Floating Snail?

My snail is such a weirdo. He just started floating around my tank all the time. He still cruises around the tank like normal but floats a lot too....is this bad or anything?

 

nope

nope my snails do it too. I even had one snail that would go up to my airstone, climb on to it and make his body trap the airbubbles and he would float around the tank with the airbubbles holding him up...he was so coooolll lol

 

That's pretty funny, I have some kind of snails but all they do is climb over the water line and fall back into the tank and do it all over again.

 

Cheesy, alright thanks guys

 

HI all,
Just wondering if anyone could shed some light on my Mystery Snails. I have 2 and both float around the top of the tank. They move around the tank, but not nearly as active as usual. All the water parameters are in normal range and the pH is 7.5.
Any help would be great.
Cheers.

 

From what I've read on this forum, floating is pretty natural for snails. Sometimes they may float to get food floating on the top. You said your water chemistry is normal so I don't think that's an issue. If you would like to read some threads on this go to the top right hand corner of this screen and do a search for floating snails. Have a good weekend!

 

Thanks for that!! You have a good one too.

 

I'm not sure of the exact reason why they do this either. I do have a small (thankfully) population of tiny ramshorn snails in my tank and I catch them doing this too from time to time.

 

huh, I've never seen my mystery snails float.
Beth

 

Mine do it from time to time, especially the orange one. Everyone but me always thinks he's dead and then he starts crawling around. ;-)

 

If the snails are dead, the shells will become very pale in color.

My snails love to float. They ride the current of the water filter, they crawl around the bottom and then suddenly rise up to the top like they are on an invisible elevator, they even crawl across the surface of the water from beneath it like the air is the floor they are crawling on. Snails are very unusual and entertaining.

 

I few weeks ago I bought 4 mystery snails and they were all dead within 2 or 3 weeks. they would usually float around, but I think they were actually dead. they might be gulping air, they are air breathing snails.

 

I have a ?,is it normal for my mystery snail to float around the tank?I have seen him do this twice now,I thought he was dead but found him latter crawling up the side of the tank.ive also found him motionless on the bottom,almost like he was dead,is this normal for the snail.or do I have a unique one.first snail I have had,kinda like it in my tank,thanks for any help.STEVE

 

mine do this also, I think its normal.

 

thanks,it just makes me wonder?

 

Hello Steve,

Parasnailing

It's common for most snails. Sometimes they just like to float and have fun in the current. I don't think you have anything to worry about. Mine do it also.

Ken

 

I've always wondered if it's a reaction to not getting enough food: a quick way to travel to a different part of a body of water.
My snails do it too. I've actually seen one upside down, with its foot out, surfing along the bottom of the surface tension.

 

I'll give you some advice I was given on this forum. To check if they are dead, just smell them. You WILL KNOW. I had one die not too long ago, and uhm... it was awful smelling.

 

I've always wondered if it's a reaction to not getting enough food: a quick way to travel to a different part of a body of water.
My snails do it too. I've actually seen one upside down, with its foot out, surfing along the bottom of the surface tension.

It is conceivable. It would be hard to say that it's a reaction from something that is affecting the snail in a bad way. It could also be a natural way of alternative transportation. (lazy ) lol

 

What would cause a mystery snail to float? I thought it was because his air siphon was cut (sometimes it appears to have a slit in it sometimes it does not) I would find him floating every once in a while (at most once or twice a week), but I have just caught him floating for the second time today. The first time he had his trap door about half way open and was extended out a little, this time he is almost all the way closed. Is there something I should be doing to help him stop having this problem? When I first got him this never happened, but it has been happening more often as time progresses.

 

Fom what I have noticed the get air pockets in their shell. All I had to do was make them retract underwater and it would pop out.

 

That's what I have been doing. I hold him upside down in the water for a couple minutes and if that doesn't help I use a plastic spoon to gently touch his foot/trap door until he retracts and the bubbles come out. I put him in a betta cup to use the spoon and he floated 2 more times.

Just noticed he was opening up and looked over and he was breathing through his siphon (definetly not cut) and started floating.

 

My snails go through phases of floating and randomly absnailing across the tank

As long as he isn't floating all of the time and is eating and doing the usual snailie things I would try not to worry too much

 

Good morning,

I call it parasnailing. I think there are times that snails simply enjoy floating around in the current. Purposely or not, I also do not think you really have anything to worry about. It happens from time to time.



Ken

 

Mine have done that as well. I had read that it's an attempt to find better water, though I could never get a straight answer from them.

 

Snail has died.

 

I'm so sorry to hear that it's really so hard to diagnose snails even harder than fish to a point it is easy to get paranoid about normal behaviour l know I've been there.

You did your best for him RIP snail friend

 

I have some apple snails of various color in my tank. Every once in awhile I'll see one floating around in the current.

Are they dead? Or just swept up?

 

I have some apple snails of various color in my tank. Every once in awhile I'll see one floating around in the current.

Are they dead? Or just swept up?

Hi!

I would not say it means they are dead, because that would be too sad...

... but I must admit I have never seen my snails floating!

Say, mystery snails are supposed to lay eggs above water...

... maybe they float after laying?

 

Try and sink them, but I would guess after long periods of time if they don't sink of get back to the glass, they maybe be gone.

 

My current is pretty strong so I don't know...

I saw a blue one doing this the other day and just didn't stress it... figured the clowns would eat him if he was... Later he dissapeared.... All of the snails seemed fine... Today I noticed a gold one doing it...

I thought when inverts died though they "released" from there shells...


But I'm no expert

 

If he doesn't start perking up you may want to take him out and put him in a bowl of tank water to see if he is still alive! I hear you don't want to leave a dead snail in your tank!

 

My snails have done that on occasion and usually by the next day, she would be back to her normal self.
I think its a natural way for them to get around in the wild - at least that's what I was told.
I've had other snails do it as well.

I made this video awhile back to show you how Gigantor used to do it!

 

My snails have done that on occasion and usually by the next day, she would be back to her normal self.
I think its a natural way for them to get around in the wild - at least that's what I was told.
I've had other snails do it as well.

I made this video awhile back to show you how Gigantor used to do it!

That's funny.... that is JUST what mine looks like right now... floats up floats down and gets pushed around by the return and the circulation pump...

That's wild...

 

Apple snails have been known to do that. I think for a few reasons. They can do this at will though, so if the snail is still firmly in it's shell with the door closed tight, I would leave it. My first apple snail floated for 3 days and is now bigger than golf ball sized with about an inch of new shell growth.

Quoted from a different post by monkeypie102
"A floating mystery is caused by 3 things..
Trapped air in shell
It's figured.out how to syphon food from the.surface (cool to watch) and stress... Yours probably floated.due to an air bubble it was able to release after.latching onto tele glass..."

 

My ramshorns do it regularly. I've had some pond snails surface and just stay at the top of the water - not floating around loose. I've never bothered to check on them, but I figure if the ramshorns were dying I would see them floating at the top of the tank.

Seems more to me that they're not securely on something (like moving across a floating plant that moves in the current, and suddenly joy ride!) more than anything else.

 

You know, my MTS in my betta tank do that as well. I came to the conclusion that the MTS do this because in my betta tank, they do not get fed. They get whatever waste is left from the betta and or algae, if that.
So my thought is they are floating almost every other day ( were talking about 25/50 ) so they can get the food I drop in for the betta. I rotate between flake food and the NLS so sometimes the flake stuff stays floating on the water longer.......

 

My ramshorns do it regularly. I've had some pond snails surface and just stay at the top of the water - not floating around loose. I've never bothered to check on them, but I figure if the ramshorns were dying I would see them floating at the top of the tank.

Seems more to me that they're not securely on something (like moving across a floating plant that moves in the current, and suddenly joy ride!) more than anything else.

It's normal for ramshorns to float. From what I've read, they are naturally buoyant, so floating is something they just do. This makes it easier for them to get around in the wild and also to get to algae that other, heavier, snails just can't reach.

 

It's normal for ramshorns to float. From what I've read, they are naturally buoyant, so floating is something they just do. This makes it easier for them to get around in the wild and also to get to algae that other, heavier, snails just can't reach.

Good to know! I wasn't really worried since all of my snails are "pests" anyway, but that solves the mystery of whether or not it's normal for them

 

Good to know! I wasn't really worried since all of my snails are "pests" anyway, but that solves the mystery of whether or not it's normal for them

With ramshorns I think it would be more worrisome if they didn't float