Mystery snail discoloration

[giffmastaflex]

I bought mystery snails last wed, and I noticed a drastic discoloration in one of them. In the pic the real yellow one was added a day after the discolored one. I have had half of a cuttle bone in the tank for about 3 days. Anyone know what's wrong?

 

[landon_garcia]

This could be cause by having soft water. Make sure your using hard water. You can also try to raise your ph by adding sea shells or small amounts of chalk. But dont add too much because this can cause drastic changes in your ph.

 

[giffmastaflex]

Well I tested my ph not too long ago and it was like 7.4-7.6

 

[landon_garcia]

Huh thats odd thats a pretty good ph for mystery snails? Ill do some research.

 

[giffmastaflex]

Ok I'll do some too let me know if you find anything thanks

 

[Fishfur]

It may simply be a stain. The shells can pick up discolourations from some things they may be exposed too, including algae growth on their shells. It might also be something roughly equivalent to a bruise, where the shell has suffered some damage, but didn't actually break. A change in diet or water parameters will cause new shell growth to differ, sometimes markedly so, from the old growth.

I doubt it is anything to be worried over, so long as the snail is eating and behaving normally.

Edit. I've had some snails get quite dark coloured areas, usually near the tip of the shell, that doesn't match the main shell, but it never seems to be anything that causes problems for them.

 

[giffmastaflex]

Well this one seems to be floating now, I'm not sure what I should be doing for that?? Also I put half a cuttle bone in on Thursday and now it's almost completely gone... Is that suppose to happen?

 

[Fishfur]

Floating is something they do, from time to time. So long as the snail closes the door if you touch it or pick it up, it's ok.

The cuttle bone may have been eaten, or it may have dissolved. I know you said your pH was over 7, but maybe double check to be sure because it's not normal for it to vanish that quickly unless water is acidic.

 

[giffmastaflex]

I'll have to test it tomorrow night, I won't be home till then

 

[Fishfur]

Besides cuttle bone, you can also give them calcium by way of fish feeder vacation blocks. I like the ones with spirulina added to them, but any type will do. They will eat the plaster, which is pure calcium, to get the fish food inside it.
You can even make your own blocks. Plaster of paris and some fish food, with ice cube tray moulds, make perfectly good blocks that work fine too. Don't leave them in the moulds once they set, they won't cure unless exposed to air.

 

[wildroseofky]

How is your snail? Sometimes in the light colored snails you can see their poo when the snail is constipated. Do you feed vegetables? This can help keep their digestion moving along. Does it look like the discoloration is on the inside of the shell? Or is it on the outside? If it is on the inside it could be constipation, eggs being made, or the snails body may be darkening as it matures. If it is on the outside than algae, chemicals in the water, or something in the food will make the light colored shells get darker spots. Mystery snails will float at the top of the water for long periods of time sometimes. They will also sit on the bottom of the tank closed up for long periods of time. As long as the body is not hanging out of the shell than they are usually all right.

 

[msfreakie1]

hi,, i bought 2 mystery snails about 2 months ago and 2 weeks ago tomorrow, i discovered tiny baby snails in my tank!
the same day my black molly had her babies, too!!
the baby fish are getting bigger and i love watching them. i have counted at least 21 baby black mollys and 4 baby snails. (the snails are harder to find so i may have more)
i have a 20 gallon tank! this will not be enough room for that many fish once they get bigger, will it?
i feed them all with fish flakes, blood worms, and alge waffers. i have 4 platys, too! i had a cuttlebone in the filter but took it out this evening, broke it up and dropped the pieces in the tank.
am i caring for them all ok? or do the snails need some raw veggies?

 

[wildroseofky]

I doubt the tiny snails are mystery snail babies. The mystery snails lay their eggs above the water line. Usually you find them under the top rim of the tank. You could have over looked an egg sack but it is hard to do. If that is the case than you may have a lot more babies than you are seeing because they are tiny. Egg sacks contain a lot of babies, any where from 30 up. I would say you have some pond snails or baby ramshorn snails. Pond snail resemble tiny mystery snails but their shell is spiraled into a point not to the side. They are also rounder. They stay small and can multiply quickly. You have to have a male and female mystery snail to get fertile eggs. Pond snails are asexual and it only takes one.

Yes, your tank will be over stocked. The babies will not add much bio load at first so you have a while to either re home or get a bigger tank. You can feed the baby fish crushed up flake food. Grind it into a powder so they can eat it. The snails benefit from veggies that are high in calcium like spinach, kale, and dandelions. You can feed them any veggie just blanch it in boiling water for a few minutes. You can also give them Tums antacid tablets, egg shell, human calcium supplements and blocks of plaster for calcium.

 

[msfreakie1]

how could pond snails have gotten into my tank though??

 

[Fishfur]

Do you have any plants at all, live ones ? If so, the pond snails almost certainly came with them, quite possibly as eggs, which hatched and are now big enough to see. Eggs can also be laid on hard decor, if you added something from outdoors or even another tank, it could have had eggs on it. It's quite common to have various small snail species hitchhike on plants, but they may also, sometimes, come in the water with fish. If they are very tiny, you might not notice them, but if you dump all the water from a fish bag into the tank, the snail would also be added.

This is one reason to QT new plants, and new fish, in a separate tank, or dip new plants in something that will kill snails. Dipping solutions of Hydrogen Peroxide, or Excel or household Bleach, at the right dilutions, will kill any pest algae and usually pest snails on plants before you add them to a tank.

Always inspect plants before you add them to a tank. Wash in tap water, make sure nothing live is stuck in the roots or under the weight band or in the pot. You can feel egg masses on many of the larger leaf plants, if you run them through your fingers. They'll be small bumps of clear jelly, which are not hard to squish off the leaf.

 

[msfreakie1]

i don't have any live plants and all of my tank decorations have been in the tank way before i got my mollys, platys and snails!
i have had bad luck with all my past fish ,, but the mollys seem to be doing good! 2 adult mollys died within a week of me getting them, but the 3 adult mollys are doing good,, and now they have blessed me with grand-fish!
;0)

 

[Fishfur]

I suppose it is just possible that the mystery snails themselves came with a pond snail.. in the water or stuck to the bag perhaps. They are ubiquitous, few tanks manage to get by without ever having one.

Good the mollies are doing ok. Sadly, sometimes fish die for reasons that are not clear. Often the best we can do is keep the water clean and the parameters stable and hope the fish we buy are healthy.

 

[msfreakie1]

guess i will buy me a 2nd tank and start getting it ready for the babies!
;0)
i chose the mollys randomly,, not really knowing anything about them! after researching molly info,, i am thrilled that i chose them!!

 

[wildroseofky]

The pond snails could have come on the mystery snails. Tiny snails love to hitchhike on the bigger snails. Saves them from having to travel to find food. Sometimes it seems like things just show up. I somehow have skipped the pond snails but did get ramshorns for free. I QT new plants in a bucket for a couple of weeks. Give what ever is on them time to hatch so I know if there is a problem. If the small snails are mystery snails you will know in three weeks or so. They will get bigger and bigger. The warmer the tank the quicker this happens.

I jumped in and got mollies with no research too. I found this site when I freaked out because one of mine got sick. It has turned into a whole addiction. I have three tanks right now and I am getting two more next week. I sell the babies to my local pet store and have an agreement for my endler/guppy crosses and snails to go there too. It has turned into a great hobby with benefits.

 

[msfreakie1]

sounds like you are enjoying yourself!!
how do you manage to keep up with that many fish tanks?
lol
i may change my mind and get a 2nd tank, too!!
i agree,, the mollies are amazing little fishies!!!
:0)