Snails

icon83

icon83

Member
hey,,,I just bought 5 astrea snails, acclimated them for about 2 hours, and put them in my tank...i tried to stick them to the glass and a few stuck and some fell,,,then, after a little while they all fell...now, they are all just sitting still and i can't see them moving very much...are they dead? are they playing dead? how can i tell? any ideas, please write back. thanks!
 
I

irenicus

Guest
It may be awhile to tell if they are dead or not. Make sure they are right side up like said above and give them time. Put them in a place in the sand where they have some cover from curious tankmates.
What are your water parameters?
 
icon83

icon83

Member
yes they are right side up,,,but what worries me is that some of them are like half-way out of their shells and aren't attached to anything, is that a bad sign? my water is fine, 82 degrees, 1.022 salinity, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and around 40 nitratres...i also just put a phosphate pad in the filter b/c i had a lot of algae growing,,,which is also why i got the snails,,thanks for the reply,,,what do you think?
 
mburnickas

mburnickas

Member
I am not a salt god but yout temps is on the high side, you sality could go up and your nitrates are VERY high.
 
T

thomas712

Guest
Bump your salinity up to 1.025 or 35ppt. snails do better at full strength salinity.
 
icon83

icon83

Member
so it doesn't necessarily mean they are dead if their "feet" are out of their shells and aren't attatched to anything? also, their antennas aren't moving much. honestly they look dead, but i want to be sure...i feel like they should live,,based on how i acclimated them and my water. but they definately seem dead,,,any ideas?
 
*bta*

*bta*

Member
i bought astrea snails acclimated them for 3hours and put them in my tank, it took about a day for them to adjust to the tank and move around, and today they are all alive and livin well
 
icon83

icon83

Member
i tried moving some of them with a turkey baster,,and they don't respond at all...i don't know but i feel like they are dead
 
bigarn

bigarn

Active Member
Give them some time...If they don't move in a day, pick one up and smell it. If it stinks, it's dead. :D
 
*bta*

*bta*

Member

Originally posted by Icon83
were they partially out of their shells?? were the antennas moving?
some of them had their foots out, but no nothing else was moving
 
icon83

icon83

Member
ok, it was really weird....this is what happened...
last night, at about exactly 24 hours after i put them in the tank, they all started to wiggle slowly, they did this for like 10 minutes, i thought it was funny how it took the same exact amount of time for them all to get used to the water and begin to move. i was also happy b/c i thought they weren't dead after not moving all day long. however, they stopped moving and now they look the same they did yesturday! they are half-way hout of their shells, and their "feet" aren't attatched to anything. also, their antenneas aren't moving at all...i don't know what to think, shouldn't they be used to the water by now? does this mean that they are actually dead this time? someone help!
 
*bta*

*bta*

Member
give it a few days but if you want to be sure, pick up the snail and smell it if it smells rancid its probably on its way out...
 
dominican

dominican

Member
Put them right side up on LR or on the substrate. When they're done napping, they'll putt around the tank eating (usually at night), and then they'll pick some random time/place to take another nap. That's just how they are. Eventually some will die, and you'll know it because your crabs will be all over them.
In the meantime, just try to keep 'em right-side-up so crabs and other fish don't jack with 'em.
 
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