Applesnail.net

I don't know what happened but just a few minutes ago I saw Kol, one of my first apple snails, floating at the top out of her shell and it looks like they may have already started eating at her . I'm amazed at how sad one can be after the loss of snail. But I can't bring myself to cry in front of my folks who though they said "oh no, I'm sorry." I don't think they'd really "get" it, since they aren't interactive pets like dogs, cats, or even Betta fish. Still, the tears are coming as I sit by myself typing this.

I put her in the fridge and soon the freezer just in case somehow she wasn't dead (though as I said it looks like they were starting to eat at her). She laid a good sized clutch today before passing. She laid a good deal of clutches and was a full grown adult when I got her (no idea what age, but larger than the other snails in the tank and always the largest of the remaining apple snails I have). Even though I add Kent liquid calcium to the water and provide higher-calcium vegetables, once out of the shell I can see that her shell is very thin, I noticed the other one I got from the same place also has a thin/more fragile shells (came to me with dents in the shell).

Here she is laying her first clutch;


Eating some organic zucchini next to Sunburst (another female);


First day home;

I'm sorry for your loss.

I'm so sorry.

Thank you. I forgot to mention that due to summer weather and the kitchen tending to be warmer in Summer, the tank temperature has been at 80 degrees Fahrenheit even, and I know that will speed up their metabolism and they won't live as long. The other apple snails and my three Clithion nerites have been a bit more active and breeding like crazy. The filter is a sponge filter made for 25 gallons, and none of the apple snails can fit into the tube anymore, so she didn't get sucked against any filter intake. I feel bad that she's gone, but I guess it was just her time.

The other snails are doing great and I've noticed more activity from the snails in general since putting in a big chunk of bog wood (with java fern attached to it too). Water parameters are good and I always use Prime conditioner and let the water sit at least a few hours (to remove harmful gasses and let the Prime remove the heavy metals/chlorine/chloramines) if not overnight to 24 hours when doing water changes.