Beautiful freshwater snails can enhance the aesthetics of any aquarium. In addition to consuming algae, snails help keep the water clean by removing debris from the substrate. Snails in aquariums may seem lifeless on occasion, but in reality, they may only be hibernating for a while.
Unfortunately, it’s not always clear whether your snail is only sleeping or has eventually died. Though some snails appear to be awake 24 hours a day, others can sleep for several days straight.
Because of their peculiar sleep-related behavior, snails can often be difficult to distinguish between the sleeping and dead states. Fortunately, there are some quick and simple ways to tell them apart. Read on.
How to Tell if An Aquarium Snail Is Dead?
Snails are generally hardy organisms. However, like many other types of pets, snails can die suddenly from old age or illness. When compared to other aquarium inhabitants, however, a snail can be more difficult to tell if it has passed away or not.
These four methods will help you determine whether or not your snail is still alive.
Closely Look at It
If your snail isn’t moving and isn’t nestled inside its shell, it’s probably dead. After death, a snail’s body loses the ability to retract within its shell, giving the appearance that it is flopping out of the shell. If your snail’s body has completely separated from its shell, it is either already dead or has undergone a mantle collapse, in which case it should be euthanized immediately to save further pain and suffering.
Grab and Feel it
Take the snail in your hands and examine it well. The snail is alive if it moves when you touch it or if it squirms when you take it out of the water. However, some snails will be stubborn and seemingly unresponsive. Touching the snail’s operculum will elicit a response from it. Whenever you touch a living snail’s operculum, it will quickly retreat or hide inside its shell.
Smell It
Sniffing a snail can quickly reveal whether or not it is still alive. Yes, it’s gross, but it works. If a live snail has any odor at all, it will be “fishy” or very similar to the scent of the aquarium water. On the other hand, once a snail dies, its odor will permeate the area. Dead snails start to smell quickly because of the rapid decomposition that occurs when organisms are submerged.
Check Tank Companions
Many aquarium inhabitants are happy to scavenge on a dead animal. If you encounter bullying behavior from tank mates like goldfish or loaches, your snail may be in danger. In contrast, if your snail’s tranquil tank mates, such as ramshorn snails or dwarf shrimp, show an interest in the snail’s meaty parts, it is likely that the snail is already dead.
These cleaners will keep the tank ecosystem in check and lessen the likelihood of problems caused by the snail’s decomposition. However, you shouldn’t leave a dead snail in the tank on purpose for the other animals to eat.
What Is the Lifespan of Aquarium Snails?
In the wild, freshwater snails have life spans ranging from one to five years. However, captive snails have been documented living much past the age of ten. The size of these animals also affects how long they live. The average longevity of smaller animal species is lower than that of larger ones.
Freshwater snails are incredibly diverse, with over 4000 known species. Because of this, it might be challenging to provide an accurate estimate of how long these snails typically live. However, it is natural to wonder how long your freshwater aquarium snails will stick around if you are nurturing them from a young age.
Below is a list of common aquarium snails and their lifespans.
Ivory Snail
Average Lifespan: 1-3 years; Maximum Lifespan: up to 5 years
Because of their nocturnal habits, the best time to study ivory snails is after dark. Ivory snails are like most other snails in that they clean out aquariums. They’ll make your filter’s job easier and ensure that your fish tank stays spotless. In addition, if you’re looking for fish tank mates, you can’t do better than ivory snails.
Mystery Snail
Average Lifespan: 1-3 years; Maximum Lifespan: 4 years
Mystery snails may clean your aquarium. Its diet is similar to that of the nerite snail, consisting of algae, decaying vegetation, and uneaten fish food. Although they are herbivores and often go hungry, they will not consume dead fish or living plants. They won’t annoy your fish or wreck your tank equipment, and they require very little maintenance.
Rabbit Snail
Average Lifespan: 1-3 years; Maximum Lifespan: up to 5 years
Rabbit snails are a common sight in freshwater aquariums due to their lengthy body and shell that come in a variety of bright hues like gold, yellow, black, and orange. It’s easy to tell these snails apart from any others. They are both cleansers of algae and relatively tranquil creatures, so there are still some similarities.
Black Devil Snail
Maximum Lifespan: up to 6 years
You can easily spot black devil snails in your aquarium since they are, well, black. Their long, tapering shell tapers progressively from the top. These snails are easy to breed since they can forage for their own food in an aquarium.
Japanese Trapdoor Snail
Average Lifespan: 3-5 years; Maximum Lifespan: up to 10 years
Despite their calm demeanor, Japanese trapdoor snails will spend their entire day foraging for algae, uneaten food, and detritus but will avoid eating plants. There are never two Japanese trapdoor snails with exactly the same shell, which adds a certain appeal to these creatures.
The popularity of snails in aquariums continues to rise for a good reason; these gentle creatures are low maintenance, calm, and some even double as cleaners for the main attraction. Snail life expectancy ranges from less than a year to more than 15 years, depending on the species. Being kind and paying close attention to them will go a long way toward retaining them.
What to Do with A Dead Aquarium Snail?
It’s crucial that you avoid touching any snail carcasses or touching any pieces of the snail that may still be attached to them. The odor of a dead snail is quite strong and difficult to remove. Dead snails should not be thrown away in the trash after being taken from the aquarium.
A better option is to acquire a zip lock bag and store the snail inside of it. The unpleasant odor will be mitigated after the snail in the bag has been frozen. Take the snail out of the freezer and dispose of it when you’re done with the trash.
After discovering a dead snail, check in on the aquarium. Quickly check the characteristics of your water supply for the presence of dissolved ammonia. If so, a large water change (40-50% of the tank’s volume) can assist your aquarium stabilize itself and fight against the increase.
How to Tell if Your Snail Is Sleeping or Dead?
It’s natural to worry when you check on your snail and notice that it’s been sitting still for a while. Maybe it may come as a relief to realize that snails in aquariums have a sneaky way of frightening their caretakers. Just because your snail isn’t moving right now doesn’t always mean it’s dead.
Smelling your snail is the quickest way to confirm if it’s dead. Yet there are a few more signs that can be used as confirmation.
Check for empty shells. Snail shells are all that remain after the snail’s body has decomposed, which can take some time, depending on how long it’s been dead.
Imagine seeing the body sticking out of the shell. When a snail dies, its body shrunken from the effects of dehydration leads it to fall or hang out of its shell.
To test whether the snail is alive, you can take it out of its tank and put it in a bowl, where you can observe it for a few days.
Turn off the lights. A lot of snails only come out at night and sleep when the lights are on. Remember their last known location and revisit again in the morning to see if they have relocated (indicating that they are still alive).
If a snail is dead, it won’t stick. Dead snails will not leave any sticky residue on the aquarium’s glass, rocks, or other surfaces. The presence of a snail that is clinging to something but not moving should not cause alarm. Maybe they’re just taking a little break.
It’s true that many snails kept in aquariums sleep for long stretches at a time. It’s possible that a floating snail is nothing to worry about, as some species do it on purpose. If you’re not sure if your snail is dead or just sleeping, keep reading for some helpful hints.
Hibernating allows snails to rest for days at a time. If they remain stationary for more than a few days, keep an eye on them. Take them out of the shell and give them a sniff; anything that doesn’t have a putrid odor is probably still alive and just taking a nap.
Snails can sleep for up to three days at a time and then wake up. This is a common behavior for assassin snails since they have a high metabolic rate, a huge digestive tract, and the ability to hibernate for extended periods.
Another way to tell if a snail is sleeping or hibernating is to look at its shell using a light. The idea is to see if their heart is still beating by shining light through a hole in the shell.
In their resting state, snails will cling to nearly any surface, including glass, rocks, plant leaves, and even the gravel itself.
Why Did Your Snail Die?
Tragic stories of a hobbyist’s snail’s untimely demise are not uncommon. Although snails are hardy pets, their deaths can sometimes be mysterious, and you may never learn the cause. This terrible event could have been caused by a number of different things.
Reasons for this may include:
Snails can die from improper water conditions. An increase in ammonia can be fatal to a snail, so it’s important to keep up with water changes. You can probably assume that the snails aren’t the only inhabitants of the tank to suffer from bad water parameters.
Snails require more than just algae and detritus worms to survive. For proper growth, they require an especially high calcium intake. Another possible cause is a lack of essential nutrients in their diet.
Another possible reason for the abrupt death is that the snails were exposed to copper, which has a toxic effect on them. Copper is a common ingredient in treatments used to cure ich and fungus in fish. As a result, you should isolate the sick fish in a separate tank until it is treated.
Tank mates that are also carnivores can likewise be a predatory threat. Learn which other tank inhabitants can tolerate snails with minimal fuss.
FAQ
Do Aquarium Snails Float When They Are Dead?
Dead snails can float in water. When in doubt, pull out your floating snail for a closer look. Verify that the shell is empty and secure. But floating isn’t usually a sign that your snail has died. Some snails float because air is trapped in their lungs, while others float because they eat the film on top of the water.
Does a Dead Snail Smell?
Just like most other dead creatures, the odor of a snail that has been dead for a while is very unpleasant. The corpse will stink badly of decay.
Do Dead Snails Stick?
If a snail is dead, it won’t stick. If you drop a dead snail into your aquarium, it won’t cling to the walls, rocks, or glass.
Do Snails Not Move for Days?
Generally speaking, snails are very sedentary creatures. After finishing their food, snails may enter a state of dormancy. Some snails go into hibernation when they encounter a new environment, poor water quality, or starving.
Why Do Snails Go Inactive?
Hibernation is a natural behavior for snails in the wild during the winter. It’s a bad sign that something is off in the aquarium’s ecosystem. If the water temperature drops too low or if they aren’t getting enough to eat, mystery snails can go into an inactive state.
Do Snails Like Dark or Light?
It is very unusual to spot a snail out and about in direct light. They favor settings that are dark or dimly lit or, at the very least, have a substantial amount of shade.
Conclusion
It’s not a fun task, but sometimes dealing with snails requires you to figure out if your snail is dead or just sleeping. They are peculiar creatures that often engage in actions that are counter to what you may assume, such as sleeping or being motionless for extended periods. You should always double-check your snail if you have any doubts about its status, especially if you think it might be dead.
Make sure that it is not only breathing but also appears to be in good health. Your snail should have a solid operculum, no broken shell pieces, a healthy appetite, and a strong body.
