Mystery Snail Shell.

[Silverfang]

With apple snails new growth will sometimes never match the "original" colour of the shell. Since you say this growth appear to be thin and almost translucent I would suggest upping his or her calcium intake. Calcium tabs are a simple way to do this. Depending what else in the tank, a small bit of crushed coral or aragonite (like a tsp!) in some nylon might help.

[colorxmexravyne]

Originally Posted by Silverfang

With apple snails new growth will sometimes never match the "original" colour of the shell. Since you say this growth appear to be thin and almost translucent I would suggest upping his or her calcium intake. Calcium tabs are a simple way to do this. Depending what else in the tank, a small bit of crushed coral or aragonite (like a tsp!) in some nylon might help.

Oh, it's not the growth that appears thin, it's the old shell that appears to be thinning. But I'll definitely look into buying calcium tabs. Do I just crush them up and put them in my tank? Would that alter the pH?

[Silverfang]

the calcium tabs (like caltrate, or any calcium supplement from the vitamin section). I'm not entirely sure what to do about pre-existing erosion and wearing. A former member was rather experienced with keeping snails, a shame he isn't around anymore.

[Tikibirds]

Thanks Tikibirds. I've read that article numerous times before and I understand why the shell deteriorates due to erosion; I'd just like to figure out how to make it stop. If it's a calcium deficiency and cuttlebone's not handling it, what other kinds of foods can I start feeding my snail (besides spinach & cucumbers because he's not a fan). I'll try the eggshells thing, though.

I read that article a few times too and tried everything people suggested to me but noting seemed to work, plus he never really ate any of the cucumber or any other veggie I put in there. I never did find a solution and he passed away a few weeks ago. He was kinda big so it may of been due to old age.

[Tikibirds]

Thanks Tikibirds. I've read that article numerous times before and I understand why the shell deteriorates due to erosion; I'd just like to figure out how to make it stop. If it's a calcium deficiency and cuttlebone's not handling it, what other kinds of foods can I start feeding my snail (besides spinach & cucumbers because he's not a fan). I'll try the eggshells thing, though.

I read that article a few times too and tried everything people suggested to me but noting seemed to work, plus he never really ate any of the cucumber or any other veggie I put in there. Supposedly they will eat lettuce and zucchini as well but mine never touched it. I never did find a solution and he passed away a few weeks ago. He was kinda big so it may of been due to old age.

Are you viewing this on bettafish.com or tropicalfishkeeping.com?
It took me like a year to realize bettafish.com is a subsection of TFK
If you go to the main site, there is an invertabrea section. You can always ask there for help. I think alot more people visit the TFK forums then the betta forums.

[Silverfang]

Mine DEVOUR zucchini. I blanch it, stick it in, the next morning and nothing. You mighta had weird ones Tiki.

[Tikibirds]

None of my animals are...normal.

[colorxmexravyne]

Originally Posted by Tikibirds

I read that article a few times too and tried everything people suggested to me but noting seemed to work, plus he never really ate any of the cucumber or any other veggie I put in there. Supposedly they will eat lettuce and zucchini as well but mine never touched it. I never did find a solution and he passed away a few weeks ago. He was kinda big so it may of been due to old age.

Are you viewing this on bettafish.com or tropicalfishkeeping.com?
It took me like a year to realize bettafish.com is a subsection of TFK
If you go to the main site, there is an invertabrea section. You can always ask there for help. I think alot more people visit the TFK forums then the betta forums.

Yeah, mine doesn't seem to like veggies at all? He nibbles at algae wafers, but doesn't really eat those either. I'm not really sure what he's eating in the tank to survive, but he's still alive so I guess it's enough for him?

And I've always wondered why I would sometimes get emails from TFK saying that I was subscribed to a thread there! Haha, I thought they were two completely different sites!

I'll post at TFK for additonal help, but you all have been wonderful, thanks!

[inuudo]

Originally Posted by colorxmexravyne

Oh, it's not the growth that appears thin, it's the old shell that appears to be thinning. But I'll definitely look into buying calcium tabs. Do I just crush them up and put them in my tank? Would that alter the pH?

I've been following this thread since you first posted it because I had similar (I thought) concerns about my apple snail. It wasn't until I read this that I realized that you were talking about the old shell not the new growth.

When I first put Snailio Iglesias in my ten gallon with neon tetras, the pH was below 7. I didn't realize the harm it was doing him until I could see growth on his shell and what looked like cracks forming. After doing a ton of research, I corrected the pH and hardness as much as I safely could (tetras like low pH) by adding a mesh bag of crushed coral to the filter. The pH is now around 7.6. The tetras are fine and Snailio's shell has improved considerably.

Here's a link to my youtube videos in which you can see the damage to his shell and the growth and repair. (The one called "Snailio Iglesias meets Slois Lane" shows it best.)

One thing you'll note is that the oldest part of his shell is greyish and there is some pitting. The grey parts were there when I got him, but I am not sure about the pitting; it may have happened in my tank because of the pH problem.

Another thing that should stand out is the distinct lines or ridges that run crossways (not the dark lines of coloration that run around the shell in the direction of growth). This is caused by a change in water quality. You can see two of the ridges quite clearly. I think the older one is from when I first got him as that is where the shell scarring starts; the point at which some of the scarring stops is probably from when I increased the pH. The most serious of the scars still continues through that part because it damaged the edge of the shell where the new growth occurs. I think that, with a bit more time, this, too, will end like the other scars did.

All of this is just to say, that if it is the older shell you're concerned about, I doubt that altering the pH or water hardness will fix anything (i.e. regenerate shell in that area), but you can ensure that new growth is solid and that old shell doesn't deteriorate further by adding crushed coral to the filter. A couple of other things I did were to put a piece of cuttlefish bone on the bottom of the tank (no idea if he pays it any attention, but it makes ME feel better!) and to give him spinach or zucchini a couple of times a week (he ignored these the first few times, but I persevered and now he's on them like stink on poop).

[Maddybelle]

Make sure to get the calcium tabs WITHOUT vitamin D. I've had a few who had eroded shells no matter what I did. I finally just did what my snail friends on the unmentionable snail forum said: paint the shell with nail polish! You have to be very careful not to get any on their body, though. It can burn them. My baseball sized Pomacea insularum female, Frank, is now a beautiful pink. =)