Is My Ramshorn Snail Okay?

[CrazyDiamond88]

My ramshorn snail came home about 4 days ago. I put him in my uncycled tank. There is plenty of fish flakes in there for him to eat. He seemed fine the first day or so, wondering around and sitting on the rocks etc.
Now though, he is just sitting in the one place, sometimes with his foot partly out. Sometimes he'll climb the glass a bit, but mostly he just sits there kind of on his back.

One thought I had is that he hurt himself climbing on the driftwood, as I have moss tied on with thread and he kept trying to squeeze himself between the thread and the driftwood.

Or am I just worrying too much!?

 

[Meeresstille]

He could just be resting but maybe he is feeling unwell if you have high Ammonia or Nitrite levels. Do you have a test kit to check it, what other fish are in this tank and how big is your tank?

 

[CrazyDiamond88]

It's a 14.5 gal tank, no fish yet, but some mts in there with him.

I do have a test kit, I last checked 2 days ago and levels were 0 except for ammonia which was .25ppm. I will definitely check again tonight though.

So snails aren't as hardy as they are made out to be?

 

[Meeresstille]

Did you do a water change after the ammonia reading of .25? When you have living things in the tank you need to aim to keep your ammonia levels as close to 0 as you can, snails add quite a bit to the bioload, so the ammonia will constantly rise. You may need to do daily water changes, at times twice if necessary until your tank is cycled! Ammonia burns their gills! You can compare it with you sitting in a room full of smoke, the more smoke the more uncomfortable you feel!
 
Snails also don't like soft water, since it is low in dissolved minerals. It needs these minerals, especially calcium to maintain its shell. If you have soft water you can add crushed coral to your filter (just add it in a little bag).

 

[CrazyDiamond88]

Okay, I'll do a water change as soon as I get home tonight.
From the research I did, I got the impression snails were quite hardy, but not so.
Poor thing, I feel awful.
Thanks for the coral tip, too.

 

[Meeresstille]

I've made mistakes too when I first started, lost a mystery snail and a nerite snail because of our city's soft water. That was 2 years ago and after changing my substrate and learning about crushed coral am going to try snails again. I will pick one or two up tomorrow actually!
 
Yes, change the water, you may need to do a large water change to bring the ammonia down. Hopefully that will do the trick and you will see your snail becoming active again soon!

 

[Wildbetta]

Even though snails are hardy, they are living creatures and harmful things like ammonia and nitrite do affect them.  

 

[snazy]

+1. The snail not moving much is a sign of bad water. The hardiest species of them survive but not all. They are inverts after all and are more sensitive to uncycled filters than fish.

 

[CrazyDiamond88]

I tested the water and the levels were as follows:
 
pH 7.4 
Ammonia .25ppm
Nitrite .25ppm
Nitrate 5ppm
 
 
Snail is in my other tank now, and he doesn't look good at all I'm scared he's gone.

 

[Meeresstille]

Is that other tank cycled? 
 
I'd give him a chance, just provide him with pristine water and if after a few days there is still no movement take him out and see if there is any foul odour coming from him. That would be the sign that he's dead! Dead snails smell pretty bad!!!!
 
For your cycling tank, keep with the water changes, if you still have living things in there. If not you may want to switch to doing a fish-less cycle!
Have a look here: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/277264-beginners-resource-center/

 

[CrazyDiamond88]

The other tank is cycled, yes. But I kind of freaked out and moved him back to the uncycled tank. I'm worried he has diseases he might pass on to my betta.
I'll keep changing the water in the uncycled tank. But I don't have high hopes for him, he has stayed in the position I put him in overnight.

 

[CrazyDiamond88]

He died

 

[CrazyDiamond88]

Or did he? I am so confused.
 
He doesn't smell bad...
 
He is just really far back in his shell and hasn't moved for like 2 or 3 days

 

[snazy]

This could be a survival mechanism. He should smell if he's dead. If you move him to a cycled tank he may eventually realize there's no more nuclear threat outside

 

[CrazyDiamond88]

Oh really? Thanks snazy!
 
I keep freaking out that he will get my betta in the cycled tank sick. 
 
But I'll just plonk him back in there then?
 
I've switched him between tanks a few times now coz I just don't know what's best for him at the moment.
Oh yeah, something else I failed to mention.
 
I had him in my betta's tank last night and I put in anti-bacterial/fungal treatment for his fins...
 
This will have harmed the snail, right?