Golden Stripped Apple Snail Feeling Suicidal?

[Chtheo]

Hi,

not sure where to put this, i couldnt see an invert section.

I have a striped apple snail in my tank, called Nigel, and twice within the last hour i have had to pick him up and put him back in the tank.

In my tank there are 2 runners along each length, and he keeps climbing up on them and going for a walk, Normally this wouldnt concern me, but the lights are on, and i am afraid he is going to bake underneath them. as the ambient temperature above water is very high.

No sooner is he in the tank, he tries again, along the same path (in fact he his now)

I dont quite understand this behavior as snails are new to me, is this a sign of improper water parameters? or is he just depressed?

For now, i have lowered the water level a bit. so hopfully that will deter him.

What could be the cause? and how can i fix it? OR is this just what they do?

 

[Noahs ark6]

Do you not have a lid???

If you dont, you could put cling film over the top of the tank (with a few pencil sized holes in) to stop him getting out. How about getting a condensation tray, as this is what those two glass bits are for.
Like this

 

[Chtheo]

i do have a lid,

I considered covering the top, but its a pretty hefty peice of wood that i wont want to have to move every time i feed the fish.

so far, lowering the water level seems to have held him back.

as far as i can tell the conditions in my tank are perfect for him. So i am a bit at a loss about his behaviour.

If i coulod find some kind of plastic/plastic coated chicken wire stuff, i could put that in there and hopfully they food will still fall through whilst blocking his escape.

 

[Noahs ark6]

How big is the tank, have you used any copper inclusive medication in the tank recently?

To be honest, he might just be exploring abit, apple snails can survive for quite a while out of the water.

Edit---- just had a brainwave, apple snails like to go above the water line to lay there eggs, is there just one snail in the tank, or more?

 

[Chtheo]

the tank is 24x30x36 whihc puts it at just over 60l working volume. According to the aquarium wiki, its big enough for the snail.

There is only one snail in the tank, so i dont think it could be that.

 

[OldMan47]

I'll move this to the invert section for you.

 

[Gilli]

I would test your water quality to make sure hes not trying to get out because of that.

 

[Chtheo]

I have, everything seems fine.

the only things it could be is that the PH is a little low and im having algae issues due to low nitrate (as advised in other thread here). That said, lowering the water level seems to have stopped him, and one of my lights should be being repalced with an LED unit soon, so hopefully that will cut down on heat, so should he managed to get out, i shouldnt end up with escargot!