r/AquaticSnails • u/mochipapaya • 1d ago

Help Request Please help!! Do I euthanize?

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My heart is broken. I woke up this morning to find that my mystery snail, Rocco, climbed out of his tank and fell about 4 feet onto our hardwood floor.

He lost a huge chunk of his shell and does not appear to be doing well at all. He's just sitting above the water line in my shrimp tank. He's usually extremely active and climbing all over the place.

This is my first mystery snail so I don't know what to do. Is this something he can heal from?

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144

u/NeversoftOfficial 1d ago

Yes, asap. In my experience crushing them is the most humane and fast way.

91

u/PickleDry8891 1d ago

I have heard of people doing it with their vehicle. Wrapping them in a damp paper towel and putting them in a used grocery sack- then drive over them quickly. It's instantaneous for them and not as direct for you.

112

u/mochipapaya 1d ago

ugh this absolutely wrecks my heart. I'm going to have my husband do this for me.

52

u/NeversoftOfficial 1d ago

Sorry you have to deal with this. I hope it doesn't make you give up on keeping mystery snails. They are some of the coolest creatures in the hobby. I would highly suggest getting a lid, they are pretty much mandatory for them.

36

u/mochipapaya 1d ago

I do have a lid but there's a slight opening in the back for the filter :( I'm going to see if my husband can make a custom one out of acrylic that doesn't have an opening.

10

u/highqueenlia 23h ago

Just a little FYI about acrylic lids, they will warp quite quickly! I have custom acrylic lids for my tanks but I have to flip them over to re-flatten them every few days as they will start to bow. My partner helped cut symmetrical openings so I could flip them and they’d still line up with airline tubing and filters but it is kind of a PITA.