snail shell SUPER thin - Help??

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

allthegrayfish

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Jan 19, 2020
Messages
1
Hey Everyone!!
I am a complete tank newb, and i made the mistake of believing the fish store when they said mystery snails dont need much. Should have known better, they sell those moss balls that have been killing peoples tanks.

I have been reading some of your threads, and I think that what is happening is a combo of nutrition lack, and PH, but I am really not sure.
Poor baby's shell is super thin in the back, and i feel awful for her! Behaviorwise, she disappeared for Months (I had NO IDEA where to find her) and after a recent cleaning she re-emerged. She's usually just hanging out on the back wall, which i think is why i didnt notice this WAY earlier.

I don't know where to start, and I know this is BAD. What can I do ASAP to support this baby and get her healthier? Where do I start? What are the steps? I'm going to go get the water tested today, to see what to do there, but what do I feed her?? whats going to give her the best jumpstart?

apologies for the picture clarity.

Lil Snail is in a 20gal tank with 2 orange 50 cent goldfish and an amazon sword plant thats coming back to life after the fish tore it up. not much else goin on. I told you i'm a newb, right? I'll do what i gotta to get her OK though. For reference, Ionce raised guppies to feed my turtles so they would have quality food....I will do what i need to. hahahaha.

I started this setup to entertain my terminally ill, crippled cat. She doesn't care about it, so now I have a commitment that will last longer than the cat....
 

Attachments

  • 20200119_132130.jpg
    20200119_132130.jpg
    128.8 KB · Views: 85
  • 20200119_132052.jpg
    20200119_132052.jpg
    133.2 KB · Views: 79
So sorry to hear about the cat and your tank troubles.

Well there are a number of things which you can do. One is rehome your tank if you do not need it to someone knowledgeable about fish care.

But if you want to keep it then for your snail there are a number if things which you can do to help.

What are your tank parameters?
Ammonia,
Nitrite
and NitrAte?

PH
Kh / alkalinity

As a "newb" it would be recommended to start of by doing another water change if you haven't done one this week.

The Goldfish is a big waste producer - it is just what they do.

Spend a little time reading the article in my signature the last line, it will help you with getting started. After reading it and having that stored away for finding answers when you need it, you will have more information than many of the fish store employees in big box stores. YAY!!!

So happy that you are willing to be committed to good care of animals. e

One of the number one issues for the tank is building a big beneficial bacteria colony referred to often as BB.

This means that your filter media is a breeding ground for bb which helps keep your tank healthy and safe for your fish and snail.

Okay, as for the snail...

Get the water checked to he if it is near neutral pH 7, or acidic or alkaline. I am betting towards acidic since there is shell loss in the snail.

Go to the petstore and buy a Cuttlebone - plain no additives, like for birds. rinse in tap water and then just place into the aquarium soft side down towards the water which means hard shell side facing the air. After awhile it will eventually sink.

When it does, just move it towards the rear of the tank to hide it, with the soft side where the snail can glide around and eat off of it. You can lay it horizontally or stick the lower portion in the substrate like a surfboard on the beach.

There is a commonly found food called Hikari Crab Cuisine, This is a food for creatures with exoskeletons.

The other food is Hikari Algae wafers. It is harder to find the small sized wafer package in a small quantity pack but you can find it online. If you plan to have many bottom feeders a larger pack is fine, but these guys are not going to est that much at a time.

They like it pretty well. As they ARE algae eaters they will eat microfilm and tiny things on the glass and plant leaves, in addition to algae on rocks, driftwood and rocks.

Now the water is likely a bit acidic. The number will help us know what to do.

If it is very low it can lead to unstable water parameters.

It would be ideal to know what the tap water pH is and the tank water pH.

Minerals and TDS build up over time with a low amount of water changes, as water evaporates the minerals and solids stay in the tank.

They snails might like to eat a slice of washed, blanched zucchini and dark greens too as they also contain calcium and minerals good for the snails.
 
Back
Top Bottom