Oh no! Got a snail last night for the fish tank, to help with a little algae issue that is growing. (Pun intended)
Unfortunately no one at the pet store mentioned not to put it in a tank with aquarium salt, which I have in my tank for the ghost shrimp.
So this morning I found my poor beautiful "Gary" dead. How do I know it was the salt that killed him? I found him shell up IN the salt cup!
As soon as I saw him in there, I thought: Hey, doesn't salt kill slugs? Aren't snails basically slugs with houses? D'oh!!
I'm sad. I spent 45 minutes picking out just the perfect snail. And the kids were so excited about him. And then I mercilessly killed him. Poor guy never had a chance. :(
Update: So, because I wasn't 100% sure he was dead (he was still black and shiny in the shell, not discolored and dry) I put him in a plastic cup with water from the tank. I wanted to a. observe him to confirm he was dead and b. return him for a refund if he was. But when we were leaving for school/work I saw him crawling around!! So, he's not dead! But is he dying? Hmm... I have done some preliminary googling for "mystery snail" and "aquarium salt" and I have found conflicting opinions. Some say it will kill them for sure. Some say that they can tolerate a high level of salinity in the water. I need to find out for sure, so I can know how to proceed. (If he is still alive when I get home from work)
Any experienced aquarium aficionados...please feel free to offer some advice.
