HELP! My nerite snail has been out of water- will he survive?!

[BettasAreSuperior]

Hi all, my nerite snail was missing for 1-2 days and I couldn't find him. I got nervous as there was a big gap in my lid. I was cleaning my tank and saw him on the counter, I put him in the tank, he hasn't moved and doesn't smell though I am worried. Will he survive? How long can they stay out of water? Thank you in advance.

Edited January 2, 2022 by BettasAreSuperior

[Pakal]

Nerite snails can live out of water for up to a month so your snail might only be in minor shock. He should be fine though.

[CorydorasEthan]

My little sister's betta aquarium had two nerite snails in it, and one escaped out the lid and died in a dark box it had crawled into, so we couldn't find it, despite having looked everywhere (it was out for at least 2 weeks, probably more). The second nerite snail escaped multiple times, and we found it trying to head for the exit of the room. We put him back in and he was fine. He likes to stay out of water in the tank (above the surface and sometimes in the filter), so I did a little research and apparently they live in mangroves (brackish areas with lots of aquatic trees between rivers and estuaries). They are aquatic snails, but they can spend a long time out of water. Just make sure you have a lid and cover the openings so that he doesn't escape again. Maybe provide little areas above water in the aquarium, while still enclosed in the tank (like floating plants/dwarf aquarium lily, tall rocks or wood that barely stick out of the water, etc.)

So I wouldn't worry too much if he has been gone for a couple of days out of water.

Hope this helps.

[Kirsten]

Yup! They'll often spend several hours / half a day or so at a stretch above the water line, chillin out. So I always leave a half inch or so gap for them. They also love taking the Floating Beta Log Hi-Line Tour of the tank. Beep beep!

Get the little bugger back in the tank and close up any snail-sized holes. They might be sulky for a little bit but will probably be okay.

[ChrisRoberts74]

I hope he is ok, you'll have to keep us updated on him. 

I have a mystery snail who seems to sleep a lot, my family often jokes "He's dead again", then a couple days later "He's dead again". It's become a running joke. 

Pakal, a month really? That's amazing!

 

 

 

[BettasAreSuperior]

Thanks a bunch guys!! Yeah, after about 10 minutes he started doing his snail thing again! 👍🐌😁

Edited February 3, 2021 by BettasAreSuperior

[AcornTheBetta]

As @Pakal said, nerites can survive up to a month out of water (in the wild, they live in intertidal zones so they are sometimes stuck out of water). I would assume that he is ok.

[BettasAreSuperior]

On 2/6/2021 at 7:38 PM, AcornTheBetta said:

As @Pakal said, nerites can survive up to a month out of water (in the wild, they live in intertidal zones so they are sometimes stuck out of water). I would assume that he is ok.

Yeah, he's okay, he hasn't escaped since I sealed the gap in the lid and he's happy and thriving again!