- The average lifespan of a mystery snail is around 1 year, although there are cases of 2-year lifespans.
- A dying snail can be identified by a change in behavior, for instance, not retracting into its shell when touched.
Did you know that the lifespan of a mystery snail is largely influenced by the temperature that they live in?
Snails that live in warm waters are more active but will generally have a shorter lifespan than those in cooler temperatures.
There are lots of interesting things to learn about how long mystery snails live and in this article we aim to tell you all about it.
Let’s dive in, shall we?
Mystery Snail Lifespan
Mystery snails on average, live for 1 to 2 years. This can vary based on living conditions and the general health of the snail.
Mystery snails are known to die shortly after being introduced to an aquarium. This is explained by different water conditions in the new environment and stress arising from transportation.
Mystery snails come in a variety of appearances including blue, black, ivory, and black colors, all with the same average lifespan length.
Blue Mystery Snail
Blue mystery snails will usually have a calming light blue color with their bodies being a darker shade of blue.
They live for about 1 year on average.
Unlike other freshwater snails, they are more active and are commonly be seen going up aquarium walls and sliding down. They can grow up to 3 inches in diameter making them one of the larger snail species.
Gold Mystery Snail
The gold mystery snail will usually spot a bright golden yellow color. Its bodies will usually be white with markings.
Just like the blue mystery snail, the gold mystery snails can live for about a year.
Ivory Mystery Snail
The ivory snail will spot a cream color with pink or peach bodies with markings. Just like the blue and gold snails, they are known to be active, large, and with voracious appetites.
They live for about 1 to 2 years.
Snail owners will usually pick them for their aesthetic value and to clean up aquariums, especially tropical ones because of their scavenging nature and diet consisting of mostly rotting plants.
Black Mystery Snails
Black Mystery Snails will usually spot a black or dark purple color. Their appearance can be black with tan stripes or dark purple with grey stripes.
A few will also have black with purple stripes however, the black appearance is the most common.
Like all other mystery snails, the black mystery snail lives for about a year.
Aquarium Vs. freshwater mystery snails’ lifespans
Freshwater mystery snails are common in rivers, swamps, and ponds, among other bodies of water. Because of where they live and the dangers arising from predators, freshwater snails will typically have a shorter lifespan than aquarium mystery snails.
These species are native to South America specifically Peru, Paraguay, Brazil, and Bolivia. Due to their scavenging nature, freshwater mystery snails are commonly found at the bottom of water bodies where there is an accumulation of organic plant materials.
Aquarium mystery snails are known to live for around 1 year under the right water conditions and temperatures.
These include a water temperature of 68 to 84F, pH levels of 7.6 to 8.4, and water hardness of 12 to 18 kH. Aquarium mystery snails also require increased levels of calcium to help their shells grow. These can either be added as supplements or introduced to their diet.
Mystery snail owners should be thorough to ensure that no copper elements are present in an aquarium since it strongly affects mystery snails.
Read this article more on the lifespan of other types snails.
How to know if a mystery snail is dying
In determining if a mystery snail is dying, snail owners need to look out for certain changes in their behaviors that signal that something may be amiss. Here some of the signs of a dying snail:
- Most snails will retract into their shell when touched. A snail that does not retract into its snails could be dying or is probably dead.
- Floating around on the water. Although mystery snails are known to float in periods of inactivity, extended periods of floating (1 week or more) could signal dying or dead snails.
A dead snail is most commonly identified by a pungent smell coming from its shell. If you suspect that your snail is dead, one can smell its shell is a good tell on its condition. It is however important to note that snails can emit a bad smell if their water condition is of poor quality.
You can also remove the snail from water for a short time. After a while, the snail will begin to move in search of water if alive.
Removing the snail for a short time will not adversely affect the snail since it can breathe out of water. However, leaving the snail outside for an extended period is likely to cause the snail to dry out due to lack of moisture.
A dead snail needs to be removed from the aquarium as soon as possible to avoid the spread of diseases to other inhabitants.
If it is not clear if the snail is alive or dead, remove it and take it to any pet store, where staff would be able to assess it to determine its state.
How long can mystery snails go without food?
Mystery snails can go for 1 to 2 weeks without food.
Mystery snails usually scavenge for food and will feed on debris arising from plant matter that is shed from an aquarium. Apart from this diet, mystery snails will also commonly feed on soft filmy algae that form on aquarium glass and slow-growing plants.[1]
Mystery snail owners can supplement this diet with a combination of pellets, algae wafers, and fish flakes. Additionally, a vegetable diet that includes leaf lettuce, iceberg lettuce, and green zucchini squash would also work for mystery snails.
How long can mystery snails stay out of water?
Research shows that mystery snails can survive for at least 12 hours and up to 5 days out of water. Large snails are more likely to live longer out of water due to their reduced metabolism and converting into a hibernating state.
Whilst mystery snails can breathe using their lungs and can survive out of water. However, a lack of moisture will cause them to dry up and die.
Common reasons for mystery snails leaving water include insufficient amount of food, laying eggs, poor water quality as well as escaping a hostile living environment.
How to dispose of a dead mystery snail
One of the options would be to place the snail in a zip lock bag, carefully seal and dispose it in a garbage bin.
If an aquarium has predators such as crabs, they could have already started devouring the dead snail. However, this has a risk of deteriorating water quality and spreading diseases to other aquarium inhabitants.
Alternatively, one can remove the snail’s body from its shell and after washing it, replace the snail shell in the aquarium to be used as a home for other aquarium inhabitants.
Mystery snails are some of the most bright, liveliest freshwater snails. We hope that this article will play a role in demystifying one or two things about the famous mystery snails.
Interested in keeping mystery snails? I found this video very informative:
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