My snail has died. His 2" around shell is sitting at the bottom of its 10 gallon home. I'm clearly aware that it cannot live without the shell, but I cannot find the dead snail anywhere in the tank. There is no possibility that it was eaten by its tankmates, they are molly fry hardly large enough to eat crumbled flake food let alone a snail weighing several grams.
I'm very concerned about the welfare of my fry and do not wish any harm to come to them. Do snails vanish like this when they die? Or is the body hiding somewhere that must be found before it rots away and wrecks my water?
2006-11-22 15:25:11 · 9 answers · asked by Accellerated Catalyst 3 in Pets ➔ Fish
The snail body would quickly dissapate in the water once dead and the fish fry would certainly feast on it even if they just peck or suck on the carcass until its gone. They would probably enjoy that more than the flake food, it would be easier to digest and suck up.
2006-11-22 16:17:07 · answer #1 · answered by margo 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Hmm. That is rather puzzling. I have had apple snails in the past. My experience is that when they die they tend to float (shell and all) to the surface where the body hangs out of the shell. The smell is awful; one sure way to know it's dead! That said though, it may be possible that the body came out of the shell and is floating around the tank somewhere. I've never heard of them completely disappearing though, or disintegrating quickly enough that you wouldn't notice it had died (the smell would be too obvious by then). Are there any plants or hiding areas for the fry that they body could've become entagled or ensnared in? Check anything and everything in the tank; like you guessed, it certainly won't help the water quality.
Oh, and to be sure: I'd take the shell out and check in that, too. Don't say I didn't warn you about the smell though. It really is one of the worst scents I've ever had the displeasure of inhaling.
2006-11-22 23:39:09 · answer #2 · answered by Serian 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If it isn't still in the shell and you can't find it in the tank, check your filtration system to make sure it's not in there. I've had live fish find their way in there. I don't know about dead snails too much.
2006-11-23 02:10:40 · answer #3 · answered by blujai18 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
snail heaven
2006-11-22 23:32:04 · answer #4 · answered by -------- 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
he went to snail heaven
2006-11-22 23:29:06 · answer #5 · answered by Katharine A 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
its probably in the tank somewhere, just clean out the tank to be on the safe side..
2006-11-22 23:33:53 · answer #6 · answered by donttalkjustplay05 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
they tend to hide a lot, so just search the tank
2006-11-22 23:29:31 · answer #7 · answered by skigrrrrl 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
when snails die they shrivel up into their shell, i believe he's in there if not, well i guess...snail heaven!
2006-11-22 23:35:18 · answer #8 · answered by Xanthous 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
they rot in the shell... remove the shell asap.
2006-11-23 01:22:09 · answer #9 · answered by professorminh 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋