# Mystery snail



## juliarenee995 (May 2, 2014)

My betta normally lives with a black mystery snail, and they get along well, however, i have kept my snail in a separate tank while treating my betta for fin rot. Normally, my snail is very active, but is suddenly unresponsive. He was partially out of his shell when i cleaned the tank this morning, but then retracted and has not moved since. I am concerned he might have died, but as of yet there is no smell. Any suggestions?


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## MichelleA (Jun 25, 2013)

Try throwing some food in and see what happens. That always worked for me.


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

When a snail dies it is no longer able to keep the door closed. As long as it's being kept shut, it's alive. Snails can be weird like that - go through phases of activity and inactivity. It's REALLY difficult to diagnose problems with inverts. Keeping the water clean and making sure it's not being picked on is about all you can do.


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

Isn't there the whole thing about being able to smell a dead snail? I've always read that they smell absolutely putrid when they die. But having never really been a big snail person, I can't corroborate that.


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## juliarenee995 (May 2, 2014)

Thank you, i think we can nearly confirm that he is dead, his flesh appears to be turning whitish and oozing out around his door. I will wait just a bit longer to make sure before I bury him.


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## ZZD (Jan 13, 2013)

Dead snails.pretty much smell like bad eggs. If it smells.like dirt it's still alive. Though it sounds like that one is very ill if not dead.


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