Can snails get out of the water?

[Nuttygal! :0)]

In my tank with 3 black moors I noticed a snail is in there yesterday. I have no idea how he got there, I only have fake plants, and apart from the fish I have not added anything to that tank for weeks now. There were no plants in their tank at the LFS either, so that is a mystery. But anyway, can they crawl out of the tank? The tank does have a lid but because the snail was only small I reckon if it wanted to it could still get out...
But can they survive out of water?

 

[SailfinGirl]

Some can. My sis took a load out of her tank and left them out of water all night and they were still alive in the morning. I don't think they like doing it, mine hasn't ever tried to get any higher than the water line. If he does get that far, he turns back. Its quite a nice little pet to have!

 

[Zenn]

Snails can also become a pest too, if you have one i dont think you will have much problem but if there are two, then you ought to be careful because livebearers are class water bunnies, these snails will put that name to shame, because they will breed faster than bacteria, and so infest your tank and make it a unpretty sight *Looks in his two foot tank direction*, i have only one in my three footer and he is getting bigger, but as sailfingirl said, he goes up to the water line and turns back, he does come out of the water on RARE occasions, but he does not leave the tank, and as sailfingirl said i dont think they like leaving the water, because he dont stay out of the water very long, and they can be quite fast too, i have plenty of openings that my snails can get out of, but they dont come outside of the tank, so i dont see you needing to worry about them

If you do start to get a infestation, not saying i would do this personally because i think the snails are adorable, but you can buy whats called Snail control but in better word it is called Snail killer, and that would bring your infestation to a end, thats only if you want, i wouldnt do it that way myself, i would take them to a local pond or something and put them in there

 

[SHANTYMAID]

Hello Nuttygal i too have discovered in this past month snails in my tank which i might add that i have no idea what so ever where they came from . Mine are so tiny but they only will travel as far as the water line and they dont seem to be doing any harm at the moment, so i have left them be. No doubt on here somewhere somebody is going to be saying you fool but i like them and i cant kill anything . My fish will go up to them on the glass and try and pluck one off every now and then, i have heard that if you do get to have a bad infestation then there droppings can really foul the tank up. As i vacum my tank and do very regular water changes i think that i will be able to keep my snails under control , i will just have to keep an eye on things and my advice to you is to do the same

Best Wishes Shanna

 

[SBL]

yes, they can but, I think they can survive if they are moist. Last night I took my small pond snail out and he was going good with about a a few millimeters of water

 

[zephi]

I have a few snails in my tank... Back in summer, they would come out of the water very often, they would graze on the algae growing outside of the water. On some occasions they would stick to the glass on the same spot for a few days before re-entering the water... I guess they are able to survive so well out of water because of the high condensation in the tank. I had to cover up all possible escape routes, they're pro escape-artists

Now its winter and they NEVER come out of the water.

 

[OohFeeshy]

When was the last time you added something? Depending on how long ago it was, it's possible either snail egg or baby snail got put in too, and you haven't seen it until now.