Tungsten
Aquarium Advice Newbie
- Joined
- May 6, 2020
- Messages
- 3
Hi, everyone! First time posting, new to the hobby.
I'm worried about the behavior my mystery snails are exhibiting. Both they and my betta fish are in a 20 gallon long that's been set up and running for about seven months now. I'm using an AquaClear 30 with the included sponge filter, ceramic rings, and activated carbon, along with a bag of SeaChem Purigen and some filter floss. I believe it filters 150gph. I do water changes once a week and take out 4 gallons at a time. The gravel gets vacuumed every two weeks (sometimes three) and the last time I did it was about a week ago. The perimeters of the water are okay; my nitrites and ammonia are at 0, nitrates are 5-10ppm, and my pH was 7.4. Carlos (my betta) is fed half a bloodworm or brine shrimp cube every day. The snails are given small algae wafers two at a time on opposite sides of the tank until they are eaten, zucchini once a week, and all the algae on the plants they can eat.
The changes that I have made in the last few days are dosing with SeaChem Pristine and my normal two squirts of Aquarium Co-Op EasyGreen a week. I have also added a bubbler to the tank.
I had three mystery snails at the start of the week, all three of which were/are exhibiting the same problem. They are lethargic, peeking out of their shells, and strangely do not retract when their foot is touched. I would consider them dead, but they do sloooowly retract back into their shells after about a minute of prodding at their foot. Their shells are undamaged and sturdy and I see no foot discoloration.
One passed away what I assume to be three days ago and was decomposing when I removed him two days ago. Today marks the fourth day my yellow mystery snail has not moved. He is peeking out of his shell and retracts after some prodding, but has not eaten or moved an inch. My black mystery snail seems to be doing better, as he is slowly moving around the tank and eating, but still settles in the same peeking-out position and stays there for several hours. When his foot is prodded, he does not retract into his shell either. He is also what I would call "bloated" - it almost doesn't seem like he can fit back in his shell.
No matter how much Googling I do, I keep finding people having a problem with getting the snail out of the shell rather than getting them to retract in. Has anyone had an experience like this, and if so, is there anything I can do or should I wait it out? I'd hate for them to die and it affect Carlos.
Any other advice is welcome too.
Thanks! -T
I'm worried about the behavior my mystery snails are exhibiting. Both they and my betta fish are in a 20 gallon long that's been set up and running for about seven months now. I'm using an AquaClear 30 with the included sponge filter, ceramic rings, and activated carbon, along with a bag of SeaChem Purigen and some filter floss. I believe it filters 150gph. I do water changes once a week and take out 4 gallons at a time. The gravel gets vacuumed every two weeks (sometimes three) and the last time I did it was about a week ago. The perimeters of the water are okay; my nitrites and ammonia are at 0, nitrates are 5-10ppm, and my pH was 7.4. Carlos (my betta) is fed half a bloodworm or brine shrimp cube every day. The snails are given small algae wafers two at a time on opposite sides of the tank until they are eaten, zucchini once a week, and all the algae on the plants they can eat.
The changes that I have made in the last few days are dosing with SeaChem Pristine and my normal two squirts of Aquarium Co-Op EasyGreen a week. I have also added a bubbler to the tank.
I had three mystery snails at the start of the week, all three of which were/are exhibiting the same problem. They are lethargic, peeking out of their shells, and strangely do not retract when their foot is touched. I would consider them dead, but they do sloooowly retract back into their shells after about a minute of prodding at their foot. Their shells are undamaged and sturdy and I see no foot discoloration.
One passed away what I assume to be three days ago and was decomposing when I removed him two days ago. Today marks the fourth day my yellow mystery snail has not moved. He is peeking out of his shell and retracts after some prodding, but has not eaten or moved an inch. My black mystery snail seems to be doing better, as he is slowly moving around the tank and eating, but still settles in the same peeking-out position and stays there for several hours. When his foot is prodded, he does not retract into his shell either. He is also what I would call "bloated" - it almost doesn't seem like he can fit back in his shell.
No matter how much Googling I do, I keep finding people having a problem with getting the snail out of the shell rather than getting them to retract in. Has anyone had an experience like this, and if so, is there anything I can do or should I wait it out? I'd hate for them to die and it affect Carlos.
Any other advice is welcome too.Thanks! -T
