How Active Should A Nerite Be

HI all -

Yesterday I bought a Nerite, and today I bought a Mystery. They both went in my 29 community. Yesterday, the Nerite was moving around a little... checking things out. At some point, last night or this morning, it went to the corner of the tank, and attached itself to the wall of the aquarium. It has been there since. It has moved very minimally...perhaps millimeters.

1) How active should a snail be? Is it just acclimating to its new surroundings?
2) How can you tell when a snail has died?
3) If it is suctioned to the tank, does that mean it is not dead?

The mystery, which we just added today had moved around quite a bit. It is currently attached to the heater.

 

1) In my experience, netrites do not move too quickly. Wait till you see ramshorms. They make other snails look as slow as snails.

2) You can tell when a snail died by the stench. Trust me, you'll know. Sometimes, they sleep for a very long time, but the snails can still be alive. As long as there is something in the shell, and there is no nose-blinding scent, you're good. You can also tell a snail has died when you see only its shell and trapdoor (if it has one). Snails are connected to their shells. When they die, they rot, and all that's left is the shell.

3) If they are on the glass, they are alive. The part that's on the glass is the snail (you can watch it eat if you look closely).

 

1) In my experience, netrites do not move too quickly. Wait till you see ramshorms. They make other snails look as slow as snails.

2) You can tell when a snail died by the stench. Trust me, you'll know. Sometimes, they sleep for a very long time, but the snails can still be alive. As long as there is something in the shell, and there is no nose-blinding scent, you're good. You can also tell a snail has died when you see only its shell and trapdoor (if it has one). Snails are connected to their shells. When they die, they rot, and all that's left is the shell.

3) If they are on the glass, they are alive. The part that's on the glass is the snail (you can watch it eat if you look closely).

Thank you for the helpful information.

 

They don't have to be very active at all. My oldest ones are 6 years old and some days, they leave the tank and go on the top of the hood and will literally stay there for 3-4 days at a time! Once, they were up there for 5 days! They can stay out of the water a long time!
If they are suctioned to the wall, they are likely alive. When they die, they lose muscle control and their insides "fall" out - you will know when they are dead, either by that or the smell.

 

When I owned 4 nerite's in the past I hardly saw them move about at all. I kept thinking at one point or another that one had died because I wouldn't see it move for several days. As much as I liked having them they would drive me nuts with worry. I heard from others that their nerite snails were active and eating algae all the time. Mine sure weren't.

Yes, they are alive when suctioned on the glass.

 

When they die do you notice the smell right through the water, or do you have to pick them up. I’ve had two for about a month now and it’s kind of neat to watch them do their thing. When they’re on the move, they actually move fairly fast.

 

Trust me, you'll know. If you have the snail in a large capacity of water, you will not smell a thing. I would not directly pick up the snail for the sake of your utensils and nose. If you think it is dead, put the snail in a cup (like a betta cup) for a day or two. If you notice (which you will) a huge stench coming from the cup, then it is dead. If the snail moved into a different spot or location, it's most likely alive!