# How to tell if nerite snails are dead?



## Tress

My friend recently sent me some plants and added two nerites along with them. The package got held up for a while and took 5 day to get here. I was sure everything was dead but the plants made it all fine. The snails look dead, but maybe just stunned or something?










I know smell is an obvious, and though the bag they were in stunk a bit, they were also in with a clump of java moss and some dirty water. On their own they don't noticeably smell. Also their shells have some damage (odd because they were packaged in a bag in the middle of a bag full of plants and all the plants are undamaged.

Any chance they made it? I'm not getting my hopes up but it would be nice if they made it.


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## lilnaugrim

That one flipped upside down looks pretty dead to me. You can try smelling them again once you've changed the water out a bit. Or you can put them in a cup and bring them away from the area where you have these plants to smell them so you know for sure.


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## Tress

They both look like that on the flip side, so safe to assume dead?

I took them out and smelled them and they smelled like nothing.


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## lilnaugrim

If they don't smell like nothing then they should still be alive then...I'd leave them for a while.


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## jeaninel

Sometimes they just hold up in their shells. Put them in your tank or in a qt tank if you have one and wait a couple days and see.


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## Tress

I'll move them into my QT tank once I move some fish around. I really hope they are alive. They have some shell damage, anything I can do to help it heal (in case they are alive)?


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## jeaninel

If the water is too soft they might develop some shell damage. Maybe try feeding them some calcium rich foods.


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## Tress

I think the damage was in transport, it looks fresher. What are some calcium rich foods I can feed them? Sorry for so many questions!


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## Cacique

Cucumber, spinach, broccoli? Lots of dark green veggies would work. You could also use a calcium feeder block, or a Citrical tab. They all have different preferences, all though I haven't had nerite snails myself.

When I was checking my mystery snails when they passed, I placed them in an empty cup for a minute or two. As the water starts evaporating from their bodies, you'll notice the smell if it's there.


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## Tress

My mom keeps telling me that they're probably alive but I really doubt. They're kinda sticking out a bit, as you can kinda see in the pic, haven't budged. Some air bubbles escaped when I flipped them over just now. I'm in the middle of messing around with tanks so I haven't had the time to move them into their own jar so they are just sitting in a cup with the java moss they were on.

Should I just toss them? Nerites are like .. non existent where I am so it's a real pity they didn't make the trip..


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## Cacique

Are they still in a cup with water? If you want to make sure just drain the cup and let them sit in it for a couple of minutes and give them a sniff, if you're not sure wait a few more minutes. You could also poke the snail to see if it pulls in, but if not then it's probably dead.


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## Tress

Nah they're dead. Oh well


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