Snails Swimming?

[treelo]

is this a normal practice for snails?

my larger snails now make there way to the top of the tank and them swim down to the bottom before repeating the process, which makes my tank look a bit strange with snails swimming all over the tank

 

[AndyW]

Apple snails will sometimes float... not exactly swim though, my ivory apple snail seems to go onto the air disc on purpose as a quick ride to the top

 

[treelo]

no, these are just common snails and ill take a photo next time one of them decides to go on a swim

 

[Straydum]

snails can swim? thats new to me. i'd love to see the pictures if you got them.

 

[afishdude]

snails cant swim. its probably just air in the snails and the current in your tank moving them around.

 

[iSnail]

My pouch/tadpole snails quite often dangle half-way down from the surface by an invisible thread of slime. Not seen my ramshorns do that but they kind of semi float in the water by their air pouch. Never seen my snails swim as such though

 

[treelo]

right peeps, here are the photos of some of them swimming, ill try and get a vid of them as well in the next week or so but i dont think my camera has good vid qaulity on it

 

[afishdude]

yep i was right, when snails go to the top of the water they take in a little air, with the air inside them it makes them more buoyant. which makes them kinda hover half way in the water. when they do this the come out of their shell and try to grab on to stuff which is why it looks like they are swimming. when i had a snail tank for puffers they would do that all the time.

and by the way they are pond snails.

 

[treelo]

they do that down the tank as well

 

[afishdude]

its impossible for snails to swim.
its physics, the less buoyant they are, the more they can "swim" around. it makes them get stuck in the water then the current moves them around.

 

[treelo]

i understand what your saying, its just the snails move both upwards and downwards in the tank

i can fathom out the air thing going upwards, its the going down that im puzzled at

 

[afishdude]

well, the next time you see this turn off the filter. then it should just stay still in the water.

 

[treelo]

right, i did as was advised, i turned the filter off for about 10 mins, came back into the room to find a snail making its way down the tank, so filmed it with my camera to the best quality i could, i also switch to a smaller baby snail doing the same from the top of the tank right at the end

http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwsxL2HEn3s

apologies for picture quality but i will see if i can borrow a better camera if need be

 

[iSnail]

They look exactly like my snails. Try use a stick and move over/above it to see if there is an invisible slime thread. Mine dangle down like spiders dangling on silk.... but they don't really go upwards . If it's not that, then I don't know what it is.

 

[treelo]

yeah, im curious to find out how they are going both up and down the tank myself

they near come out of there shells while doing it, as if to try and help there downward and upward manouver