I noticed my golden apple hadn't been moving so I when I picked up the shell and looked.... IT WAS GONE!

I have a 20 gallon tank with 3 small fancy tailed goldies and another Ram Horn snail.. What in the world has happened!?!?

If there was nothing in the shell then it must of died and probably was eaten

oh my.... well for future reference, am I supposed to keep extra "bigger" shells in the tank for them if they grow? Or is that only hermit crabs....

poor snail... it has been in there for over a year and even survived me being dumb and putting anti-algae stuff in there when my tank went crazy about 5 months back. He was a trooper... I will always read the fine print.

Oh dear, oh dear, that's awful. I'm sorry that your snail died. You must have got a huge shock to discover an empty shell.

No you don't need to put any shells into your tank for your snail to "move " into. Snails don't detatch from their shells and if they ever do come away from their own shells then they are dead.

Like Silver said, he must have passed away and been eaten.

Oh my! I have had that happen to me before.

A few years back I had this wonderful, large old snail. I noticed one day the snail was in the same position as the day before and when I picked him up, I was shocked to see that he was gone.

His other snail friends had taken care of his body for me, if you get my meaning! I know its hard to find them that way!

You do not need to keep his shell for others, as their shells grow with them as they grow.

At least you guys didnt have to smell the body.. pew!

That's certainly one smell that you'll never forget-that's for sure!
As for losing your snail,I'm sorry.It could have been alot of factor's causing his demise-whether it was old age/water quality/illness,who knows? It's still a bummer when they pass and you're not sure why. Feel better.

actually, there is one thing worse, and thats a dead anemone

This just happened to me too except the shell was on its back so I didnt have to flip it over to realize he was missing from it.

The stench is horrible. Be grateful you didn't have smell it Sorry you lost him - I could see it was a total shock for you. When they die they detach from their shell...your other snailie took care of his body ><

my ramhorn ate it?! ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww..... I figured one of the goldies slurped him up...

wow that is really sad. I havent had him over 6 months either.. What a bummer.

Now for another questions, are snails just as efficient or more efficient at cleaning up algae than a bottom feeder (cant remember what they are called, the black fishes that suck the bottom).

I have a 20 gallon goldfish tank with only one Ramhorn in it... It makes me sad that the other apple snail died because I would always catch the ramhorn and him playing... they would stretch there gooey body out and touch each other and follow each other around.... I just want to keep the algae under control... any recommendations?

Also I need something for my 10 gal tropical tank to take care of algae (which isnt bad, but it is there), snails or bottom feeders there? (if snails, then how many)

AppleSnails are not really a good selection when it comes to eating Algae.Don't get me wrong,I'm not saying that they'll never eat it-just saying that it's on the bottom of their favorite food choices. For algae,you really want to consider a Rubberlip/Bristlenose Pleco.They stay under 6 inches normally,and happen to love eating algae.
For your ten gal.,you may want to look into buying a couple Oto's..They stay very small which is why they're not recommended for Goldies,and they will do a super job at taking care of Algae.

My mom has a pleco in her 20 gal that was once one inch long and in 2 years has gotten nearly 9 inches long.... I wonder if she will ever let it go. lol

So snails are basically decorative, and safe for goldies?