# Mystery snails



## gaddybaddy (May 16, 2013)

I didn't know where else to post this but I am having a terrible time with my blue mystery snail. I know floating is normal and I have seen him do it for several hours at a time then go back to crawling around. He has been floating for days now. I put him into a cave then he came out and started floating again. I changed 20% of the water and tried enticing him with algae wafers and bloodworms but nothing worked so I left him alone. It has been days and now his penis sheath is hanging out. I took him out and put him in a dish but he didn't smell bad so I didn't think he was dead. I only had him for about 6 months and he grew very fast in that time. I have another mystery snail who is doing absolutely fine though I don't want her to come down with anything. I care about these little buggers. 

On a second note, my gold mystery snail has a white line running down the entire length of her new growth since I got her from the store, about 4 months ago.


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## DarkestCloud (Mar 21, 2013)

The gold one should be fine. Just a normal marking. Sorry I can't help with your blue, but good luck!


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## Goby (Mar 21, 2012)

Mystery snails float for a lot of different reasons and some do it more than others. It's annoying. Sometimes it means nothing, something it means they're holding air, and other times they're old or sick and going to die in the relatively near future. I've found the more food there's available for a healthy mystery snail, the more the snail will float. Mystery snails that are well fed are lazy as he||. 

If you're distressed about it you could try burping him. Put him in a bowl with a tiny bit of water...enough to cover the bottom of the bowl. A healthy snail will extend his head. When he does so, his head will need to be well above the water line. Only his foot and just a tiny smidge more needs to be in the water. You might see some bubbles when he stretches. If not, move his shell a little to displace any air. This may or may not keep him from floating. To me, it seems the more you burp a snail the more he'll need to be burped. If your water parameters are on mark, and burping doesn't work, I'd just wait it out.


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## gaddybaddy (May 16, 2013)

He curled up like a ball and the pest snails got inside his shell. They were crawling all over him so I assumed that he died. He was floating for a week.


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