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Shell looks weird on my apple snail.

15K views 42 replies 5 participants last post by  konstargirl 
#1 ·
Hi. My apple snail Gary shell looks all weird now. He has cracks on his shell and I have no idea why. Can someone help and tell me the problem so I can fix it? Thanks. I'm assuming thathe probably doesn't have enough calcium in him so just curious.

Heres a picture of his shell how it looks so far:

 
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#2 ·
Are the cracks deep and go through the entire shell or is it surface cracking and peeling?

Have you tested GH & KH to see how hard your water is? If not, that would be something I'd consider. Also, what other animals are in the tank with the snail?

Can you please post tank stats such as water temp, how big the tank is, how often you do water changes, how much water each time, water params for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH, and also what foods the snail is getting? The more info you can offer the easier it will be to help you.
 
#3 ·
I don't really have a test kit of KH or GH. He;s house with 3 platies( one is a 3 mnoth old female platy) and 2 juli cories. The temperature is currently around 74-77 degrees. I'm at school right now so I'll test for ammonia nitrite and nitrate later. IT was like that for a long time. The cracks are like infront of him as seen in the picture.
 
#5 ·
There are two types of shell erosion that are common: pitting, which is usually caused by the snail being kept in acidic water that slowly dissolves the shell from the outside, and cracking, which is usually the result of the snail not getting enough calcium to grow its shell properly. It'd be helpful to post those numbers but it certainly wouldn't hurt to offer your snail a diet more rich in calcium. You can use something like Caltrate calcium supplement pills.
 
#6 ·
Wel here are my test results from yesterday up to today:

Yesterday

Ammonia: 0.25
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0

I did a 20% water change yesterday. Unfortunaly thats the best pic I can give you. If I put it on flash, the picture won't look right. Like I said, the Ph is at 7.6 and and his shell was like this since. So It probably the lack of calcium that is in the water.

Todays:

Ammonia: 0.25
Nitrite: 0.25
*Nitrate: ???

*I did not test for that one yet. My tank was running since August of last year.
 
#7 ·
Here are the updated results with Nitrate.

Ammonia: 0.25
Nitrite: 0.25
Nitrate: 20

I juist did a 22% Water change and tommrow I'm going to test it again and to see if I have to do another one. Also, I rinse the filter cartrige and a little bit of the inside today with old tank water really good. I haven't change it in 4 months.
 
#8 ·
Are there any fish in this tank? If its just the snail in there, you could easily add a mesh bag of crushed coral to your filter, add a couple of natural seashells to the tank, or a piece of honeycomb rock. All will help raise the calcium level, but doing this will also raise hardness in the water. I warn of that because if there are fish in the tank, you will want to be sure they can handle those new conditions, and you would need to test hardness regularly. The crushed coral in the filter is the easiest to regulate because you can add more or less depending on where you need it to be.

I'm not so sure I would suggest adding the Caltrate or other calcium pills. It would be much more difficult to regulate the right amount to keep it at a safe range. That form would dissolve quickly and raise levels in the tank quickly, which is dangerous to any animals. Adjustments should be made slowly.
 
#14 ·
My snail fell and cracked her shell. Will she be okay?

My snail Rowan got out of the tank, and fell about 3 feet, and cracked the top of her shell, so now it's uneven, and there's a big crack in her shell, and on her back the shell has broken off, exposing her flesh. I have calcium for her, and I've seperated her from the rest of the group, but I'm really worried about her. This happened yesterday, and she hasn't been eating, and she has a white liquid coming from her body.

Does any one have any suggestions, or know what's going on?

Thanks.
 
#15 ·
Unfortunately, there isn't much you can do at that stage. That snail is likely going to die. Sorry, but it sounds as if it was injured pretty severely if body fluids are seeping and the shell is that severely damaged. Keep the tank water clean and keep watch on the snail. Thats about all you can do.
 
#22 ·
I'm sorry to hear about that. I don't like it when pets die. It is great that you looked into why and what was going on though.
 
#25 ·
I don't understand.

I don't know what's going on, but my next biggest female Snail (Clancy), got out of the tank last night, and I found in her the same place as Rowan; behind my dresser. Clancy's shell, is stratched, but none of her flesh in showing, and she didn't break off any major amount on the edge of her shell.

She's acting like she's hurt, and I have her seperated from the rest, but what I don't understand, is why my biggest females are leaving the tank, and getting hurt or killed. I have the tank covered, but now I've had to put some extra weight, to keep my snails in.

Does anyone know why snails would leaving the tank?
 
#37 ·
I don't know what's going on, but my next biggest female Snail (Clancy), got out of the tank last night, and I found in her the same place as Rowan; behind my dresser. Clancy's shell, is stratched, but none of her flesh in showing, and she didn't break off any major amount on the edge of her shell.

She's acting like she's hurt, and I have her seperated from the rest, but what I don't understand, is why my biggest females are leaving the tank, and getting hurt or killed. I have the tank covered, but now I've had to put some extra weight, to keep my snails in.

Does anyone know why snails would leaving the tank?
This was actually the post I was referring to when I asked the question about sexing the snails... I'm still wondering how you know which are male vs female?

Sorry Konstargirl, I didn't realize there were actually 2 separate topics running in this one thread, just remembered reading this post and wondering...
 
#26 ·
There are a number of reasons why a snail may leave its tank. One of them is that the conditions in the tank may not be providing everything they need, so they set out to find something better. They have no way to know that the only water source for them is inside of your tank. In a natural habitat, when things aren't just right, they simply move on.

Another reason may be spawning. They may be seeking proper conditions to spawn, and your tank maybe doesn't offer that. Have you tried lowering your water level in the tank by a couple of inches? Some species of snail such as mystery snails and apple snails need to lay their eggs out of water where it is constantly moist/damp but not submerged.

Check your water temp. Again we go back to conditions that may not be optimal for what they need/desire.

Are they getting enough of the right foods? Snails will often travel in search of a better or more ample food supply.

How many different snail species are in your tank? Not all species of snail are compatible. It could also be that your snails are trying to get away from each other. Try watching for behavior changes after the lights go out, also. Most animals have different behavior patterns and habits after dark... Give them 30 - 40 minutes after lights out and sit near the tank and just observe their behavior. Do they become more active? Do any of them become more aggressive towards others? Do they all try to attack the same food source and there isn't enough room/territory to share? enough supply to share peacefully?

Lots of possible reasons, these are the first ones I would be investigating.
 
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