Dead Snail's

[daddyyankee]

I don't mean to be a dummy, but here goes my question. I have had a couple snail's die recently. They lived for a while now. My question is. Is it ok to just leave the dead snail's in the shell in the tank or should I wash the shell out and then put it back in the tank ?

[zenya]

Aside from the abvious question like why did the snails die.., do you really need an empty shells inside the tank?
I would definately try to remove the dead snails if you don't have some detritivores to process the dead carcasses(like small Polychaetes/commonly known as bristleworms). In a realy large tank couple fo dead snails shouldn't be a major concern but in a smaller tanks it may be a problem with decomposing flesh of the snails (mainly ammonia spikes).

[Pea-brain]

I would clean the snail out and keep the shell. They are nice decorations and some animals (ex. jawfish, mantis shrimp, etc) will use them as burrow material.

Dan