snail question

[dslwraith]

i did get a littel snail freind to help clean up the remnants of my plants that went south. i will try live plants again another day.

question is the snail was out once and went up the tank then just went back down onto the rocks and has been hiding in his shell for the last 36 hours...

do they do this normally or did i get a bad snail ??

any help would be appreciated.

thanks.

 

[indiginess]

do you know waht kind of snail it is?

some snails lay eggs in the gravel, so its normal for them to be 'on the lowdown' for some time.

are you sure its still alive? (hate to ask, but...)

 

[yourwar]

Snails are rabbits of the aquarium... if you get a couple there will be a million soon after... at least thats my personal experience. I think indiginess may be right though...

 

[dslwraith]

well i reached in and picked it up with a net and touched the covering or the shoe whatever you call it , and it sucked it in some more...so i assume it is stil alive, how logn do they hide? and are there visible signs to tell when it is dead if that is the case?

 

[Fish Kate]

It really does depend on what kind of snail you've got. Some snails are very quiet this time of year (like hibernation). Can you describe your snail or look up a pic and tell us what you think you've got? (try applesnail.net) You may be able to tempt him out with food, if he's not into his yearly sleep cycle. Snails are notorious pigs.

As long as your snail is inside his shell, not floating and flopping out of his shell without moving (floppy), he's still alive. If he has a light colored shell, you can usually see his heart beating, too.