Problem with growth in snail?

[RedStarFishy]

I have one apple snail (i believe, he is a black mystery snail, which is apple, right?) in my 29g community tank. i noticed that his shell is starting to grow oddly. it almost looks like someone sliced him. I tried to take pictures, but they didn't come out nicely. Could it be that my tank is missing some of the chemicals he needs for his shell to grow properly? should i add something? thanks
Jess

 

[smithrc]

2 of ours are the same. they now grow with a v missing from the leading edge of the shell... only 2-3mm back from the rest of it but it leaves a line as they grow

 

[RedStarFishy]

2 of ours are the same. they now grow with a v missing from the leading edge of the shell... only 2-3mm back from the rest of it but it leaves a line as they grow

Sounds just like mine. So yers are ok?

 

[3fsh]

Snails require slightly hard water to grow their shells, otherwise they become soft and brittle and have little gaps in them. Adding a teensy bit of aquarium salt will help, just make sure it's dissolved before you put it in.

 

[jflowers]

Feed with green lettuce leafs or spinach, it has a high calcium content and is gone in no time, I have 11 adults and 70+ babys and a large leaf is gone in mins, they really can munch. I put 1 leaf in a day and one pinch of flakes a day. Since starting with the leaf veg they have a consistant shell growth, inconsistant growth is what causes the lines and iregularities in shell growth.

Jon

p.s. a black mystery snail is usually just a colour morph of a golden apple snail, check the species and photo section on http/www.applesnail.net although they are just a colour morph, the black likes aquarium plants and the golden leaves them alone, or is this just mine?