I made a huge mistake

[foxgirl158]

So before you guys get really steamed about this, just know that I feel absolutely terrible about what happened and I take full responsibility.

I think I killed my nerite.
I put a sick fish into my 10 gallon quarantine/hospital tank, and the fish ended up dying. This was my favorite fish. There were a lot of other things going on in my life at that point, and I was too emotionally and physically exhausted to take her out right away.
Thing is, I forgot my nerite was in there. If I had remembered, I would have made time to take her out as soon as she died, but she was in the tank for probably a week after she died. (Please don’t yell at me, I feel bad enough.)
I went to take her out on Friday right before we left for a weekend trip, and I remembered the snail when I saw him on the side of the tank.

I quickly took him out and put him in a 1/2 gallon tank that I had with a little of his water and the rest of the water from my main tank (they were pretty close in parameters, at least it was before the fish died.) I put duckweed in to help filter out whatever ammonia he would produce over the weekend and told my grandma to keep an eye on him. Come Thursday (today) and he still hasn’t moved.

How do I tell if he’s dead? Is it normal for nerites to stay still for this long? I’m planning on doing an 80% water change and cleaning the gravel and decorations in the 10g as soon as I can, would it help if I put him back in once I’m done?

I feel so terrible that my actions might have caused a creatures death. I’ve bashed myself enough that you don’t have to. I’m asking how to tell if my snail is dead, and if he’s not, how do I help him. Thanks.

 

[Essjay]

A dead nerite will fall out of its shell when lifted out of the water. If the trapdoor is clamped shut, try very gently pulling on the edge with a fingernail, and if it doesn't some away with very light pressure, the snail is alive and pulling it closed. Don't pull hard - if the snail is still alive, too much pulling with damage the snail.
A snail that is well and truly dead smells appalling Sniff it very cautiously, it's the kind of smell that lingers in the nose for hours if you take a big sniff.

 

[OliveFish05]

I would take it out and sniff it carefully. It will smell really really bad. My sister had a mystery snail in a 1 gallon bowl with some plants and sand and a pretty rock. One of our goldfish from our pond developed some swimming issues, she wasn't moving and was having a hard time in the pond, and got stuck on the filter. We figured she was going to die, but weren't sure so without me realizing they put the goldfish in the bowl with the snail and added some medication they got at the store. They didn't take the snail out and of course the medicine wasn't snail safe. My point is we all make mistakes sometimes, even when our heart is in the right place.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Good advice above; the "smell test" is the easiest way to tell if a snail has died, but as advised, proceed with caution

 

[Colin_T]

Don't feel too bad about it. We have all killed fish and snails and they regularly die in the wild. I've lost count of the things I have killed in my tanks and the shop tanks. Some things can't be prevented and some can. Just learn from your mistake so you don't repeat it.

 

[FishHobby99]

So before you guys get really steamed about this, just know that I feel absolutely terrible about what happened and I take full responsibility.

I think I killed my nerite.
I put a sick fish into my 10 gallon quarantine/hospital tank, and the fish ended up dying. This was my favorite fish. There were a lot of other things going on in my life at that point, and I was too emotionally and physically exhausted to take her out right away.
Thing is, I forgot my nerite was in there. If I had remembered, I would have made time to take her out as soon as she died, but she was in the tank for probably a week after she died. (Please don’t yell at me, I feel bad enough.)
I went to take her out on Friday right before we left for a weekend trip, and I remembered the snail when I saw him on the side of the tank.

I quickly took him out and put him in a 1/2 gallon tank that I had with a little of his water and the rest of the water from my main tank (they were pretty close in parameters, at least it was before the fish died.) I put duckweed in to help filter out whatever ammonia he would produce over the weekend and told my grandma to keep an eye on him. Come Thursday (today) and he still hasn’t moved.

How do I tell if he’s dead? Is it normal for nerites to stay still for this long? I’m planning on doing an 80% water change and cleaning the gravel and decorations in the 10g as soon as I can, would it help if I put him back in once I’m done?

I feel so terrible that my actions might have caused a creatures death. I’ve bashed myself enough that you don’t have to. I’m asking how to tell if my snail is dead, and if he’s not, how do I help him. Thanks.

I thought a few nerites might be dead, so placed them in a shallow flat bowl containing water from their tank & they moved. Very much alive & were returned to the tank.