I Think My Apple Snail Is Dying!

[chelsiethegreat]

shes never done this before! all night she was in the same spot, hanging out of her shell a little bit.. i went to reach for her because i thought she was dead, and she went all the way in her shell... i went to the pet store and got some wafers because i recently changed to a larger tank and i thought maybe she just might be hungry cause there isn't enough alge on the tank walls? i don't know what to do! she still isn't doing much!?!?!

 

[Blitz]

I've learned this from a friend of mine who has a few snails in her tank. First, (In my opinion) I wouldn't feed algae waffers. I don't know, but I just wouldn't. Snails will eat regular fish food that falls to the bottom of the tank.
Ok, let's get to the point. She's been there the whole night, hasn't move: tap on her shell GENTLY and see if she will come out. IF she doesn't... I guess wait a while later and try again if she's not moving. And if she starts to smell a little funny and she isn't moving, she's dead... So try to tap on her shell and she if she comes out. Hope this helps

 

[Akasha72]

don't leave it too long if you really think she's dead. A dead rotting snail will send your ammonia sky rocketing off the scale.

I have no idea what happens visually when they are dead as I've yet to lose one. There's a lot of members with snails so they may be able to help more.

I do know when I pick mine up you can feel a slight vibration through his shell so I use that as a guide

 

[KittyKat]

What are your full water parameters?

What size is the tank and what other animals are in it?

 

[CezzaXV]

When I thought one of my snails is dead, I cut the bottom off a coke bottle, put some water in it and floated it in the tank. I reasoned that if it wasn't dead it would climb out (or at least move), and if it was dead it wouldn't be releasing ammonia into the water. After two days I decided it was dead. It wasn't until I opened the lid of my tank that I realised the water it was in was absolutely honking! There's no mistaking the smell of a dead snail.

 

[chelsiethegreat]

i have 8 male guppies, in now a 15 gallon tank ( moved them from a 10 gallon ) and i noticed this last nite and she still is acting weird. just barely hanging out of her shell, but when i go to touch her she goes back in . . . i don't know what to do.

 

[FishFanatic04]

When I thought one of my snails is dead, I cut the bottom off a coke bottle, put some water in it and floated it in the tank. I reasoned that if it wasn't dead it would climb out (or at least move), and if it was dead it wouldn't be releasing ammonia into the water. After two days I decided it was dead. It wasn't until I opened the lid of my tank that I realised the water it was in was absolutely honking! There's no mistaking the smell of a dead snail.

+ 1 Dead snails smell horrible. You will 100% know it's dead. I like the floating coke bottle bottom idea.

 

[Akasha72]

When I thought one of my snails is dead, I cut the bottom off a coke bottle, put some water in it and floated it in the tank. I reasoned that if it wasn't dead it would climb out (or at least move), and if it was dead it wouldn't be releasing ammonia into the water. After two days I decided it was dead. It wasn't until I opened the lid of my tank that I realised the water it was in was absolutely honking! There's no mistaking the smell of a dead snail.

That's a really good idea. One to store in the back of my brain for when I think mines on it's way out .... come to think of it I havn't seen much of it tonight ....

 

[chelsiethegreat]

i just checked my ammonia levels and everything seems to be normal.. but she still hasn't moved and is still kinda laying out of her shell.. i dont know what to do.. if she's still in the same spot tomorrow i'm thinking i should take her out? right? ... but then what? !

 

[FishFanatic04]

maybe take a sniff? its weird but you'll know quickly.

 

[chelsiethegreat]

no odor yet... and when i reach in to get her out of the tank she goes back in her shell.. so shes' still alive, right? uughh.. poor shelly..

 

[FishFanatic04]

yup poor thing. They don't have the longest of lifespans, so don't feel bad ok?

 

[chelsiethegreat]

right on.. thanks for the pick me up.. i thought they had long life spans an i was expecting her to get really big... i was crying this morning! i felt like a bad fish mama! .. still makes me sad..

 

[KittyKat]

i have 8 male guppies, in now a 15 gallon tank ( moved them from a 10 gallon ) and i noticed this last nite and she still is acting weird. just barely hanging out of her shell, but when i go to touch her she goes back in . . . i don't know what to do.

In that size tank with live fish you need to be very careful as a single dead apple snail can kill all the fish because of the ammonia that it will release when it dies.

i just checked my ammonia levels and everything seems to be normal..

Can you give us the water parameters in numbers please? Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, KH, GH and temperature are the ones that would be useful.

i thought they had long life spans an i was expecting her to get really big...

Pomacea bridgesii grow to around 20-35 mm in diameter (in my experience) and lived for 2-5 years when I kept them (reliable source says 3 is good). If your snail was large when you got it, then it could have already been quite old. Other species of apple snails can get larger and live for longer (and some are smaller and have shorter life spans).

Also, snails are lazy and won't move unless they want food or sex, so it might be nothing to worry about.

 

[FishBlast]

My snails spend their time inside their shells mostly, when they are well fed. My craziest one will even dig himself a little nest in the sand and bury himself there for a while.
Whenever I see them active, I let them clean up my Java Fern of debris and then I take them out and feed them in a bowl with Tropical Flakes. Then I put them back in and add fresh water to replace the one I removed with the bowl.
(reason: I cannot get the food to the snails, my catfish eats EVERYTHING).