White spots on a Nerite snails shell?

[BleuTheBetta]

I just got my snail 1 week ago, my sister bought it and didn’t want it for some reason, so she gave it to me. This thing was still in the bag- she wanted a bottom feeder instead. I don’t have enough algae for him to eat alone, so I feed 1 algae wafer every 2 - 3 days.
I just noticed these little white spots on Sir Snails shell- and I have no idea what they are. Are they natural, a chip to the shell, or from something that’s wrong in my tank?
Here are my water parameters-
Ammonia - 0
Nitrate - 0
Nitrite - 0
Water hardness - 7.4
Chlorine - 0

Tank is a 5gal with him and my Veiltale betta Bleu.
Any thoughts?

 

[Donya]

White showing is always some form of damage - the protein layer on the outside is gone and the underlying aragonite is showing. Those areas will be more likely to erode further than the colored areas of the shell if the pH drops below 7.0.

As for the cause, it's not just acidic water that does this. It can be chips from falling (Nerites are frequently escape artists and may drop on the floor), another animal chewing on the shell repeatedly, or even the snail just repeatedly rubbing against rocks or other equipment if it has a particular path it likes to follow. It's very common for the oldest part of the shell's spire to become white just from normal wear and tear, but the damage on yours is on the other side from that. It looks to me like initial physical damage followed by some erosion - but not typically enough to be caused in 1 week. Most likely the damage was already there but perhaps was dirty or otherwise not obvious at the time of purchase. However, keep an eye on the spots to make sure they don't grow - if they do then you have a pH and/or hardness issue.

 

[BleuTheBetta]

White showing is always some form of damage - the protein layer on the outside is gone and the underlying aragonite is showing. Those areas will be more likely to erode further than the colored areas of the shell if the pH drops below 7.0.

As for the cause, it's not just acidic water that does this. It can be chips from falling (Nerites are frequently escape artists and may drop on the floor), another animal chewing on the shell repeatedly, or even the snail just repeatedly rubbing against rocks or other equipment if it has a particular path it likes to follow. It's very common for the oldest part of the shell's spire to become white just from normal wear and tear, but the damage on yours is on the other side from that. It looks to me like initial physical damage followed by some erosion - but not typically enough to be caused in 1 week. Most likely the damage was already there but perhaps was dirty or otherwise not obvious at the time of purchase. However, keep an eye on the spots to make sure they don't grow - if they do then you have a pH and/or hardness issue.

Thank you!