I Think I Fried My Apple Snail...

[devilduck]

I have a small 3 1/5 gallon tank in my bedroom I have been prepping for a betta for my brother when he comes to visit at the weekend, I added a heater and a small filter and left George the apple snail in there. He's been crawling over the heater before and didn't show any side effects so I didn't think anything of it, but this morning he was on the bottom like he'd just fallen off it, still out his shell with his 'foot' curled round. I picked him up and he tucked really slowly into his shell. I put him back and checked him again tonight, he's gone slightly out his shell again at some point during the day but when I picked him up again there was no movement at all. I'm 99.9% sure he's dead.

Is there something I missed about snails not doing well with heaters?! It's a 25W interpet without a guard on it...I really liked George and I would like to get another one sometime, but not if there's going to be a problem like that. I did wonder if it might be something to do with the temperature, the heater's set to just above 79'F but the thermometer's reading 83'F but he really looks like he fell off the heater...he was on the bottom of his shell with his foot out the side, not foot on the bottom of the tank like he normally is.

[CatfishSoup]

could be resting.. :s my snail actually at this very moment was active for about 2 minutes when i got home, dunno if he was moving a lot before, but he did plow through my baby tears...UGH, anyways. now he hasnt moved since.. been about 2 hours. so who knows. could be that. give it a bit more, if not.... well he could be dead..

D:

[jhortensius]

It's sometimes hard to tell with snails. Maybe put some lettuce in the tank and see if he goes for that.

[devilduck]

Unfortunately he's definitely gone He's not moved for at least 15 hours I just want to know what I did wrong...he was growing so well. I think it's the heater but it seems odd that he'd been on it at various times for days beforehand and something about this one time set it off. I don't know, maybe with our boiler being broken to room got really cold and the heater went into overdrive or something...

[shellbell4ever]

Aww Sorry you lost your snail they are cute little buggers

[johann_pond]

IMO, it dose not sound like you did anything wrong. Mine always climbed on the heater with no ill affects. From what I have been told they don't live too long, maybe it was just his time.

I am sorry to hear of you loss.

[devilduck]

I'd had him about 6 months and he was fine until he wasn't I saw a really huge one about 2.5" across in Guildford a few weeks ago and was looking forward to George getting that size...he was started on gelfood at the same time as the goldfish and seemed to love it, he'd certainly latch onto a cube pretty fast Poor little George. It seems a bit silly being bothered at all by my snail dying but I did like to watch him...

You have reassured me a bit though J-Pond so thanks for that, maybe I'll look at getting another sometime.

[johann_pond]

I would absolutley get another one. Even though they are very slow, they are still an amazing creature to watch. I wish I could find some in my area.

[toosase]

A quick way to really know if your snail is dead is if the foot covering has fallen off. It is the hard disc that folds back when they are out crawling around. If it is still attached, he's alive. Snails can go dormant for weeks at a time. I can not tell you how many people brought their "dead" snails into the fish store to find out what they did wrong, to find out that they were not dead at all. If he has passed, I'm sorry, but definately get another, they are so interesting to watch. I have never heard of any problem with snails and heaters, other than the heater going crazy and heating everything in the tank to 115*.

[devilduck]

It's funny you say that...I left him in the tank because I wasn't ready to get rid of him yet, and I looked earlier and the door had pulled into the shell by about 1/2 cm, then later it had moved to a bit open...so maybe he's not dead yet. I'm just going to wait and see. I'm not going to get my hopes up too much, but I've seen odder things happen. My friend's aquatic newt managed to get out its tank and i found it under her radiator dried out and seriously crispy, she was really really upset so I took the body away and for some reason left it in my sink with dechlorinated water and after a few hours he started twitching, I thought I was seeing things but he got more slimey and flexible and would spazz out and swim in bursts round the sink like a fish flashing. He stayed two days in my sink before going back to his owner. He lived another two weeks but shedding his skin after all that damage took too much out of him.

[devilduck]

Ok I think George is dead, but can someone please help me clarify?! I just left him in the tank, he was on his own anyway so wouldn't be pestered or cause any illness to any other critters, and I thought the door was at different intervals so he might recover, but now I really think he's gone. His door is still firmly attached but it's held at an angle and there were fluffy bits coming off him and more in the water. His shell's started to deteriorate and go pink in places. I've had him about 5 months

[bodoba]

One rather harsh way of checking is to take it out of the tank, if he falls out of the shell he's most likely dead. I read that if they have a steady supply of food they will move less and sometimes for days. As long as they are kept in a temperature of 65-83 they should live for 2-3 yrs or so (provided the other water conditions are maintained).

http://www.applesnail.net/content/care.php

I tried to get the chart up here seeing as it's not encrypted so if it doesn't work that link will show ya the chart.

[devilduck]

Well I tried lifting him out the tank because usually he shuts the door but he didn't fall out and his door is well stuck to him (I gave it a gentle prod) so I will continue my original plan of give him a completely clean tank and see how he goes. He has a tank to himself at the moment so if it does turn out I'm keeping a dead apple snail in my tank nothing else will come to any harm because of it. He's not eaten in 5 days and not moved at all in 2, and only slightly moved the 2 days before that. He used to be really active and he loved my gelfood. It did cross my mind that the sardines might have had salt in, but he's had gelfood on and off for about 2 weeks now with no symptoms, seemed healthier if anything, so I don't think it's that.

Thanks Una

[jsrtist]

If he's lying on his side he most likely is gone. You can still wait awhile if you'd like. Another way to tell is the smell. Dead snail is the most awful, rancid thing you will ever smell and it will be unmistakable!

Apple snails don't live long in heated tanks, I found out. It speeds up their metabolism and helps them grow much faster, but unfortunately it also shortens their lifespan. I had my snail, Snail, in an unheated GF tank for about 6 months, and then when I moved him to a heated tank he died within a few months. He grew about twice as fast in the heated tank.

Sorry for your loss, if it does turn out that he has gone.

[devilduck]

I read somewhere else about the rancid smell and I can't really smell much from him, and I have a really good nose...I do think he's gone but some of the signs people say just aren't there...I don't want to get rid of him just incase you know? And it won't do any harm for now. I might give him another day or two but I really do think he's gone

[caitie]

I'm almost sure that if he's dead his trapdoor should not be completely closed, Sarah. His foot is a muscle and that is what keeps the door closed, when they die the muscle goes slack so the door can't stay firmly shut. I don't have any freshwater snail but I have them in my reef tank and believe me when they die that trapdoor remains half open.

Just found this info on another site:

These snails sometimes become inactive (especially when first introduced to a new tank, probably from the stress of moving from one habitat to another), and may not move for several days, but once the snail is acclimated it becomes active again.

Source: http://wapedia.mobi/en/Apple_snail

Didn't you just move him to a new tank?

Edited April 4, 2010 by caitie

[devilduck]

Nope, he's been in that tank for months. I had upped the temperature though as I was thinking of getting a betta and wanted the tank acclimatised incase I saw one that had to come home. I think he probably is dead now and I will get rid of him somehow Poor little snaily. I really liked watching him and would like to get another but if I think about getting a betta then the high temps won't be too good for him by the sound of it. Though I could set up a snail-only tank...I don't want one in my goldie tank, I don't trust Mariko.