Black mystery snail mysterious fungus?

[Noviceafter2yea]

I apologize. Feel like I ask questions on here everyday.

My black mystery snail gets stuck in the filter stream sometimes and just bobs. When I move out of the stream, it just floats.

Yesterday I did a vacuum with a 40-50% water change and last night the snail was enjoying fake plants which I had rinsed in the discarded water.

I moved it to a small container where it continued to float. I shined a flashlight on it for a while and noticed movement. Eventually it emerged, but if I turned the flashlight off it went back inside its shell.

Back to shining the light and snail emerged, I noticed the body looked a little white, there seemed to be a poopish thing and a little fuzz. I gently used a turkey baster to see if anything would get sucked up. It did - the poop, some of the fuzzy. He attached to the container and it looked like there was white in its mouth. Used baster again, and an ant came out - how it was there is also a mystery, no problems with ants. He seems a bit livelier, but his body looks whitish, not fuzz, almost leathery.

Maybe the poop and the ant and water change stressed him out? I dosed tank with prime and the replacement water is pretreated.

Should I add a little anti fungal or aquarium salt to his little container? More stress guard? He's moving around now.

20 gallon 3 bleeding heart tetras
2 cories (I know I need to add more)
3 platys
1 Molly
1 male guppy

Water parameters are normal

Will try to post a pic, when I can get a good one.

Thanks so much, sorry for length.

Also, no similar questions on invert section which is why I posted here.

 

[Noviceafter2yea]

Terrible pic, but the best of the bad.

 

[brennae]

Salt will hurt snails. Do you feed veggies? They love them and it could help get your snail's strength back. I don't know about the fuzzy stuff. Never had that happen. Good luck!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[Noviceafter2yea]

Salt will hurt snails. Do you feed veggies? They love them and it could help get your snail's strength back. I don't know about the fuzzy stuff. Never had that happen. Good luck!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app

Thanks. I put in a very little bit (maybe 1/2 a tablespoon) of salt when I vacuumed the gravel in my 20 gallon the day before. I have a Molly. I feed the tank smashed, boiled and then cooled peas. I also feed 1/2 a wafer and a small pinch of flakes. I do the peas (2 and 1/2 smushed so no big clumps 2 times a week at most). Admittedly, I do feed the half wafer and small pinch of flakes every night. I think I will cut back.

I put the snail in water from the tank in a very small container with barely a drop of pimafix. And I mean barely. I occasionally put drops of the same water from a turkey baster when he emerged. I also put 1/4 ground wafer in there. I noticed two things: 1)the wafer seemed to make a weird mess of it 2)it almost looked like an extra part of it was out of the shell - maybe its butt? Otherwise the shell is attached. I moved it from that container to another after a few hours to make sure it wasn't sitting in funk. It seemed to come out of its shell when I shined a flashlight on it for a minute.

This morning he seemed okay with some of the wafer kind of a part of poop maybe. I repeated the turkey baster and then returned it to the main tank. So far okay. Also did another water change. Stress guard and prime. No salt added.

I will monitor throughout the day.

 

[MonkeyMonk86]

The cory can't be in any salt either.

Is it possible the snail was laying eggs? Could the goo be the stuff they secrete to put the eggs in?

I don't have snails so I really don't know...


(Friend of Bill W., One day at a time)

 

[Noviceafter2yea]

The cory can't be in any salt either.

Is it possible the snail was laying eggs? Could the goo be the stuff they secrete to put the eggs in?

I don't have snails so I really don't know...


(Friend of Bill W., One day at a time)

Hmmm. Don't know if it was laying eggs. There was brown pooplets in it. When I put it back in the main tank, it did put some clear stuff on two plants before making his way to the top where he has been all day. I had to wash it down again because it seemed to have the pooplets again. Unfortunately, those floated to the bottom of the tank so it looks like I will be water changing again tomorrow. Considering taking it out again. ,I hope it wasn't eggs. First, I don't want a plethora of snails. Second, I would feel really bad if I killed things.

Now that I think about it, maybe it was eggs because its butt seemed to be out. I am going to try to do more research.

I guess I won't do salt at all. The loss of mustache on my first cory preceded the salt, but the torn fin was after. I was just using a tiny bit, but I will be safe. Will have to figure out how to take care of the Molly.

 

[Fishfur]

Definitely don't put salt in with snails or catfish, they don't tolerate it very well.

If what you saw coming out were eggs, they would have appeared as small, rounded whitish dots and normally they appear one at a time, appearing from under the shell edge, then sliding over the body, until they get pushed into the rear of the egg mass. It's almost like an assembly line in action. No extra substance is used to make them stick together, they are coated in whatever it is that's sticky when they emerge from the snail's shell.

Usually eggs are laid in the dark of the night, not daytime. I managed to catch a snail laying eggs once, it's a bit weird to watch, but the light didn't seem to disturb it and it continued to lay until it was done. If you don't want baby snails, you simply remove the eggs when you find them. You can drown them or crush the mass to kill the embryos inside. Don't toss them down the drain or the toilet unless you're sure they're dead first.

I wonder if it's possible you've been seeing some of the internal body organs, which are normally hidden, but sometimes are visible outside the shell. But why an ant would be in the mouth is a mystery indeed. They are not insect eaters per se, though they are scavengers that will eat dead critters. So maybe an ant got into the tank, drowned and was being consumed ? Can't say I've ever seen such a thing, but anything is possible I suppose.
I've never seen fungus on a snail. I've seen algae and on occasion, a bit of whitish or clearish gunk that looks like a thread sort of streaming backward from the shell edge. I don't know what it is, but it doesn't appear to do any harm and usually is gone next time I check the tank.

If the snail is eating,pooping and moving, it's probably ok, but they can get sick. Sadly, there's not much to be done if they are, not much is known of illness in snails. Damaged shells can sometimes be mended with super glue, but if it's not too big a hole they will calcify the area themselves over time.

They can be big eaters, I've had some greedy ones that will try to grab a whole 'handful' of food at one time, by curling their foot around the pieces of substrate where I've dropped their algae pellets that quickly soften and fall apart. Their problem is that once they have grabbed onto a big load they can't crawl away with it, so they end up having to drop it and eat it on the spot, so to speak. One golf ball size snail will consume a quarter size amount of food over a few hours, though I've learned not to indulge them too much, in case too much food goes uneaten and spoils in the substrate.

Floating is not abnormal, some snails do this, some don't. I don't see it too often in the ones I have at the moment, though I see them sailing down from having taken a breath of air all the time. None of the ones I have now typically spend a large amount of time at the surface, but I've seen the odd one sit there for a few hours at a time. Not sure why.

Some snails will sit on the substrate and not move, sometimes for days on end. It can be estivation, something somewhat like hibernation, but it usually will start moving around again in a week or two. If not, I check to be sure it is in fact still alive. Sometimes they do die, sadly.

I often see the very large apple snails, the ones that grow larger than tennis balls, floating for extended periods of time. They're usually dull gold or striped gold/brown, with brown bodies. Floating appears to be a fairly common behaviour with these, if your snail is this species.

 

[Noviceafter2yea]

Thanks Fishfur. The egg-like things were definitely brown. I'm thinking poop. Maybe I didn't do a great job describing the white stuff, but it sounds similar, though not exact, to what you describe.


The ant was definitely random. Don't know how it got in the tank. I was hoping it might explain the odd appearance. I did not use salt - but I had used a tiny bit a day or so before for my Molly. I was very sparing with it. For a 20 gallon, I maybe used a teaspoon.

I returned the snail to the main tank after giving it drip showers to clear out the gunk. Seemed fine at first. Was sliding around. Still a few occasions of the brown pooplets. Lately it is back in the upper corner unattached. No funk though.

The most interesting thing is the reaction of it to prolonged flashlight. That seems to get it to emerge and moving. Haven't done that recently because I was tending to a sick platy that sadly died this morning from dropsy I think.

Prior to the sick platy, One of my Cory's lost his barbels and the next day, the other had a large tear in its top fin.

I've done many large water changes. While the barbels haven't shown re growth and probably won't (I truly believe it was the result of an injury), the top fin on the other appears to be getting better.

I am fairly sure it wasn't a water quality issue. Ammonia 0,n2 0, n3 was high at 40 but went back to 15-20 after a large water change and ph is 7.9.

Another weird thing is that I bought the snail to assist with clearing the algae on the glass. During a few of the water changes, the glass felt gritty-ish and a bit slimy. On occasion, I feed them finely smashed peas (about 2.5 for what was 10 fish). When I do the vacuum, it gets any left over peas up, but they dig that stuff and never seem to leave much left.

Needless to say, I will be watching closely. I've been wanting to add 3 more Cories and 2 more bleeding heart tetras as I've been advised they need more friends with them. I bought a 14 gallon brand new all-inclusive tank from CL that I have been meaning to start cycling, but I need to get a surge protector and decide where to put it. I may shuffle some fish around, but don't want to stress any.

Currently have a 5 gallon QT tank hosting 10 platy fry. Don't want all the fry, but don't want to make them food. Would prefer to give some away, but only to people with established tanks considering I've raised them from birth.

20 gallon now has:
2 platy
1 Molly
2 julii cories
3 bleeding heart tetras
1 male,guppy
1 snail

In addition to the 3 additional cories and 2 bleeding hearts, I would really like to get some glowing, small schooling fish. Not sure I can do that though.

Thanks,for all your feedback!

 

[Fishfur]

What is the substrate you are using ? Size, texture, coarse, fine, whatever. Barbel wear is often from too harsh a substrate literally abrading the structures off. A change to soft sand type substrate can prevent further damage, help regrow damaged barbels.
Make sure all decor, wood, rocks, have no sharp edges or tiny spaces any fish might get caught in, this is often the cause of tears and rips. Often they can be sanded or filed smooth of any dangerous edges.

Slime on glass is normal. it is biofilm. Some fish eat it, shrimp eat it, it has benefits we don't clearly understand and should not be cleaned off. Even some algae on it is ok, so long as the fish are eating it to control it. Depends what kind you might have and whether fish you have like the algae you have. Pygmy cories like algae and swim all over the tank, not just the bottom.

There are a few very tiny rasboras that school and are very pretty. Strawberry rasbora or Chili rasbora. Very tiny, Strawberrries full grown are less than an inch including all fins. Sweet little fish, school tightly. Chilis, so I have heard from some who have them, can be awfully shy, especially with larger fish in with them and may hide much of the time. And Strawberries are small enough to be Molly or even Platy snacks when those are full grown.

Possibly consider replacing Molly, platy & guppy and having a nice school of tiny bright colour fish instead. The cories might benefit from another two or 3, or maybe someone would trade them for some Pygmy cories, you could have 10 or more of these sociable, very entertaining little fish. Just suggestions. A nice benefit is that rasboras in general, even the tiny ones, are fairly hardy fish. They are all egg scatterers, so you not too likely to end up with a lot of baby fish, as you did with the live bearers.

 

[Noviceafter2yea]

What is the substrate you are using ? Size, texture, coarse, fine, whatever. Barbel wear is often from too harsh a substrate literally abrading the structures off. A change to soft sand type substrate can prevent further damage, help regrow damaged barbels.
Make sure all decor, wood, rocks, have no sharp edges or tiny spaces any fish might get caught in, this is often the cause of tears and rips. Often they can be sanded or filed smooth of any dangerous edges.

Slime on glass is normal. it is biofilm. Some fish eat it, shrimp eat it, it has benefits we don't clearly understand and should not be cleaned off. Even some algae on it is ok, so long as the fish are eating it to control it. Depends what kind you might have and whether fish you have like the algae you have. Pygmy cories like algae and swim all over the tank, not just the bottom.

There are a few very tiny rasboras that school and are very pretty. Strawberry rasbora or Chili rasbora. Very tiny, Strawberrries full grown are less than an inch including all fins. Sweet little fish, school tightly. Chilis, so I have heard from some who have them, can be awfully shy, especially with larger fish in with them and may hide much of the time. And Strawberries are small enough to be Molly or even Platy snacks when those are full grown.

Possibly consider replacing Molly, platy & guppy and having a nice school of tiny bright colour fish instead. The cories might benefit from another two or 3, or maybe someone would trade them for some Pygmy cories, you could have 10 or more of these sociable, very entertaining little fish. Just suggestions. A nice benefit is that rasboras in general, even the tiny ones, are fairly hardy fish. They are all egg scatterers, so you not too likely to end up with a lot of baby fish, as you did with the live bearers.

The substrate is run of the mill gravel. Other people on my thread about the cories said my substrate is fine - considered to be on the smoother side, and doesn't need to be replaced. I also haven't read great things about sand.

All decor is artificial. There is a fake house wrapped in tree roots that seemed sharp on the bottom. The last time I soaked it in discarded water, I tried to break it off. When I returned it, I made sure it was buried in gravel. I have a fake log that is textured, maybe a bit rough. Bought it at petsmart a while back. I try to keep only fake plants that have rounded leaves.

I may be sentimental, but it would make me feel really sad and guilty if I got rid of my fish. What if they die in a new home or feel sad because they get separated?

So sad, but I found a 5.5'gallon on CL all inclusive for $15, so maybe I could get the small glowy fish for that. You are right, however, no more live bearers from here on.

I am no longer crazy cat lady! I am crazy fish lady.