Mystery snail disappeared!

[jackmoddle]

Hey all,

I have set up a 10G tank for my baby mollies since their mother keeps pumping them out. As well in there I have 4 mystery snails and what the store called a catfish but what i expect may be a small plecostomus (gotta love pet stores). The snails have always been quite active and don't seem bothered by any of their tankmates. They are also quite large, about 1-1/2 inches, compared to anything else in there. But today I looked and one of them is gone without a trace. I checked everywhere, even inside the filter, and did not even find a shell. Does anyone have any idea where he might have gone? Can they leave the tank? Or is there a chance the fish and plecostofish ate him, shell and all?

Jack

[Irish_Lass]

My mam had a snail in with her guppies (and a plecostomus). The snail disappeared and after I'd spoke to a few friends, I would be almost 100% certain that the snail died for whatever reason and the pleco' hoovered him up. Pleco's are omnivorous so anything goes with those bad boys. ;)

[jackmoddle]

the shell too, though?

[Irish_Lass]

If they can break it down then yeah, there really is nothing they won't eat.....or so I've discovered through the pleco's we've had. :) Apparently if they're not getting enough algae they'll even take to sucking the slime coating off goldfish!

[kaitlin]

yeah, similar thing happend to me, actually my betta ate the snail, and it seems the pleco ate the shell.. hmm.. lol but they can slink out any openings in the tank, maybe where the filter goes if their is a small opening, actually ive had fish jump out the small opening too!! crazy things. seems strange, but eh so it goes:)

[jackmoddle]

I just don't believe that he ate the whole shell in less than a day, he was smaller than the snail. If there is an opening, will they leave the tank? i definitely have an opening...should i be looking around the room/can they survive outside?

[Irish_Lass]

I would imagine that if it had got out you would find it somewhere around the tank. I hate to say it when you're still holding out hope, but I think the pleco' got him.

[kaitlin]

yeah, my tank is on my desk, and the fish jumped right out under the desk on the floor. found him all crispy one day, poor guy.. chances are good that he did get eatin, sorry to say..

[jackmoddle]

Found him! he was on the floor under the desk...not sure if he's alive or not but he sure took a fall...

[Irish_Lass]

Well, that's a relief! :) Now to make it secure so he doesn't make a bid for freedom again. I don't know what sort of snails you have but I know the ones we had in our aquarium couldn't survive outside of the tank. I guess all you can do is keep an eye on him now.

[krazy4birds]

Mystery solved and I hope he is alive. I have had fish jump out of my tank also....wierd little things....lol