Is my snail dying?

[ChelseaReef]

Hey guys,

 

So I have a fairly new tank. 2 months old, seen a strong cycle, params reading great (see below).

 

I have purchased 4 x Trochus snails and 3 x Cerith snails for a clean up crew but over the last 3 days I've had to keep turning one of my trochus snails over (pic related). Why does he keep rolling on his back? Is he sick? I usually leave him on his back for 24 hours and then I intervene and put him up against the glass which he sucks onto. Should I keep intervening or let him be?

 

My plan has always been to take things slow and nurture whatever life I bring into the tank and this is devastating to watch (assuming he is dying).

 

All the other snails are doing great - munching on algae left right and centre but this guy ain't coming to the party!

 

Would appreciate your thoughts and suggestions.

 

Params:

 

Ammonia: 0ppm

Nitrite: 0ppm

Nitrate: 0.25ppm

Phosphate: 0.08

Salinity: 1.023

Ph: 8

 

 

[WV Reefer]

1 hour ago, ChelseaReef said:

Hey guys,

 

So I have a fairly new tank. 2 months old, seen a strong cycle, params reading great (see below).

 

I have purchased 4 x Trochus snails and 3 x Cerith snails for a clean up crew but over the last 3 days I've had to keep turning one of my trochus snails over (pic related). Why does he keep rolling on his back? Is he sick? I usually leave him on his back for 24 hours and then I intervene and put him up against the glass which he sucks onto. Should I keep intervening or let him be?

 

My plan has always been to take things slow and nurture whatever life I bring into the tank and this is devastating to watch (assuming he is dying).

 

All the other snails are doing great - munching on algae left right and centre but this guy ain't coming to the party!

 

Would appreciate your thoughts and suggestions.

 

Params:

 

Ammonia: 0ppm

Nitrite: 0ppm

Nitrate: 0.25ppm

Phosphate: 0.08

Salinity: 1.023

Ph: 8

 

 

There are certain types of snails that cannot flip themselves over.........If left upside down they will die.  He could be sick or he could be a weirdo...... Time will tell. 

[BlennyBoi]

flip him over and see how he does

[specore]

Trochus snails should be able to right themselves.  I would suspect he is struggling, which wouldn't be surprising as snails generally have to replenished every few months.  

[BlennyBoi]

Just now, specore said:

Trochus snails should be able to right themselves.  I would suspect he is struggling, which wouldn't be surprising as snails generally have to replenished every few months.  

trochus can  live to 15 years, if you take good care of them.

[specore]

Just now, BlennyBoi said:

trochus can  live to 15 years, if you take good care of them.

Sure...but that doesn't mean they all will.  I would say it is normal to turnover 10-20% of the snail population every few months.  

[ReefCap]

Give it the smell test. Take it out of the water and smell it. If you don’t smell anything he’s good just acting weird. If it smells bad then he’s either dead or dying.

[BlennyBoi]

3 hours ago, ReefCap said:

Give it the smell test. Take it out of the water and smell it. If you don’t smell anything he’s good just acting weird. If it smells bad then he’s either dead or dying.

yep, used this test of freshwater mystery snails. if youre not sure, hes still alive. if theyre dead, they stink like shit

[Kellie in CA]

Unfortunately, you are going to lose a lot of snails over the life of your tank. I usually have no idea what the cause was, however, I do suspect the hermits quite often. 

[banasophia]

I always just flip my snails back over when they are upside down like that... they often climb up the glass and wind up upside down when they fall off. 

[BlennyBoi]

1 hour ago, Kellie in CA said:

Unfortunately, you are going to lose a lot of snails over the life of your tank. I usually have no idea what the cause was, however, I do suspect the hermits quite often. 

to stop hermits bothering my trochus, i go to the beach and pick a few snails off the rocks, and throw em in. the hermits prefer the fodder snails over my trochus (mostly cos theyre tiny hermits and massive trochus)

[ChelseaReef]

Thanks for the info everyone. I haven't done the smell test because although on his back he was kinda squirming around. So I picked him up and put him the right way up on a rock. Will let you know if he survives.

 

The pics are of before and after I righted him.

 

 

[specore]

The conch I just lost after five years was my snail guardian.   In the process of patrolling the sand bed he would usually either knock upside down astreas back upright or at least get close enough for them to grab on and right themselves.