snail question

[bb]

I had a snail a while ago that exhibited some odd behavior that i've
wondered about. I don't know what species of snail it was, but it was
about the size of a walnut, maybe slightly larger. It was the only
snail I had in my 10 gallon tank, and I think I had 3 small fish in it
as well. The snail would stay in the same spot in the gravel for
days, not moving, with its foot tucked into the shell. Then after i
guess a few days it would float to the top and stay at the surface
with its mantle still tucked in, until being tilted to the side to let
the gas bubble between its foot and the lip of the shell escape. then
it would sink to the bottom again and i think that process was
repeated many times. i don't remember how long this went on but it
seemed like a very long time. eventually the snail started moving
around the tank again but i don't recall how long it lived after that.
i had another snail before this but never saw it do anything like
what i described. do snails ever go through a period of inactivity,
perhaps during which the shell grows? also, i dont recall there being
any visible aglae on the walls, and with only 3 fish leaving waste
could there not have been enough food? thinking about it now, maybe
its a natural response to go into a state of torpor to wait out
conditions, or even float away to somewhere else where there is more
food, but i really dont know. any thoughts?

[DonkeyQong]

bb wrote:
> I had a snail a while ago that exhibited some odd behavior that i've
> wondered about. I don't know what species of snail it was, but it was
> about the size of a walnut, maybe slightly larger. It was the only
> snail I had in my 10 gallon tank, and I think I had 3 small fish in it
> as well. The snail would stay in the same spot in the gravel for
> days, not moving, with its foot tucked into the shell. Then after i
> guess a few days it would float to the top and stay at the surface
> with its mantle still tucked in, until being tilted to the side to let
> the gas bubble between its foot and the lip of the shell escape. then
> it would sink to the bottom again and i think that process was
> repeated many times. i don't remember how long this went on but it
> seemed like a very long time. eventually the snail started moving
> around the tank again but i don't recall how long it lived after that.
> i had another snail before this but never saw it do anything like
> what i described. do snails ever go through a period of inactivity,
> perhaps during which the shell grows? also, i dont recall there being
> any visible aglae on the walls, and with only 3 fish leaving waste
> could there not have been enough food? thinking about it now, maybe
> its a natural response to go into a state of torpor to wait out
> conditions, or even float away to somewhere else where there is more
> food, but i really dont know. any thoughts?
My current snail is an apple snail that is about an inch and a half in
diameter. It will rest and not move for days unless there is food in
the tank. An hour or so after I put in a cucumber or lettuce leaf, it
will start moving around and hunt it out.

[Geezer From Freezer]

Also consider snails are nocturnal and will be active when its dark.