Medium sized snail in refugium - dying?

[splitting_lanes]

I have a reefer 170 (40g) with a medium sized snail that’s been working to keep the algae off the glass in the refugium.

I found it stuck on its side 24hrs ago, so I moved him and he appears alive but hasn’t moved much since. He’s normally pretty active.
my fear is that if he dies, he may cause a spike that will cause other problems, maybe I’m being overly cautious.

any suggestions on how I should proceed?

 

[max_nano]

I’m not sure if a medium sized snail will cause a problem. But if you’re worried it might be dead/dying you could put it in a cup and see if it moves or not and decide if you want to put it back in.

I have nerites that like to escape and I’ll find them drying out on my floor. So I get them back into a shallow cup of water and place them in the center to see if they move. If they do they get back into the tank

 

[splitting_lanes]

I’m not sure if a medium sized snail will cause a problem. But if you’re worried it might be dead/dying you could put it in a cup and see if it moves or not and decide if you want to put it back in.

I have nerites that like to escape and I’ll find them drying out on my floor. So I get them back into a shallow cup of water and place them in the center to see if they move. If they do they get back into the tank

Hasn’t left the area I put him in since yesterday, but when I did try to pick him up yesterday afternoon he was a little ‘stuck’, so I know he’s still alive.

thanks for the answer/suggestion.

 

[JVU]

I wouldn’t worry too much about a single snail, either from the point of view of it causing a nutrient spike or of trying to figure out if it is dying or not.

 

[splitting_lanes]

I wouldn’t worry too much about a single snail, either from the point of view of it causing a nutrient spike or of trying to figure out if it is dying or not.

Thanks. I’ll just monitor the snail and if it dies, I’ll put another into the sump.

 

[sfsuphysics]

I would think that if a snail is attached to the glass it's not a problem, when a snail is not moving on the sand bed is when there's a problem.

 

[MonkeyReefer]

I have trochus snails and always some get stung by the elegance then die somewhere but haven’t noticed any spike in NO3 (been less than 1ppm) or PO4 (been 0.02-0.03ppm). They also reproduce in my tank. Lots babies around.

 

[max_nano]

I have trochus snails and always some get stung by the elegance then die somewhere but haven’t noticed any spike in NO3 (been less than 1ppm) or PO4 (been 0.02-0.03ppm). They also reproduce in my tank. Lots babies around.

Interesting. I thought that’s why they have the shell !

 

[splitting_lanes]

Update: the snail is up on the wall today, that’s a big improvement over the last couple of days.

thanks for the advice

 

[Afropenguin]

I had a conch snail not move for about 2 months and then eventually decided to move again. I know land snails hibernate so maybe ocean ones do too.