Lifeless zebra nerites

[platytudes]

As a thank you for some information, I got a free (free!!) shipment of zebra nerites :grinyes: Also one red spot nerite (went in another tank)

I put the 4 zebra nerites into my 55 gallon goldfish tank. Two of them are just sitting there, doing nothing, and two are exploring the tank but being "piggybacked" by olive nerites - what gives? I've already sniffed the zebra nerites, who have been perfectly still for over 24 hours now. No dead snail smell. They are slightly extended and don't retract when I touch them - seems very odd, but I think I'd know if they were dead, right? (!)

One olive nerite each is aggressively going after the two zebra nerites that are actually out and about. They are slithering all over them...if you can picture a little snail making out with another, much bigger snail, that's what it looks like!

Is any of this normal? Do zebra nerites just take a while to settle in? My only other experience is with olive nerites, who act a lot like ramshorns - gregarious, except for their tendency to have a "cuddle party"and ball up together for hours :rolleyes:

[supersudo]

how's the water hardness? do u think the olives who have been in the tank for a while are sucking the calcium off of the newcomers?

btw, check to see if the lifeless ones have parasites..

snail leeches
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=222479

[platytudes]

My water is liquid rock - hardness and alkalinity off the charts, 7.8 pH in the goldfish tank. So I don't think it's the hardness, although I do worry that they are being aggressive to the zebras in some way. I guess just wait and see...although I'm worried they'll find enough to eat now that there's a total of 10 snails in there and they're going to have to compete with the goldies for veggies! I have plenty of algae but to be honest they aren't going after it much.

Will check them for leeches, thanks for the suggestion!

[Rugh1982]

they just take a while to settle in.
i bought 2 a while back, one started crawling around instantly, the other didn`t move for 3 days (he was on his back). on day 4 i was sure it was dead and put him in my planted tank for my loaches to feed on.
the next morning i see him crawling on the glass...
i placed him back in my shrimp tank, and again, 3 days not moving. on day 4 he started crawling around again

[platytudes]

Thanks for the reassurance, Rugh! I was hoping that's all it was.

[Scuppers]

Well......sheeeesh! I received 6 nerites and three were dormant for a few days, then two came to life. The last one did not move at all and after a week I niffed him and crikey, he was stone dead and rotting. Hope you don't have to smell anything like that!

[platytudes]

Ugh :(...will be sure to keep checking daily, thanks!

[bradlgt21]

My snails didn't move for about 24 hours once when I first put them in but they are perfectly fine now. And I have noticed snails getting groomed by other creaters often after first introduced. For instance the second I dropped horned nerites in my shrimp tank they each had a cherry or two fighting over rights to groom the algae off them. Now the snails are super clean but they still get piggy back rides every once in a while from a shrimp or another snail.

[tomany]

What about water temp., aren't goldfish cold water fish? Nitrates are tropical.