Mystery Snail Not Eating, Why & What To Do About It

Last Updated on January 21, 2022 by cmoarz

It’s always concerning when you noticed one of your aquarium critters isn’t eating. Mystery snails are no exception to the rule; however, they seem to be particularly troublesome because their feeding habits can be difficult to establish.

They will often refuse food for days on end which can lead to a great amount of stress in the owners, especially if they are not aware of what could be going on with them.

Normally snails have a huge appetite, so it’s no wonder it might be stressful.

This article will explain the most common reasons your mystery snail is not eating, and try and put your mind at ease.

Why Is My Mystery Snail Not Eating & What Do You Do if Your Snail Won’t Eat

First of all, It’s a normal occurrence from time to time to notice your mystery snail not eating. This happens for a variety of reasons, most of which you shouldn’t be too concerned about. Here they are:

Your snail could just be getting old

This is one of the main things that people who have older snails might start to notice. As snails get older, they tend to east less and less over time. There is not too much you can do about this, but throw them some food every now and then to keep them healthy.

Solution: Try different foods to pique his interest

Mystery snails are generally quite picky when it comes to the food they like. You should try out different kinds of foods until you find one that piques their interest, and this could be anything from fish flakes to lettuce, zucchini, cucumber, carrots, etc. Don’t be afraid to experiment! (And don’t forget to Blanche!)

This might not solve the issue for good, but it’s worth trying out. It certainly can’t hurt to do so!

It might be sleeping

Snails can sleep for days at a time, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

This means the food you’ve added to the tank may remain untouched for a while.

This doesn’t mean they aren’t eating, or aren’t going to eat, It just means they haven’t gotten around to it yet.

Solution: Be patient with them, let them sleep!

The water is too cold and it’s slowing down her metabolism

The colder the water is, the less active a snail will become. This includes the amount of food they intake for energy.

If your tank’s water is at a cool temperature, you should try and warm it up a little to give her more of an incentive for food.

Solution: Try and boost the water temperature by adding a heater or two, but be careful it doesn’t get too hot!

Be sure the temperature in the tank is ok for all the aquarium inhabitants, not just your snails or you might end up with more problems on your hands.

How Long Can Mystery Snails Go Without Eating?

Snails are amazingly robust creatures that are capable of overwintering and living for several months without any food at all.

So if your snail doesn’t eat for a few days, it’s really nothing to worry about.

If they don’t eat for a few weeks, however, you should start to wonder why. The best thing to do in this case is to take them out of the tank and check for any visible problems with them before putting them back into the tank. If there are no visible problems with your snail, it’s a good idea to start adding a variety of different foods to the aquarium to see if anything piques his interest. Snails can be picky at times.

As long as your snail doesn’t show any signs of illness, there’s nothing to worry about.