Mystery Snail With Fuzz

[sharkydog]

So, my betta has been recovering from mild fin rot. And I didn't want my snail to be harmed by the medicine, so I put him in a .75 gallon quarantine tank that does not have a filter.

This is what I have been doing, and it seemed completely fine until something (probably really stupid) that I decided to do a day or two ago:

Each day or every other day I change his water, mostly all of it because it smells incredibly badly. I pour it out, and leave a little bit at the bottom, as I assume there are some good bacterias in there. I add a water conditioner, and then stick my hand in the water with some betta flakes and sprinkle them around so he has a food source(he usually eats any left over betta flakes that I leave for him anyways, and that's what he seems to really thrive on). Everything seemed perfectly fine and going rather well. I had little to no concerns about the snail. But then, a couple of days ago I added some API bacteria starter, as I was worried that I have been making too clean of water changes. It was just a few drops, and it was less than what it said to add to .75 gallons. But now I can see a little bit of white(almost clear) cottony-like fuzz starting to grow on his shell, mostly towards the top.

Was adding that bacteria starter a big rookie mistake? Should I wipe it off of his shell? What should I do or is it not really a big deal? I've had him for four or five months now, he has grown a LOT, and has not ever had this problem. I mean, he's always had a slime coating on his shell, but never this weird fuzz stuff.

I hope I didn't make a fatal error! D:

 

[Donya]

I'm not sure what the cause of the fuzz would be, but I would wipe it away as a precaution. Most likely it's harmless, but over the years I have seen a few odd things growing on snail shells that ate away at the outer layer, so it's better to be safe than sorry. Don't scrub though if it doesn't come off easily.
 
How much longer are you going to be keeping the snail in the QT tank? Based on what you've described I would recommend cutting down a lot on feeding. Having the water foul so fast is worse for the snail than going on a small diet for a short period of time. Since there is no filter in the QT tank there is no reason really to keep any of the water around unless you plan to cycle the tank - which may be more bother and stress on the snail than it's worth if it will only be in for a short period of time (better to just do very large or 100% daily changes and cut back on feeding). 

 

[sharkydog]

I'm not sure what the cause of the fuzz would be, but I would wipe it away as a precaution. Most likely it's harmless, but over the years I have seen a few odd things growing on snail shells that ate away at the outer layer, so it's better to be safe than sorry. Don't scrub though if it doesn't come off easily.
 
How much longer are you going to be keeping the snail in the QT tank? Based on what you've described I would recommend cutting down a lot on feeding. Having the water foul so fast is worse for the snail than going on a small diet for a short period of time. Since there is no filter in the QT tank there is no reason really to keep any of the water around unless you plan to cycle the tank - which may be more bother and stress on the snail than it's worth if it will only be in for a short period of time (better to just do very large or 100% daily changes and cut back on feeding). 

Okay! I will definitely cut down on feeding, and continue to do daily water changes and just add water conditioner until I add him into the other tank! He probably will be out for a few more days while I continue do gradual water changes, because I DID at aquarium salt to the tank(along with the lifeguard medication), so I want to make sure all of that is out before adding the snail back in. Anyways, thank you!!

 

[sharkydog]

I just gently wiped him off with a towel and all the fuzz seems to be gone! Let's hope it stays that way!!

 

[neutron20]

Wonder what it was?? haha
 
maybe the water conditions were just so bad that ... it grew a fungus or .. who knows

 

[sharkydog]

Well, I changed his water and obviously did not add the bacteria starter to it. I think that was where I went wrong, since everything was fine before that.