marcy
Hatchling Snail
Posts: 24
|
Post by marcy on Dec 7, 2005 1:34:07 GMT
My snail is acting strange, just kinda not moving, inside his shell, first I thought he had gone to snail heaven but when I touched just inside his operculum he jumped a little, but I can't see his heartbeat though his shell like I usually can. What usually happens when snails die? Is there something I could do to positively check? He has not been eating much lately, and I've had the tentacle problem, but I had put a divider in the tank instead of relocating him. Hopefully someone can help me figure it out, not sure if maybe he's just in a dormant stage. Thanks, Marcy
|
|
|
Post by pheonixx on Dec 7, 2005 2:51:27 GMT
Hi Marcy
I will try to help you with this one..1st of all what temp are you keeping your tank at ? if you are keeping him in cold water he will very quickly go into a hybernation state which will cause him to die if he is not warmed up..that's one of the reasons why IMHO snails need their own tank and not kept with cold water fish they are a tropical species and need to be kept around 20 C min..if you have him at the right temp lets now look at his food what sort of diet is he getting....next we could suspect infection from his injurys..do you have some meds called melafix..if you have a drop or two in the water will help..lastly pick him up smell at him..if it's the worst smell ever then sadly he has already gone to the rainbow bridge if thats the case then dont give up these are wonderful gentle creatures..come back to us read up on every aspect of snailing and start again..someone near to you will send you one of theirs to love..let us know what's going on I will check back every few hours and help you all I can...Linda
|
|
marcy
Hatchling Snail
Posts: 24
|
Post by marcy on Dec 7, 2005 3:48:32 GMT
Hi Linda, He's alive and moving around the tank a bit but I've noticed a few things. First of all though, water is warm, around 23 degrees.
1) His shell is almost clear where new growth is, I don't know if this is normal.
2) for the past few days he's been floating around a bit, and then going back to normal but not moving as much as he usually does.
3) what does it look like when they lay eggs and where do they come out, what happens next, etc.. Because I think he(she) may have laid some eggs
I have been feeding him algea discs and a few assorted veggies but he does not seem interrested in the veg. But he loves fish food and comes to surface when I feed the fish, so I drop some food on his head and he loves that.
He's moving a little now, but I'm worried about him, thanks for all the help you can give, Marcy
|
|
|
Post by pheonixx on Dec 7, 2005 4:01:11 GMT
Thats good snaily is still alive...temps seem fine..now on to diet..are you adding any sort of calcium to the water..ie liquid calcium...what is your ph snails shells start to suffer if it's below 7...do you have a test kit for params nitrate amonia...how often do you water change these are all things that can effect your snail..eggs are laid above the water line and depending on you snail species they will be light pink or dark pink they will be stuck to the side of the tank you cant miss them..Linda
|
|
marcy
Hatchling Snail
Posts: 24
|
Post by marcy on Dec 7, 2005 4:11:31 GMT
Okay, we can rule out eggs then, he seems to have expelled something, just looked like some kind of clear fluff with a few white specks in it. I still can see his heart beating though, even when he's moving around. I have not put any calcium in the water, and ph is above 7 but I don't have a kit to test for nitrate. I did a half water change about a week ago, but tank is really messy and I feel like I should clean the entire thing tomorrow....Marcy
|
|
|
Post by pheonixx on Dec 7, 2005 4:12:18 GMT
Marcy love I need to go to bed it's 4am here LOL I will come on here 1st thing...if you can write everything down about you tank size conditions..who lives in it, cleaning water changes in fact anything you can think of and we will soon have your snail back to full health..just another thought are you aware that snails can not tolerate fish meds..melafix is the only thing to treat them and even that has to be used sparingly..catch you tomoz...Linda
|
|
marcy
Hatchling Snail
Posts: 24
|
Post by marcy on Dec 7, 2005 4:14:39 GMT
Thanks Linda, will update with conditions and check back tomorrow, goodnight!
|
|
|
Post by pheonixx on Dec 7, 2005 4:16:53 GMT
No Marcy dont do a full tank clean or you will have to start recycling again...do a water change now and just get something clean like a cloth that has never had chemicals on it and give the glass a wipe...is there any big bits of rotting food..if so get them out asap...do you have a vac?...Linda
|
|
marcy
Hatchling Snail
Posts: 24
|
Post by marcy on Dec 7, 2005 4:18:57 GMT
I don't have a vac, water's very cloudy, but I will do the change tonight before bed, what if I took him and fish out, scooped out gravel cleaned and and put the whole thing back together with a half water change?...marcy
|
|
|
Post by pheonixx on Dec 7, 2005 4:24:13 GMT
Great I can sleep now but hun you do need a vac..snails are messy and if you dont get the poop out your tank will quickly go downhill on params...do a water change...tomoz I would like to know what substate you are using and do you stir it up...and filter what type do you have and what size of tank..I know it's a lot of questions but we are all learning off each other and Daz and I have had a few misshaps with fish and snails and if we can prevent others from going through this it's worth it..I will be back tomoz..Linda
|
|
|
Post by pheonixx on Dec 7, 2005 4:28:59 GMT
Arrrhh no dont take gravel out and clean it....your tank will be a mess if you do that just do 25 to 30% water change...and if funds permit...get a vac and water testers...not much money you dont need to buy the dear ones...Linda
|
|
marcy
Hatchling Snail
Posts: 24
|
Post by marcy on Dec 7, 2005 4:35:39 GMT
The tank is about 30x15x12 inchs, the filter is the kind that has the intake tube in the water and the rest outside(don't know if this tells you anything). The filter came with the tank. The fish I have now are 2 tetras(inch long each) and a large angel fish whom I suspect has been torturing Scoot hence the missing tentacles. Let me know what other info you need as I don't know what params and substate is, thanks, Marcy
|
|
marcy
Hatchling Snail
Posts: 24
|
Post by marcy on Dec 7, 2005 16:12:37 GMT
I don't know if this makes a difference, but my filter has 2 cartridges, one with carbon that you change every 2 weeks or so, and a Bio filter that is permanent(Good news is Scoot survived the night, I'm in the process of taking care of the tank now, will keep post updated) Not to sound morbid, but do they always fall out of their shells completely when they die?...Marcy
|
|
marcy
Hatchling Snail
Posts: 24
|
Post by marcy on Dec 8, 2005 16:02:02 GMT
Scoot died. I just had my hubby bury him in the backyard. When I got up this morning he had not moved all night, and when I touched him just beyond the operculum he wasn't moving at all, for the past couple of days his heartbeat had been so weak and then there was nothing.
|
|
|
Post by pheonixx on Dec 8, 2005 16:51:20 GMT
Marcy love I am so so sorry...we did try hun..but sometimes when it's your time it's your time I am a big believer in that , whether it be be man or animal..please dont get put off snail keeping...if you would like to keep one or two it would be better to get a tank of their own with no hassle from the fish...and with the sounds of it your tank is at it's limits with each fish needing around 10 gals each to keep them in top condition...you still need to get a vac to clean up the poop...let us know how things are with you and if you decide to get another one let us know...Linda
|
|