Mystery Snail Dying?

[BayFish28]

I was wondering if my mystery snail is dying. I've only had him a few months and got him when he was only half this size. He was active( actually one of the most active inhabitant always hunting for food) as normal a few days ago but the last 2 days he's been sitting like this. Water parameters are fine pH 7.0 Ammonia and Nitrites 0 Nitrates 10ppm. All other fish (pygmy cory and ember tetras) are fine. I took him out and he doesn't stink yet but when I gently touch him he doesn't really go back into his shell, there is small movement but nothing much. Also, it's hard to tell in the pic, but his foot is sort of shriveled up and wrinkly. This is my first snail BTW. 

Edited December 28, 2021 by BayFish28

[Colu]

I think @Guppysnail and @laritheloud keep mystery snails maybe they can help

[laritheloud]

Shriveled and wrinkly foot is generally not a good sign. Have you seen any discharge? It would look like white cottony mucus with black dots.

[BayFish28]

On 12/28/2021 at 12:20 PM, laritheloud said:

Shriveled and wrinkly foot is generally not a good sign. Have you seen any discharge? It would look like white cottony mucus with black dots.

Actually I saw some discharge like a white cottony thing and I removed it. It's almost looked as if something was eating it but I've never seen my pygmy or ember tetras messing with him. 

 

Would the cotton like discharge mean close to death? 😕

Edited December 28, 2021 by BayFish28

[laritheloud]

The cotton like discharge typically means some sort of irritation or old age. It can be a sign of a reaction to a chemical or poor water quality, but it could also just mean old age. Whenever I have seen one of my larger snails releasing discharge they are usually pretty close to passing away, sadly. Sometimes I can trace it to a med I used on the tank, but others it was for no discernible reason.

You can leave him be so long as he's still alive and just check on him at least once daily.

[BayFish28]

On 12/28/2021 at 12:37 PM, laritheloud said:

The cotton like discharge typically means some sort of irritation or old age. It can be a sign of a reaction to a chemical or poor water quality, but it could also just mean old age. Whenever I have seen one of my larger snails releasing discharge they are usually pretty close to passing away, sadly. Sometimes I can trace it to a med I used on the tank, but others it was for no discernible reason.

You can leave him be so long as he's still alive and just check on him at least once daily.

I got him as an adolescent a couple months back and he's grown to twice his original size so he's not very old. My water parameters are good and the only chemical I use in the tank is Easy Green. There is both green and brown algae in the tank but I don't think that would hurt him right?

[laritheloud]

No. Sometimes, @BayFish28, some snails just won't live very long. 😞 I've had mixed luck with snails. They're purported to live a couple of years, but none of my mystery snails have made it past 6 months yet. One time, I think I might have inadvertently poisoned them with a levamisole treatment on the tank, but on other occasions I don't really have an explanation. I currently still have one black mystery snail (going on three months with us now), one young Columbian Giant Ramshorn snail, one adult rabbit snails + 3 baby rabbit snails, tons of nerites, and 3 cappuccino spike snails. My nerites have all thrived and never stopped going. Two of my adult rabbit snails passed away, but they were large when I got them. The best you can do for the little guy is try some more frequent water changes, but there isn't much else to be done.

I hope you try again and let us know how it goes. I'm really sorry he's sick, but try not to be hard on yourself. You probably didn't do anything to cause it.

[Guppysnail]

Easy green is safe for snails but only in the recommended dosage. Are you using more than the amount stated on the bottle? the wrinkled paralysis can be a reaction to copper. Easy green and most copper containing foods are safe even combined but it adds up and extra can push the limits on other things that build up in our tanks as well if not removed with water changes.  I have had snails pass like this for reasons i have never been able to determine. It is very frustrating. Once paralyzed they occasionally do come back so please do not give up hope. 

[BayFish28]

On 12/28/2021 at 1:11 PM, Guppysnail said:

Easy green is safe for snails but only in the recommended dosage. Are you using more than the amount stated on the bottle? the wrinkled paralysis can be a reaction to copper. Easy green and most copper containing foods are safe even combined but it adds up and extra can push the limits on other things that build up in our tanks as well if not removed with water changes.  I have had snails pass like this for reasons i have never been able to determine. It is very frustrating. Once paralyzed they occasionally do come back so please do not give up hope. 

I actually use less then the recommended dose, maybe once every 1.5-2 weeks? I feed a mixture of dry flakes, repashy, frozen foods (daphnia, brine, blood worms) so hopefully those don't have any excess copper that I'm unaware of. 

Yeah, odd to see my best forager and eater act like this while everyone else in the tank is fine. 

[BayFish28]

So i took him out to check and he does smell a bit, stinky. I hear that is a sign of death or near death?😟

[laritheloud]

If he stinks of anything more than normal pond water, then yes. Do you have pest snails on him trying to eat him? Does he respond when you push on the trapdoor?

If not, then I'm sorry for your loss. 😞 It can happen so fast.

Edited December 28, 2021 by laritheloud

[BayFish28]

On 12/28/2021 at 1:41 PM, laritheloud said:

If he stinks of anything more than normal pond water, then yes. Do you have best snails on him trying to eat him? Does he respond when you push on the trapdoor?

If not, then I'm sorry for your loss. 😞 It can happen so fast.

I have to get real close to smell him but he stinks a bit more than pond water and barely responds. I was thinking about putting him in my quarantine tank that I'm cycling but nitrites are 0.25ppm so not sure if I should or not but I hear a dead or dying snail can wreak havok with ammonia spikes

[Guppysnail]

Scoop out some tank water and place him in that. Im also sorry for your loss as the smell means it is soon time. 

[BayFish28]

On 12/28/2021 at 2:33 PM, Guppysnail said:

Scoop out some tank water and place him in that. Im also sorry for your loss as the smell means it is soon time. 

Yeah based off another forum, another person told me to take him out and float him in a container in the tank in case he does die and doesn't ammonia spike the tank. He seems to smell worse now 🙁so maybe it's getting to that time unfortunately ☠️.

 

Thanks for everyones input in the matter

[2000tetras]

They only live for less than a year in a heated tank in my experience. Old age is what I would assume.

[BayFish28]

On 12/29/2021 at 12:16 AM, 2000tetras said:

They only live for less than a year in a heated tank in my experience. Old age is what I would assume.

I don't think it was older than 3-4 months since I got him when he was the size of a dime and grew to quarter size in about 2 months. 

[2000tetras]

6 months is not unusual

[BayFish28]

On 12/31/2021 at 8:37 PM, 2000tetras said:

6 months is not unusual

Oh wow I wasn’t aware of that.

[Clarke O]

I'm having a similar situation. I think mine is almost dead now too. Sigh ... Lost both of my mystery snails like this in the last couple of weeks. Nerites are fine. Fish are fine. Chemical levels all seem fine. But, not the mystery snails ... I'll try sourcing since new ones and starting over. 🤷

[BETTA999]

clarke that weird sure theres no fish bulling the snails or are the snail eating?

 

[MDonnelly]

I bought two mystery snails about six months ago. They were doing fine until about three weeks ago, when one of them passed. The other one passed yesterday. I was sure I was doing something terribly wrong, but my parameters are all fine, I have lots of nerites and pond snails that are fine, all fish are fine. Regular water changes, nothing out of the ordinary with foods or chemicals (Easy Green about every other week, following dosing recommendations, occasional AC Root Tabs, I do run Co2, but not a ton). The more I read, the more I'm convinced they just died of old age. They were mature when I got them -- they never grew at all. So I guess I have to decide whether or not to get more. I hadn't realized it was common for them to last less than a year. 

[Lennie]

On 3/21/2023 at 4:40 PM, MDonnelly said:

I bought two mystery snails about six months ago. They were doing fine until about three weeks ago, when one of them passed. The other one passed yesterday. I was sure I was doing something terribly wrong, but my parameters are all fine, I have lots of nerites and pond snails that are fine, all fish are fine. Regular water changes, nothing out of the ordinary with foods or chemicals (Easy Green about every other week, following dosing recommendations, occasional AC Root Tabs, I do run Co2, but not a ton). The more I read, the more I'm convinced they just died of old age. They were mature when I got them -- they never grew at all. So I guess I have to decide whether or not to get more. I hadn't realized it was common for them to last less than a year. 

I wouldn't say less than a year is normal, unless you keep them in a much warmer environment than ideal temp which is around 74F, so their lifespan shortens as a result. I would say 1-1.5 years is normal personally with a good care.

Mystery snails grow up pretty fast, mine have reached their adult size around 1.5 months from a size of a coin. So they could be already aged when you got them, or maybe recently got to that size. It is hard to tell.

Also they require much more in depth feeding schedule to follow, lots of blanched veggies, calcium and protein foods, snellos etc, which are not a necessary part of pond snails' and nerites' diet. The only common thing mysteries have with those other two is not being kept in an acidic ph, and having calcium content in the water. So it is hard to compare mysteries wellbeing with other two.

Edited March 21, 2023 by Lennie

[Boone]

I've had my Mystery Snail for 16 months. He was about the size of a nickel when I got him at a local pet store. Today he was hanging out of his shell and curled up. I moved him to a small tank and waiting to see what happens. He grew to quite a large size. Hoping he recovers but I understand he may be at the end of his life.