No idea this could happen!

[Kronk]

A week ago i bought a snail, he was cruising around for a couple days then I noticed it hadn't moved for a few days so i picked up the shell and took a look inside. I saw a dark green disk which i assumed was his decaying foot so i removed the shell and tossed it. Last night i saw something on the glass that i thought was a nudibranch or slug on closer inspection there is no doubt that it was the snail without his shell! He was grazing on algae on the glass. I dont know if his shell got trapped between rocks so he bailed out or what but i have a few Q's.

Is this common? How long can he live like this? If i put in another shell will he move into it?

I dont think i have any predators except for possibly a few un-identified worms.

Thanks,
Ken

[bignose]

I didn't think snails could live without their shell.

[superduperwesman]

I swear I've experienced the same thing but maybe it was something else and I just assumed it was the snail w/o it's shell b/c of the empty shell??

[Kronk]

Niether did I, but there is no mistaking that this was the snail he still had a big circle on his back from where he separated from the shell. And he has been living out of the shell for at least 3 days.

[Ron99]

No, snails can't live without their shells. What you probably saw was a stomatella snail. They are common hithchikers and most people have them in their tanks. They generally only come out in the dark although some of mine are out during the day now.

[Keri]

No, snails can't live without their shells. What you probably saw was a stomatella snail. They are common hithchikers and most people have them in their tanks. They generally only come out in the dark although some of mine are out during the day now.

yup :) They look just like a snail without a shell, actual shelled snails cannot leave their shells . If you look very closely you can see that they have tiny cap-like shells of their own, but they can't retreat into them. Stomatellas are good grazers of algae. I have grey, tan and black ones in my tank.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_VA6LePZ6KNY/SQ5-QsaWz6I/AAAAAAAAA4U/zJ4dL36e0gQ/s320/Stomatella+varia.jpg

[Kronk]

Thanks Ron, Keri that explains it. The snail must have come with some live rock I bought last week.