Devon

Hey, so I got a pair of mystery snails last month to act as a rotating cleanup crew for some of my established tanks. Actually, just one of them gets moved, the other one is pretty much Bowie's flatmate.

At any rate, I hadn't seen the snail for a couple days and noticed the algae getting worse (have him in there because without him, it gets out of control).
I finally found it laying in the gravel in the back, tucked into its shell. I picked it up and put it in the front of the tank, and expected him to have moved by the time I came home from work that night. But he was still there.

So it's obvious that he is dead, and I removed him, but my question is: how did he die? This is my oldest tank, and it's really well-kept except for the algae explosion during this heat wave... did my betta kill him? Or was it something else?

Laelanna

He may not be dead! Snails will do that, sometimes, I'm not sure why. If his trap door is still shut tight he is still alive just resting/sleeping. If it is partially open give it a slight tug and see if the muscle is still holding it on. If it pulls easily then, yes, he is dead.

Alessa

im passing trough the same with one of my MTS. i still cant figure out if he is still alive !

(and Ill be away from home until tomorrow...)

rainman

Heat wave you say? Was there abrupt changes in temperature? Was it fed just algae? Some snails cannot live on algae alone.

Devon

My other snail is still happy and alive. Scratch (RIP) didn't move for 5 or 6 days. He was definitely dead. And Mr Bowie, who was in the same tank, didn't have any illness or anything... How long is a snail's average life span??

rainman

It depends, there are many factors in the lifespan of snails. But they can live for about 2-3 years, even longer, My oldest snail was about five when He died.