Apple Snail Shells

[Karah's_Mommy]

Well, I was taking a look at a few of my snail's shells this morning since I thought they were looking a little more fragile than they should. I was going to come here and ask if there were any supplements or anything I could give them to perk up their shells. In the process of looking I dropped one and cracked his shell, not completely across the shell, but a good crack all the way through the shell. So now I have 2 questions. What can I do to strengthen the rest of my snail's shells and what can I do to help the one snail with the cracked shell? Any information/advice would be welcome!

 

[Luke_e]

Not sure what you can do, but unless you already do, put a piece of cucumber in there and they'll eat that. Dont have a clue how to strengthen their shells, i suppose the easy way out is not to drop them? (didnt mean to sound sarcastic), as far as the one witht he cracked shell, i'd just keep an eye on it.

 

[Donya]

cucumber is the snaily version of a candy bar...fun and tastey but no nutrition. Fragile shells are usually caused by lack of calcium ("usually" because the is a rare genetic disorder that causes it too--but all other cases are environmental). What are you feeding/adding to the water that has calcium in it? There are two main methods to get more calcium to your snail:

- liquid calcium (got to do at least 1 drop per gallon per day to have noticeable improvement if there's a problem with the shell). Seachem and Kents are good brands--they are marine sups but are freshwater safe.

- edible calcium source like weekend feeders, or lots of vegies if your snail will eat them (doesn't work for Pomacea bridgesii)

I've also been investigating powdered dicalcium phosphate as a cheap & easy calcium supliment. It's a livestock feed supliment that should be at most feed stores...but, it puts white powder over everything and makes it look like your tank experienced a blizzard. Very effective for helping shell damage though. Anyway if you want a quick fix, I'd go get some weekend feeders and plop them in for the snail to chew on.


For the crack, isolate the snail in a breeder net or something if it could get bashed around badly by tankmates. If it's new shell growth damage it's no worry, but cracks near the "backside" tend to pop open easily if the snail slams shut fast so they take longer to heal (can also patch them but I wouldn't recommend that if the shell is holding itself together still).

 

[reg2k2]

This addresses shell deterioration from disease, but I imagine applies here as well. From what I get (brief skim), if the snails acting ok and the hole's not too large, you can leave it (assuming pH is over 7.0 and water hardness is good) or attempt a repair as a precaution..as above, I think I'd hesitate on this. Crushed coral is another calcium source.
hth

 

[Karah's_Mommy]

Thanks so much for the replies, you have given me some excellent information. I haven't been putting anything in the water as I didn't realize the snails needed the extra calcium, but I'll be fixing that starting tonight. I've been feeding them cucumber, lettuce and floating goldfish pellets, and I will start diversifying their diet more as well. I never realized you could get so "attached" to these little guys.

 

[Opcn]

shells do break in the wild, and if the snail is alive they do tend to repair themselves, toss some crushed oyster shells into yur filter maybe, they can be purchased at most feed stores, however make sure you have no south american fish in the tank, as most are from the amazon basin and hard water is not conducive to happy fish.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Apple snails need a meat element in their diet to stay healthy and strong, you should try feeding them a prawn or slice of fish once a week to health strengthen their shells and incourage larger activity and growth levels .

 

[Karah's_Mommy]

I do feed my fish either frozen bbs or frozen bloodworms once or twice a week. I'll make sure to put a bit extra in for the snails. What kind of fish? Just a slice of whatever ....... catfish, grouper?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Doesn't really matter as long as its raw and you make sure it doesn't stay in the tank too long(no more than half a day or over night) as raw meaty foods go off very quickly in tank water, on average i prefer to feed my apple and giant ramshorn snails and plecs de-shelled king sized prawns and cucumber somtimes raw tuna slices .

 

[AndyTaylor]

I've found cuttlebone (like you give parrots, budgies etc) to be useful for adding calcium without hardening the water too much. Break of a bit and float it or fix it with a lettuce clamp thingy. Seems to work, and easier to remove if needs be than a liquid or shell supplement.

 

[Donya]

Apple snails need some protein, but not meat. They get plenty of protein from fidh foods. Feeding meat will not help shell growth since calcium is the main factor, and some snails will generalize from tuna to live fish in the tank.

 

[Karah's_Mommy]

Thanks again for the info!

 

[guppler]

i was about to ask basically the same question, so maybe I'll share topics.

My mom was wondering if cuttle bone would help my snails, but I was concerned that it might harden the water too much.
Most of my apple snails currently reside in the comunity with guppies, white cloud minnows, tetras, and cories. I think the minows and tetras like soft water for spawning, but They don't seem interested in spawning anyway, and with all my spawning cories and guppies, it's just as well, besides, I really want to make room for hatchets and coolies eventually.
So I've got these yellow and white snails and some are so thin you can see their organs throughh the shel, including what looks like a beating heart, but I'm not sure. It actually looks really neat, but what worries me is when the big ones have layers flaking off the shells, leaving white eroded spots.
I figured callcium would help, but didn't know what form to try., and wondered if the PH was the problem.
Do the same suggestions apply to my snails. It's mostly the older ones that have obvious problems, but I even have a new cluster of eggs on the lid now It looks alot like a little pinky whit pancreas. Could the same calcium /ph problem be why all the current generation has barely producerd 2 clutches and the original mamma snelly produced several?

 

[Donya]

What is your Ph? Needs to be over 7.0, preferably over 7.2. Shell erosion generally starts with low Ph, ande calcium addition options still apply even when the Ph is fixed. Cuttlebone will work, but keep in mind that every now and then you can buy a "bad" cuttlebone that wasn't dried properly and will rot and crash your tank. It's easily fixed if caught quickly, but I stay away from cuttlebone because of that risk. If you can afford it, go for one of the other calcium supliments. Snails need hard water...soft water is an instant trip to shell problems. Corries and guppies shouldn't be bothered by added calcium and a Ph in the range of 7.2-8.0.

 

[guppler]

Oh how annoying! i had a message all typed and had a computer problem and now I have to start over.
So basically my ph was way low (maybe under 6.4) I tested it and changed about half the water and added a ph neutralizing powder and a couple of weekend feeders. plan to repeat and retest.
Then I was just wondering if tums could be used and what's up with my black snail where only the older part of the shell is eroded badly, and the newer part, like probably since i bought it, looks better?
we probably didn't need the long version anyway.