I need HELP.

[BettaMomma]

Gary, my apple snail, had to be removed from the female betta community tank because he was making way too much of a mess and making my girls sick. I set up a temporary home for him in a little fishbowl for a couple of days. Last night I gave him new clean water and put him back into his little bowl with a plant to much on, an algae wafer, and I had sprinkled some fishy food in there for him to eat.

This morning when I went into my kitchen, I found him laying on the floor - he had crawled up out of his bowl, across the counter and fell 3 feet to the floor. A piece of his shell cracked off that was about 1/4" X 1/2". The piece that was cracked off was just above his moustache-looking pair of feelers.

I feel horrible - I put him right back into his little tank and put a cover on it... He didn't mojve for the first while, but when I was leaving for work I checked on him again and he was starting to stretch himself out.

Can he survive without that piece of his shell? If part of his soft parts are exposed? I think he will be living alone the rest of his life, anyway - he's just too messy to live with anyone else... Can he grow his shell back?

I feel so bad - poor Gary

 

[Torrean]

I do believe he can grow his shell back. Sorry for your scare. I hope he pulls through

 

[BettaMomma]

That's a huge relief. I felt HORRIBLE when I saw him there.
I can't blame him for wanting out - he had come from a 10G community tank where it was warm and big with lots of plants to eat, to under a gallon, not much for plants, pretty cramped, and minus the pretty girlies swimming everywhere.

 

[abstract]

oops i started to type a reply earlier and must have closed this window...i was just gonna say that it will def. grow back - just keep up with the water changes since they use the minerals in the water to help form their shell....i have also heard that adding some "cuttlebone" to the tank will help it grow back significantly faster, but have never tried it myself

 

[morgan]

Are you sure it's a he? My Apple Snail got out of a tank with a lid, it found a small hole where the wires go in. I was told on another forum that female Apple Snails are more likely to leave a tank because that's what they do to lay their eggs. You must be fairly sure since he is called Gary!, I just wondered.

 

[BettaMomma]

Nope. No idea if it's a he or she.
He might just be a Garyetta after all. LOL

I'll keep up with the water changes for sure.
Poor little guy - I just checked on him, and he is stuck to the side of the tank again, so he seems like he's doing okay. He's in a very small tank so he might just not like having nowhere to crawl around to, really. I have a 2 gallon tank that he'll be going into as soon as that one frees up in a couple of days.

I'm so very relieved that he can grow his shell back.

abstract - where can I get some cuttlebone? Just at like a PetSmart or something?

 

[SarahBravo]

Hi Bettamomma - sorry Gary jumped! You should be able to get cuttlebone at any pet store - they sell it for budgies and birds to shrpen their beaks on. You could also get some crab pellets (crab food, not pellets made out of crabs!!) to feed to him as they have similar vits and minerals added.

Hope he's okay!

 

[morgan]

I was told about putting cuttlebone in for my snail but was also advised not to leave it in for a long time as it affects the water.

 

[abstract]

yes it will alter water chemistry, but since she is doing so many water changes in a small bowl it should be fine to leave it in there until he is healed....and yes, cuttlebone can be found at any pet store with the bird stuff usually

 

[BettaMomma]

So just get a hunk of it and drop it in the bowl?

I'll look around for it tomorrow at PetSmart.
He seems to be doing just fine with the cracked shell, but he ALWAYS seems to want to be up out of the water.

I'm going to cook him some cukes tonight. Poor guy deserves some treat.
Thanks for the info!

 

[BettaMomma]

I went to change GAry's water and he was laying on his back with all his soft parts all curled up but sticking out. I dipped him out of the tank to put him into the bucket while I rinsed his tank out and put new water in. He didn't pull inside his shell at all.

I filled his tank up w/clean water - and carefully put him back into the tank.
He still never pulled himself inside his shell...

I'm assuming this is not a good sign...

 

[Torrean]

i"m sorry

 

[abstract]

were they out far, or just kind of out? when my snails sleep, they don't close their trap door all the way...a lot of their soft stuff is exposed and sticking out/curled up like you describe

nothing to be worried about unless it is sticking out far...the sure fire test is to give his trap door a little tug...if there is even a slight resistance, then it is fine....if it pulls out really easily, he may be dying/dead

 

[BettaMomma]

I think he might be gone.

he's been laying like that for a day and a half.
Last night I did move his tank a bit and he did move his teeny feelers, but when I did that this morning he didn't move at all.

I think he's gone

 

[morgan]

That doesn't sound very hopeful. sorry.