Suicidal Apple Snails

VaegaVic · Jul 7, 2010

Well, on four occasions now my 2 (previously 3, guess how one died..) have all decided to leave my lovely 17L tank I have for them and go for a wander on the carpet..
Only by sheer luck last night did I not step on one, half way across the room.

I'm wondering what the bloody hell is causing this, I've kept loads of apple snails before, from asolene, pomacea to the giant versions and NONE of them have ever ended up going for a stroll.

At first it was cute, if not slightly worrying, but now it's just plain dangerous.

The tank is open topped with plants growing out, both submerged and emerged, so no no on a lid I'm afraid.

Any thoughts?

Littlemonkey · Jul 7, 2010

I never keep Apple snails in an open top tank because they love to wander, sorry but you may have to invest in a lid or sliding glass panels.

VaegaVic · Jul 7, 2010

Littlemonkey said:
I never keep Apple snails in an open top tank because they love to wander, sorry but you may have to invest in a lid or sliding glass panels.

Well that's going to be a problem in terms of expense and killing off my plants..
Might just have to move them to my 64L.

Inchworm · Jul 7, 2010

It's not that unusual for apple snails to be found outside the tank when there is no lid to keep them in. Remember, these snails lay their eggs above the waterline so coming out of the water is not something they would hesitate to do.

Curiosity101 · Jul 7, 2010

Try sticking a paper rim around it. Hopefully as they climb it the paper will bend and deposit them back into the water. They could still carry on climbing (and it wouldn't look 'great') but might be worth a try? I'd have thought when they touched water again they'd probably let go... the only other ideas I had was vaseline around the edges but this may not be fish friendly.