the weeks before death.

NO!!! That's not the answer I want!!

So what can I do to help them?

 

[animalzrok2]

Are they fresh or saltwater?

 

[animalzrok2]

Could you also post a picture of the snails?

 

[siva]

What she has is freshwater apple snails.

I've never been able to save them once they got to this point.

I've had this problem more than once myself. I'm curious, what is your pH?

 

[animalzrok2]

I dont have freshwater apple snails so i am not an expert on them. I dont think they will survive either but i really, really hope that they do!
Good luck!!!!

 

[DrConnie]

What she has is freshwater apple snails.

I've never been able to save them once they got to this point.

I've had this problem more than once myself. I'm curious, what is your pH?

pH has been between 7.8 and 8.0

 

[DrConnie]

BTW, not really sure what the actual differences are between Apple Snails and Mystery Snails, but what I actually have are Mystery Snails, not Apple Snails. I've seen a lot of people use the names interchangably, but what I purchased were Mystery Snails.

 

[DrConnie]

Are they fresh or saltwater?

Freshwater Mystery Snails...one male one female. Trying to figure out how to post a pic...

 

[animalzrok2]

Is the male or the female still acting weird?

 

[DrConnie]

Is the male or the female still acting weird?

the male is the one I'm concerned about. The female seems to be acting normal now, but apparently I don't really know what "normal" is.

 

[DrConnie]

 

[siva]

Apple snails are commonly referred to as "mystery snails". Your pic didn't work there but if they were sold to you as mystery snails then they are apple snails.

Your pH should be great for them. I've had probs with them in tanks under 7.0 so I thought that might be causing the issues I've had, but not the case for you with that higher pH.

Are they getting plenty to eat? Apple snails will forage for leftovers, but they have big appetites and may need supplemented. They are not really algae eaters like many types of snails are, so I would offer some wafers or pellets.

Other than that I really don't know. I hope they make it for you though.

 

[DrConnie]

Apple snails are commonly referred to as "mystery snails". Your pic didn't work there but if they were sold to you as mystery snails then they are apple snails.

Your pH should be great for them. I've had probs with them in tanks under 7.0 so I thought that might be causing the issues I've had, but not the case for you with that higher pH.

Are they getting plenty to eat? Apple snails will forage for leftovers, but they have big appetites and may need supplemented. They are not really algae eaters like many types of snails are, so I would offer some wafers or pellets.

Other than that I really don't know. I hope they make it for you though.

I add algae wafers here & there, but they don't go to it like the fish do! I've been told to try cucumbers, zuchini, etc, and they want nothing to do with it. What kind of pellets?

 

[siva]

Same here. I've heard from others they readily eat the algae wafers but not for me. They do seem to like shrimp pellets and they definitely like flake if they can get to any of it. Other than that, the only thing I've actually witnessed them eating is plant detritus. I feed my tanks shelled blanched peas and blanched zucchini regularly so I'm hoping they will begin to accept those as food, and maybe the wafers as well. IME some critters take a long time to start accepting new foods so I'm hoping they come around.

I also keep a chunk of cuttlebone burried in the substrate in my tanks with snails (and/or other inverts) to make sure there is enough calcium for them, you might want to try that as well.

 

[absolutangel04]

I agree with siva that the prognosis does not seem good. I have had mystery snails do the same thing, and then die soon after. I am sorry. I know they are awesome little guys.
There are several species of apple snails. Pomacea diffusa is one species of apple snail that comes in several colors and this is the species that is usually labeled as the mystery snail. So, like siva said, mystery snails are apple snails.
Personally, mine eat everything I feed the fish. The seem to really love shrimp pellets the most though, but algae wafers are a close second.
I do hope your guy gets better.

 

[DrConnie]

Same here. I've heard from others they readily eat the algae wafers but not for me. They do seem to like shrimp pellets and they definitely like flake if they can get to any of it. Other than that, the only thing I've actually witnessed them eating is plant detritus. I feed my tanks shelled blanched peas and blanched zucchini regularly so I'm hoping they will begin to accept those as food, and maybe the wafers as well. IME some critters take a long time to start accepting new foods so I'm hoping they come around.

I also keep a chunk of cuttlebone burried in the substrate in my tanks with snails (and/or other inverts) to make sure there is enough calcium for them, you might want to try that as well.

I'll keep trying & keep my fingers crossed. I am of course tempted to go out and get more snails if these guys go, but I would hate to have the same thing happen again. I've heard of the cuttlebone thing before too, haven't done it yet...genius! I'll keep you posted...

 

[DrConnie]

I agree with siva that the prognosis does not seem good. I have had mystery snails do the same thing, and then die soon after. I am sorry. I know they are awesome little guys.
There are several species of apple snails. Pomacea diffusa is one species of apple snail that comes in several colors and this is the species that is usually labeled as the mystery snail. So, like siva said, mystery snails are apple snails.
Personally, mine eat everything I feed the fish. The seem to really love shrimp pellets the most though, but algae wafers are a close second.
I do hope your guy gets better.

I'm willing to try shrimp pellets...how much do you feed them and how often?
I was sincerely hoping that someone would read my post and say, "OH yeah, perfectly normal!" My poor little guys

 

[siva]

In a tank where no one else is going to go for the pellet, you could add just one or two. I'm usually feeding a community with other bottom feeders so I'm sprinkling more around. I recommend at first actually picking up the snail and placing it on a pellet. Especially if there's competition around.