# How to be sure a snail is dead?



## Siobhan (Nov 11, 2013)

One of my mystery snails has been acting very oddly for about a week, and yesterday I found him at the bottom of the tank, shell side down and not moving. Granted, they don't move a lot anyway, but he hasn't stirred at all since last night, and his body that's sticking out of the shell is sort of cupped instead of flat. For several days, he was stuck to the side of the tank above the water line and moved from spot to spot, but always out of the water. I cleaned their tank a couple of days ago and had quite a time convincing him to move to the dish I put them in while I clean. The other snail is fine and behaving normally. 

How do I know if he's dead? I don't want to take him out unless I'm positive. I've only had the snails a couple of months and until the last few days, this one was active (for a snail) and seemed just fine.


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## InfiniteGlory (Dec 17, 2012)

one word: smell

take it out of the tank and carefully smell it. You will know if it's still alive or not.


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## Marlow (May 29, 2013)

If your smell blind like me or unsure of the snail death smell, there are other ways too ewe

If they die, the shell will not shut all the way, so if it entirely closes at any point he's probably still alive. Also, you can poke the skin, and if he doesn't move, that's a good sign too, as most snails with contract into the shell if prodded. Hope he's alright :< It's best to take him out and make sure right away, though, because even if he is dead already, he could foul up the tank and harm the fish surprisingly fast.


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## Siobhan (Nov 11, 2013)

The snails have their own tank. No fish in it. If he's dead, I'm thinking of getting another betta and having the remaining snail share with a fish, though. I don't want Simon (the snail) to be lonesome in there by him/herself.


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## Marlow (May 29, 2013)

Siobhan said:


> The snails have their own tank. No fish in it. If he's dead, I'm thinking of getting another betta and having the remaining snail share with a fish, though. I don't want Simon (the snail) to be lonesome in there by him/herself.


That's cool, but you need to have a backup just in case the betta starts picking. I had one of mine in with two mystery snails and he was fine, until I fasted him for a day. The next morning, the snails had no more tentacles ewe Just be watchful and have a plan :>


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## kman (Dec 10, 2013)

Snails aren't exactly super social, so they won't get lonely.

You could always scoop out a cup of aquarium water in a clear glass, and plop in the snail. (cover it to prevent escape) If it hasn't moved in a couple of days, you can be relatively sure it's dead. (plus the smell test) Also, this way you won't risk a corpse contaminating your tank.


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## Siobhan (Nov 11, 2013)

That's what I do when I clean the tank. I scoop them into a plastic container with a lid and have them wait there. I know snails don't seem to be that interested in company as a rule, but these two did spend some time stuck together -- they were stuck together when I bought them, in fact. I do not want a fish to eat off Simon's tentacles, however, which is why the snails had their own tank. Instead of sharing with a betta, maybe I should just go get Simon a new snail friend at Petsmart.


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## Siobhan (Nov 11, 2013)

He is dead. I took him out and touched him and his body was rigid. Poor little thing. So far Simon seems okay. I took Simon out, too, and cleaned the tank and put in fresh food. If Simon remains okay until the weekend, I'll go get some more. I really like them.


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## Marlow (May 29, 2013)

Sorry about your snail  I really like them too, they're funny and cute x)


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## Sabina88 (Aug 24, 2013)

InfiniteGlory said:


> one word: smell
> 
> take it out of the tank and carefully smell it. You will know if it's still alive or not.


I recently had one of my black mystery snails pass away
it was the first snail that ive lost.
But the smell was horrible. Ive read many times that when you smell it you just know, and I certainly agree.


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## InfiniteGlory (Dec 17, 2012)

it is unique and you never forget it. Also it is hard to get the smell off your hand too without using some heavy duty hand cleaner.


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## Siobhan (Nov 11, 2013)

I didn't notice a smell, but he hadn't moved for 24 hours and his body was rigid. I thought Simon was dead, too, night before last, so I fished her out and touched her and she recoiled, so I knew she was okay and since then, she's been behaving normally for her. Her favorite place to hang out is stuck to the tank wall next to the heater, but she's had some of her algae pellet and stuck herself to the other side of the tank, too. When our weather straightens up, I'll go get her a few friends to keep her company. Though I must admit, one snail is a lot less messy than two. Her water hasn't needed changed since I changed it after Garfunkel died. I was afraid not to change it after I removed his little body.


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

Marlow said:


> That's cool, but you need to have a backup just in case the betta starts picking. I had one of mine in with two mystery snails and he was fine, until I fasted him for a day. The next morning, the snails had no more tentacles ewe Just be watchful and have a plan :>


One of the reasons nerites are good snails to be kept with bettas - they are almost entirely covered by their shell and they have really small stalks.


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## Gizmothefreaky (Apr 10, 2011)

Snail funk is definitely something you don't forget... ive had full grown japanese trapdoor die on me, and as I was pulling them out of the water, the meat dropped from the shell.... I had to open a window and the smell was on my hands through several hand washings... yuck. >_<


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## Sabina88 (Aug 24, 2013)

Gizmothefreaky said:


> Snail funk is definitely something you don't forget... ive had full grown japanese trapdoor die on me, and as I was pulling them out of the water, the meat dropped from the shell.... I had to open a window and the smell was on my hands through several hand washings... yuck. >_<


Yuck,
I had that happen to me with one of my nerite snails, I went to pick it up and the body fell out, but it didn't smell that I can remember but, it was gross.
The body looks so weird out of the shell.


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## Gizmothefreaky (Apr 10, 2011)

Nerite don't smell nearly as bad as JTDs. .. ugh, it's terrible. DX


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## Siobhan (Nov 11, 2013)

The surviving snail, who never seemed to do anything other than stick herself to the side of the tank and sit there all day and all night, has become noticeably livelier since her roomie passed on. I find her in different spots all the time now. She climbs her rock. She climbs her plants. She plops herself in the the center of her plants and uses them for a hammock. Her head comes out and she waves her antennae around. I've even caught her EATING, and I never managed to catch her at that before. I had planned to buy a few more snails to keep her company (and because I like watching them even if they don't do much), but now I'm wondering if I should. Could she be moving around more because she's trying to find the other one? Or because she's happier alone?


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## kman (Dec 10, 2013)

Unless the one snail is doing an inadequate job of keeping the tank clean, I'd leave well enough alone, since the current snail seems happy.


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## Siobhan (Nov 11, 2013)

I clean the tank. She eats algae pellets. She has the tank to herself. I keep thinking of giving her a betta roomie but then I'm afraid she might look tasty to a betta, and I don't.


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## kman (Dec 10, 2013)

From what I've read, betta's generally leave Nerite snails alone (as you've noticed yourself). Mine ignores my pair.


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## Siobhan (Nov 11, 2013)

She's a mystery snail.


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## kman (Dec 10, 2013)

Siobhan said:


> She's a mystery snail.


Ah, Mystery Snail (_Golden bridgesii_, perhaps?) is a different species to Nerite snail (_Neritina natalensis_). If the Mystery Snail is not cleaning parts of your tank, try adding a Nerite, too. Between the two species, hopefully they will keep all the algae species under control.


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## Siobhan (Nov 11, 2013)

Her tank is clean. I clean it every few days, whenever it needs it. It's not filtered and she's alone in there, so I have to clean it to make sure it doesn't get too dirty for her.


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