snail death

Question
I read with interest a question and answer about a ramshorn snail floating around the freshwater tank. I was wondering how you can actually tell if a snail is dead? or just on vacation. My snail was alway pretty active, but I found him floating this morning and my betta fish was sort of circling around him. None of my other fish had ever bothered him before. I have only had him a couple months and never really could see all of him. I moved him to another tank with a plant. I can't tell if he is moving at all, but he isn't floating now.
Thank you for your help.

Answer
Hi Karen;

You really just have to wait and see but there are a couple of things you can try to check if he's still alive. If you can pull his body out of the shell at all with almost no effort, he's probably gone. If he seems to be holding pretty well inside, he may still be alive. Also, take a smell of the shell opening. If it smells like rotten eggs, he's dead. If it just smells "fishy" he may be alive in there still.

Bettas do like to nibble at snails sometimes. When the snails put out their long thin antennae a betta bites at it because it looks like a worm wiggling there. The snail will retreat back into it's shell, sometimes for days if the betta is persistent. Snails will come out only in the dark at times like that.

Hope he's okay...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins