Snail hanging out... FW, Env. –
6/17/08
Hi,
<Sig>
I have a freshwater snail and he is hanging out of his shell and there is not
much movement.
<Bad signs>
A little movement, but not really much. I had a Beta and an algae eater
<Yikes... what sort of algae eater? Not a CAE I hope/trust. See the Net, WWM re
Gyrinocheilus>
and the snail- Cecil. The Beta wasn't looking to
<too>
good, so I had the water quality checked and it was fine and then that night the
algae eater died. The next morning the Beta died. I found out that I fed the
Beta too much, and that the fish excreted too often and that was that.
<... is this "system" filtered? Heated...?>
I got rid of half of the water in the tank, per the fish store and it tested
fine and now the snail is hanging out of his shell. Long email I know, but
I wanted to give you all of the info! Is Cecil dying?
Thanks!
sig
<I suspect so. Read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/bettasysart.htm
Bob Fenner>
Apple snail odd behavior 5/10/07
I have two apple snails in a 28 gallon bow front tank. There are other
residents there also but, the snails are troubling me with the behavior I am
seeing. One is slightly larger than the other both are blonde in color. The
larger of the two seems to be quite active moving all over the tank very
quickly. The smaller one seems very shy and will come out after it has been
laying still for a long time. If any of the fish brush against the smaller snail
it will close up and lay still for a very long time. Well, the question I have
is about the larger snail seeming to "attack" the smaller one. The larger snail
seems to come almost completely out of its shell, wrapping itself around the
others shell covering it up almost all the way holding on very tight. When I see
this happening I separate the two but the larger one will hang on for a moment
before I can coax it loose. Is the larger of the two trying to hurt the smaller
one?
<Mmm, no... is trying to mate with it>
I have even went as far as moving the small one to another tank where it seems
to come out and move around quite a bit more and seems less shy when I have
taken it out of the tank with the larger one. My husband and I have gotten on
several websites trying to sex the two and find out why this hanging on to each
other type behavior is happening. I don't want any of the animals I have in my
tank to get hurt especially by another resident of the tank as there is no where
for the aggressor to get away from the aggressor except to hide and seem
unhappy. I have had these types of snails in the past and have never experienced
this type of behavior. Could the larger snail being trying to hurt the smaller
one? Is there a mating dance going on?
<Yes>
Is there an easier way to tell which sex they are?
<Not as far as I'm aware>
I feel I am not doing these two justice by not knowing what to do for them to
make it comfortable for them to co-exist. I would appreciate any help you can
offer to figure this out.
<Best to keep them separated>
I currently have three tanks going and am just a novice at the fish game. I have
the 28 gallon, a 29 gallon with a very territorial/aggressive African cichlid
who lives alone after killing his mate.
<Do not put snail/s here>
The 10 gallon has a king's crown Betta, a couple of small mollies and two small
Rasbora (spell?) and one very young female rainbow angel ram. The African
cichlid has only allowed a Pleco to live in his tank without trying to kill it.
I really want my fish to live in a happy environment as well as my two little
snails. Thanks for listening, my husband just called me a motor mouth so I will
end this now. Any suggestions you can make for my snail issue would be greatly
appreciated!!
Thanks,
Mona J.
<Bob Fenner>
Snails Won't Come Out Of Shells - 10/13/06
We have two snails from a pet store in a 5 gallon tank with a Betta. The
Betta appears to have eaten the two long feelers on both snails, but both
continued to thrive or so it appeared. One has gone into its shell and doesn't
seem to come back out to eat. Now the second one seems to being doing the
same. What causes them to do that?
< Doesn't sound like they are happy. Their sensors are probably damaged and they
need time to regenerate them. They probably come out and move around under the
cover of darkness.> What other info can I give you to try and solve this or is
this a common thing that store bought snails tend to die?
< They live a long time when well cared for. Your Betta has made them into
mobile banquet blocks. This will make it difficult for them to come out during
the day time and eat.>
I have no clue as to the type of snail, they actually seemed to have a healthy
appetite since they would come to the top when my wife was feeding the Betta
(male). and she seen them funnel the food into their mouth
thanks Timothy B.
< Isolate the snails in an unheated bucket of treated water and see if they come
out without the Betta being around.-Chuck>
Apple Snail Mystery 2/13/06
I was reading some of the messages on your forum hoping to find some
information about my problem with an apple snail I have had since early January
2006. He is about 2 1/2 inches in diameter and has taken to giving off
tremendous amounts of slime and mucus. He seems to be otherwise okay. I have
separated him from the aquarium (10 gallon) in a bowl by himself. He doesn't
seem to be very active and doesn't appear to eat much. He is not dead because
he does come out and move around some, but not like the other smaller apple
snail I have. Any ideas what the mucus production is about?
Mike (new aquarium owner)
<Could well be "something" chemically about the system is bothering this
snail... too high pH, alkalinity, salts... metal... These animals are in many
ways more sensitive than fishes to such challenges, changes. Best to treat,
store new water before using, and to be very regular re water changes (not add
water simply to replace evaporated). Bob Fenner>
Shocking, Vicious Snail 7/23/05
Ahoy, mateys...
<Aye be gar, actually, I be Bob, what's up?>
I have a tale of two snails to impart: I bought two large "Mystery Snails"
from a pet store that shall remain Unnamed.
<Perhaps that's their mystery?>
They are chocolate-brown in
color, and bigger than my thumb. Wait, I have very small hands (see?), so
they are, if you are male, bigger than YOUR thumb. These snails have
roundish shells. Please hold up your thumb: Yes, bigger than your thumb.
<Can't type while looking at me digits>
To continue: One snail is chasing down and nipping the other snail. I
clearly see it nipping. I might have seen the glint of a fang, even (okay,
exaggerating). The Victimized Snail jerks around, and pulls everything in,
but the other snail is relentless. I keep moving him/her/it away with the
handle of the net, but the chase begins anew the moment of re-emergence.
<Bizarre>
"Googling" about "snails aggression" and "aquarium snail aggressive" and so
forth yield only advice about being aggressive in removing infestations of
snails. Let's no go into what searching for the terms "aggressive snails
sex?" turned up.
This has gone on two nights and I'm getting no sleep. Any help would be
appreciated. Here is a lovely Virtual Box of Chocolates in appreciation:
[__]
Thank ye,
Snowie
<Am looking out to see if there's a full-moon... don't know what this is...
maybe a shortage of calcium? Reproductive behavior? Bob Fenner>
Hi my name is SuzAnn and I have two apple snails blonde in color. Anyway one
has been floating for three or four days way out of it's shell and teenie weenie
bubbles are forming around the front of the snail . The bubbles are in some form
of thin slime. Is this snail dying?
< Unfortunately your snail has passed away and needs to removed quickly so its
decomposing body doesn't add to the ammonia and nitrate problem.-Chuck>
Floating Snail
I have a snail that has been floating on and off for the last couple of
days. When it is floating it is closed up inside of it's shell. Is something
wrong with it?
<Hopefully not>
What would make it float?
<It may be looking for food>
I'm not sure what kind of snail it is, but it is not cone shaped. It is round. I
have four larger gold fish in the ten gallon aquarium with the snail. I do not
feed the snail anything extra because I thought there would be enough algae, and
left over fish food. Do I need to supplement feed the snail?
<Likely not>
Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated. I've never had a snail
before.
Thanks,
Lonnette
<Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwsnails.htm
and the FAQs file (in blue, at top) re these snails. Bob Fenner>
Re: snails floating
Halloo
I have a 2 gallon fishbowl with one Betta and 3 snails (brand: unknown.) These
snails have a peculiar behavior lately of floating on the top. If I pick
them up they retract, and they otherwise seem to be happily doing their job
(slithering around, cleaning the bowl.) Is this a precursor to something
bad?
Thanks -- KN
<Likely nothing wrong here. Some snails are more amphibious than truly
totally aquatic... they may be looking for more food, perhaps going to the
surface for more oxygen. But the Betta is a "facultative aerial
respirator" (breaths atmosphere), so not to worry re the latter for its
sake. Bob Fenner>
Shy Snail? - 03/27/2004
I recently bought a snail for my 20 gallon freshwater tank. I have a few
other fish in tank that are about a year old. I noticed today the snail was
tucked in his shell and wasn't eating, is this normal for a snail to stay in
it's shell all day long?
<Mm, possibly, but certainly isn't a good sign. Check ammonia,
nitrite, nitrate, and pH, to be on the safe side.>
I don't know much about snails, if there is a certain temp. for water...etc.
<To be honest, I don't know, especially without knowing what species you
have. Try looking here: http://www.applesnail.net/
.>
Any information you can give me would be greatly appreciated. I just hope he
hasn't passed on.
<Me, too!>
Hoover, was so much fun to watch.
<"Hoover"? What a fitting name! My most
recent acquisition, an L-260 Pleco, has been named "Suckhead" :) >
Yes, we named all the fish including the snail.
<Understandable, of course :) >
Please reply. Sandra
<Done. Hope you can find the answers you're looking for! Wishing
you well, -Sabrina>
Snail Missing Antennae 7/4/04
Hi,
<Hi, Pufferpunk here>
I took a good look through your website (great) but didn't find my question
answered. I just got a 'zebra snail' for my aquarium, and he's doing a great job
in it so far, but when I got him he had lovely, long tentacles, and I'm afraid
my Betta has bitten them to about 1/4 their proper size. My question is... do
they grow back? I'm considering moving the Betta out for a couple reasons, and
if I knew the tentacles would grow back that would encourage me to do so. (If
they won't grow back then the damage is done).
<Yes, they will grow back. I have never heard of a Betta doing
this though.>
Thanks guys! Lynn
<Good luck with your snail friend. I'm a snail-lover too! I
have an apple snail the size of my fist! ~PP>
Apple snail question
Hi,
is it normal for a fairly large apple snail to spend most of her time
in a corner inside her shell? She comes out when I drop bits of
zucchini in for her to eat but spends almost all of the rest of her
time inside her shell in the back of the tank.
I guess I just want to know if this is something I should be concerned
about, or if its perfectly normal behavior and I should just let her
do her thing.
< Snails usually come out to forage for food. If you are feeding the snail well
then there is really no need for your snail to be out and about. To be sure try
not feeing the snail for awhile and see if it comes out looking for food. I
think the only problem is your snail is fat and happy ( and lazy)-Chuck>
thanks,
~Anna
Do freshwater snails hibernate or something similar?
<Well, kinda, yeah. Their metabolism will slow dramatically in extreme
cold....>
We have 2 apple, 2 rams horn and 2 cone shaped snails in our tank. Everyone was
very active and moving about the tank. Two days ago we noticed that everyone
was just hanging out in their shells and not moving. It has been two days and
the only movement has been the fish around them or the bubbles.
<The likeliest culprit here is poor water quality - what are your readings for
ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH? Has pH changed recently? If ammonia or
nitrite are above zero, even by a tiny bit, that would cause the snails to close
up shop and hide; high nitrate may do the same (nitrate should be less than
20ppm).>
My husband says they are dead and wants to get rid of them.
<Pull one out of the tank - if it smells like the devil himself has come for a
visit, the snail is dead. You will KNOW, immediately, if the snail smells
dead.>
I can't figure out what would kill them all in one evening.
<I'm not confidant they're dead yet - check 'em and see. My best guess is still
water quality.>
We did add 3 new fish, but we did not add the water they came in. Any ideas?
<Possible ammonia spike from the new additions.... How many and what kind of
fish in how large a tank? Another possibility is that you might have a fish
that is picking on/harming the snails. Keep an eye out for this, and do get
back to us with a list of your livestock, and the readings on your water tests -
I hope we can nail this down for you, so you can fix it and not have the problem
again in the future!>
Thank you...
Snail less in Seattle
<Wishing you well, -Sabrina>
Snail question
Hello,
My son and I just read your web page on snails and wondered if you
could answer a question for us. We have a 10 gallon tank with a couple
Catfish sharks and a Pleco. One day we found we had a visitor in our tank, a
small Ramshorn (we think) snail (stowaway on a plant). Well we decided to
keep "Gary" and now we have Gary's 1-100 in our small tank. I often manually
remove several when the population gets too high but over all we enjoy all
of the snails. Our question is this, often there are times when there are
several snails in a big ball (about 5+ snails) the corner of the tank. We
would like to know if you know if there is a reason they do this and or is
it normal. We are just worried that its not a normal thing and there is
something we can do to help them. We have thought of several reasons to this
"snail ball" (hungry, cold, snail fighting :) ) but we just don't know a
lot about snails to know what's going on. Any help could give us would be
great.
< More than likely they are feeding on a piece of left over food or a dead fish.
If you want to thin then out you can place a wafer food pellet on the bottom and
after a while you can remove the snail ball.-Chuck>
Thank you for your time,
Monte and Logan Chaney
Snails and Plecos
Dear WetWeb Crew,
We have a 30 gallon tank with one snail (1
to 1-1/4" inches in diameter), one Pleco
(1-1/4"),
<Tiny!>
one Bala shark, two Hatchetfish, two
blue Paradisefish, two Rasboras, two tiny
frogs, one brown Knifefish, and one glass
catfish. After the blue paradise fish battled
each other for dominance (about 2-3 weeks), the
tank has been harmonious for the past two months
or so.
Question: Our snail is behaving erratically;
several times, he(?) has just "closed up shop,"
and floated around the tank. Then he re-adheres
to the side, and behaves normally for awhile. He
spends most of his time now floating, with his
shell half-closed. He started doing this (we
think) shortly after we observed the Pleco eating
algae off of his shell. (The algae was there
when we got him two months ago, and has not
seemed to have caused any problem thus far.)
Concurrently, we noticed the snail appears to
have suddenly grown about 1/8" of new shell right
above his body, not touched by any algae.
<What you describe so well is likely simply "natural" behavior... a way that
these snails "get around" quickly... compared with going at a "snail's pace" via
their "feet"... and no problem with the small Pleco cleaning off its shell. Bob
Fenner>
