mystery snail disposition

[meadeam]

Sometimes my snails are roaming about the tank.  Sometimes they have their doors closed tight.  Sometimes they are not roaming or feeding, but just sort of laying there on their side, part way out of the shell, but not doing anything.  Do any of these various dispositions mean something, or is it just snails being snails?  I hope the laying around not doing anything snails are not ill.

 

 

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 11/11/2022 at 5:58 PM, meadeam said:

Sometimes my snails are roaming about the tank.  Sometimes they have their doors closed tight.  Sometimes they are not roaming or feeding, but just sort of laying there on their side, part way out of the shell, but not doing anything.  Do any of these various dispositions mean something, or is it just snails being snails?  I hope the laying around not doing anything snails are not ill.

 

 

@Chick-In-Of-TheSea is the one to ask on this; she's got a thriving colony of them!

[Odd Duck]

If they’re laying on their sides a lot, not doing anything, and not having traps closed, that could be concerning.  If they just do it once in a while, especially after eating, and they get moving after a few hours, that’s usually a snail food coma.  It’s not at all unusual for them to take a random rest for several hours, usually with their trap closed, but laying partly out of the shell, you need to keep track of that because it can be very bad if it’s not due to a food coma.  Sometimes it makes me pick them up and do the smell test.  Stinky, non-moving snails are dead snails.  They should retract into the shell when moved, even if they’re in a food coma.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Mine sleep closed up or half out of the shell. If they are sleeping they usually have their “snorkel” out (but not always). But if they are laying in the same position for a long time, you should sniff them. Here are photos snails napping.

Edited November 11, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[meadeam]

ok, so mine do all of those things.  And I do pick them up and check from time to time, making sure they retreat into their shell when touched.   I'm going to clean and rearrange their living space today, I will check them all.  Some need the algae cleaned off the shells; I leave the lights on too long and since it isn't a display tank I let the algae get a little crazy. 

[Rita]

On 11/11/2022 at 9:58 AM, Odd Duck said:

If they’re laying on their sides a lot, not doing anything, and not having traps closed, that could be concerning.  If they just do it once in a while, especially after eating, and they get moving after a few hours, that’s usually a snail food coma.  It’s not at all unusual for them to take a random rest for several hours, usually with their trap closed, but laying partly out of the shell, you need to keep track of that because it can be very bad if it’s not due to a food coma.  Sometimes it makes me pick them up and do the smell test.  Stinky, non-moving snails are dead snails.  They should retract into the shell when moved, even if they’re in a food coma.

So that food coma position you described I've heard called hamburger. LOL just snails being fat and hamburgered. lol

[meadeam]

Drat... I just sorted through my most heavily planted tank where I can't ever see more than a couple snails at a time and extracted 4 dead snails in various stages of being consumed by shrimp.  There were 9 to start.   I never had an ammonia spike, but nitrates accumulate in that tank at a very high rate, which I had attributed to the amount I feed the tank.  The snails were about 1.5 years old.

Edited November 16, 2022 by meadeam

[meadeam]

I didn't know how short their lifespan is.  This means I have a whole bunch of snails likely nearing the end.  They're all from the same clutch.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 11/16/2022 at 2:23 PM, meadeam said:

I didn't know how short their lifespan is.  This means I have a whole bunch of snails likely nearing the end.  They're all from the same clutch.

How old do you think they are?

@Guppysnail may have some insight about mystery snail lifespan.  

[Guppysnail]

A year and a half is a very average lifespan for mystery snails. Size doesn’t determine how old they are feeding determines their size. So some of the ones you buy in the pet shop could already be a year old but look very small. Mine get big fast. Mine were only three months old I think when I sent them to @Chick-In-Of-TheSeaand all but one little guy was probably bigger than what you find in most pet stores but he was being out competed for food because I had too many of them hatch at once i’ll from one clutch.

Mine that I raise my self average a year and a half some only make it a year occasionally I have a few that only make it six months. I do have one gigantic boy who’s about 2 1/2 years old but that’s the only one I’ve ever had live that long

Edited November 16, 2022 by Guppysnail