Disappearing Snail

GOBLOX001001

AC Members
Jan 31, 2010
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Murfreesboro, TN
i was doing a water change on my main 20g tank and couldnt find my snail. she's never escaped. i didnt have the back of the top completely covered because there was such a small area between both filters. i guess it was just enough room to get out though because i cant find her anywhere in the tank. the worst part though is the fact that i have 3 cats, one of which is only 8 months old so everything is a toy. if the snail got out and she saw it could be anywhere or deceased thanks to the kitten. i've looked all around the tank but came up empty. does anyone a way to trap the wayward snail? any help would be awesome.
 
If it's outside the tank it probably won't survive very long TBH

If you think it might still be in the tank...you can always lure it out with spinach

Has your snail ever tried to escape previously? how long have you had it?
 
i've had her since october maybe. this is the only time she's ever escaped. i have plenty of replacements if worse comes to worse, seeing as i have about 20 of her babies in another tank and 6 more clutches of eggs.
 
another random guess...but did you check your filters?

I've had pond snails climb inside filters...not sure how big yours is but it's certainly possible
 
What kind of snail is it?
 
If it is an apple snail they can get out and wander a considerable distance before getting parhced and curling up. Look under all the furniture etc and you might still save it.
 
Yeah, Apple snails can breathe air, so it will live for some time outside of the tank, maybe a few days at most depending on how dry the air in the house is. Check everywhere, it might be holed up somewhere damp.
 
I agree with this. If you're really desperate, you can place small containers of waters around the house as it will attracted to moisture if it is still alive. Or even moist paper towels would work.

Trevor
 
i honestly have no clue how this was possible but i put a slice of zucchini in the tank left for an hour and she showed up. i checked everything in the tank so i have no clue where she was hiding. could have been in the output of the filter, dunno. she is a blue apple snail for those who asked and her shell is about an inch in diameter. i am completely baffled.
 
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