Apple Snail Death

flowerslegacy

We had our Apple Snail for about 3 months. He was healthy and happy and base jumping from the sides of the tank regularly. We got him when he was pretty young and he grew quickly. However, he didn't show any signs of shell issues from unhealthy rapid growth. He had some dark streaks but they appeared to be normal based on all the pics I've looked through on the web. My pH is 8.4.

He lived in our 25 gal w/4 praecox, 3 bumblebee gobies & 2 flower shrimp. Nothing extensive and I do regular water changes. Perfect perameters on a regular basis. I even have a few live plants: cabomba, anacharias and Anubias. I fed him an algea wafer every couple of days, which he immediately sought out and devoured.

Suddenly he stopped moving and became inactive. I read that they can do this so I didn't panic. After a week I moved him to see if he was alive. He moved enough to convince me he was alive. One day his little antennae came out but he pulled himself back in. Some times he'd hang out of his shell a little, some times he'd seal himself up, but never moving. I even tried to feed him. Nothing. Today he died.

What in the world could've happened to my snail? The fish never bothered him nor did the shrimp - they're filter feeders. I add Flourish to my tank for the plants and I know that they're sensitive to copper. Flourish has a speck of copper but I've never read where we're advised not to use Flourish if we have snails. Any advice? I really want another one but I won't do it until I understand what happened to this guy. Thanks for your help.

GwenInNM

I had the exact thing happen to mine. I have great water conditions, etc. I think it may just happen. Perhaps some just don't live long, and there may have been nothing that specifically caused it. :(

Gwen

flowerslegacy

He's alive!! Thank goodness I didn't bury him outside. I kept him in a bowl w/his tank water to insure he had died and sure enough his little antennae started to come out. So here are a couple of pics. He's on his back but that's the way he's been for a couple of weeks. As of last night he appears to have swelled up. That's why I thought he died. Also, by the naked eye his shell doesn't look bad but after seeing the pics it looks rough. Hope this helps. I have other "pest snails" in the tank and they're doing fine.

flowerslegacy

Thanks Gwen - At least I'm not alone! I must've posted my pics as you were responding to my initial "death" post. Did your guy look like mine? All swollen and sick looking?

Jakiebabie

I've only had one and it did the same thing... but actually did die. My LFS says it may be our water with the high PH... mine is 8.2 too. She claims she can't keep them alive for the store and thought it was our hard hard water and high ph. maybe someone else has experience with this...

GwenInNM

Well I also have hard water (out of tap) with lots of minerals, and a ph of 8.2, but I heard minerals in water is good for snail shells. They do need calcium to keep their shell strong, and from becoming brittle. You can provide that by buying a cuttlebone (very cheap, used for birds). You'll find it at any petstore. You can break off a piece and put it in the tank. Cuttlebones eventually do stay down, but do need to have something laid on top of the cuttlebone until it gets saturated. I'd try that, but it may be to late.

Mine just stayed "dormant" for a long while. I also took him out and put him in a cup, he'd eat a bit, I'd put him back etc. Read it was normal for them to do that once in awhile. One day, I was almost sure mine was dead, and he was because he smelled bad.

Gwen

GwenInNM

Mine was like yours when it died, as it was "outside" his shell a bit, so I guess that could be considered swollen. Toward the end, yes, his trap door was open like yours. Keep doing what you can, but you may lose him.

Gwen

flowerslegacy

Hi Gwen, Did you get another Apple Snail that did well? Did you ever have cyanobacteria in your tank? Did you ever use Indian Almond Leaves (IAL)? Do you have live plants? These are a couple other things that were introduced to the tank after I got him. The cyano was *very* slight and I never actually saw it growing anywhere - I only smelled it in the filter floss. I've been fighting it in some other tanks so I'm sure it was transferred during a water change or something. I put a small piece of IAL in the tank to give the snails something to munch on and add a little tannis to the water. But it was a very small piece and I can't imagine it would've effected 25 gals?? (I have lots of bettas so that's why I had the IAL) I'm just trying to decipher what may have hurt him. I've researched quite a bit on them and I sure thought I was doing everything right. I didn't get a cuttlebone or other calcium supplement however, because I thought the higher pH and minerals in my water would suffice. Perhaps I was wrong. I'll do better next time. I've tried feeding him but he never responds. He looks miserable. I wish I knew what to do. He always looks dead to me so I don't know how to decipher his condition :( Poor guy.

GwenInNM

I've never had cyanobacteria. I do use IAL. I have an entire leaf in my 5 gallon with my Red cherry shrimp and one Apple Snail (I didn't buy him, he was itchie-bitcie and came with a plant, now he's quite large, so that could not be it. IAL are supposedly good for a number of reasons. Your snails shell could be weak because of lack of calcium, but I had one die after about 4 months, and his shell looked fine. I wish I knew more, but really don't. Perhaps you should put him out of his misery. I wouldn't know how to do that, except to take a very heavy object, and smash him as fast as you can. I know that sounds gruesome Oh, and yes, I have live plants.

Gwen

flowerslegacy

Thanks Gwen. I thought I'd throw a few things out there and see if there was anything in common. I really appreciate all your feedback. I thought about putting him out of his misery . . .