View Full Version : Does Shell Erosion Heal?
Fish-Addict
05-15-2009, 11:42 AM
Hello everyone,
Does shell erosion heal up? I had a yellow apple snail with shell erosion quite badly and so I upped the amount of calcium dosed and now Im hoping that it wil get better but does it? If it does, how does it get better?
Thanks for any help :)
snoopy65
05-15-2009, 12:22 PM
The area that is damaged will always be there. The snail is capable of making a stronger shell from that point on though. As long as the erosion is not over the vital organs and or isn't really bad, good food and calcium will help keep them healthy. Occasionally a patch is needed for holes if they are large or in a area that is over organs and sometimes it is better to euthanize, depending on the severity. Do you have a pic of your snail?
msjinkzd
05-15-2009, 12:33 PM
what snoopy said :)
jackiomy
05-15-2009, 12:34 PM
Msjinkzd, you have trained us well. :)
Wycco
05-15-2009, 12:39 PM
I'm intrigued by the comment about making patches...
How does one patch a snail shell? Super glue a small piece of gravel or shell from another (deceased) snail over the opening?
A shell transplant- or is this more of a shell-enlargement implant! ;)
On shell implants... I've been seeing a lot of ads on late night TV lately about natural male enhancement- maybe I misheard and they were saying "snail" enhancement.
deeleywoman
05-15-2009, 1:04 PM
i've been wondering about this as well. a lot of the adult MTS i got already had some serious erosion, and while they seem none the worse for wear (no pun intended) it does concern me. i've put small pieces of cuttlebone (without the backing) in the tanks, but i have a feeling that's not helping.
snoopy65
05-15-2009, 1:08 PM
This thread is about one of our members making a patch. http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=178961&highlight=snail+patch&page=3
snoopy65
05-15-2009, 1:10 PM
what snoopy said :)
Oh, great Snail Yoda! I am learning to use the force!:thm: One day I too will be an invert Jedi.:evil_lol::evil_lol:
Fish-Addict
05-15-2009, 1:11 PM
Thanks guys :) My snail is yellow but where he has grown the new part is all cracked and white. So the cracked and white part wont get back to normal?
Thanks again :)
snoopy65
05-15-2009, 1:13 PM
Thanks guys :) My snail is yellow but where he has grown the new part is all cracked and white. So the cracked and white part wont get back to normal?
Thanks again :)
Is it across the bottom edge?
kyryah
05-15-2009, 1:18 PM
Isn't shell erosion caused by improper pH? What would be the proper pH level to keep the shells from eroding?
I have noticed that a lot of the snails of I have bought (excluding those from snoopy and dixiewoman) have badly eroded shells... I lost one baby because of it. The point of the shell collapsed, and it was too tiny for me to patch.
The snails that have raised from hatchlings have no erosion. Is that because of the pH of my water, the calcium supplements, or a combination of the two?
Kristina
A similar question to yours. None of my snails (bladders and MTS at the moment) have erosion or holes but a lot of the small bladders have transparant shells. I assume transparant = thinner than they should be.
My pH is 7.5- and I did start out with extremely soft water- but I've added liquid calcium and baking soda and now have GH of 10 (Ooops that's more than I planned- I was measuring KH as I added Calcium wondering why my KH wasn't going up... idiot that I was- but I know better now)...
KH is now up (from 0) to 5- Do I need to get this higher?
I'm trying to get my water appropriate for inverts (I am getting some shrimp and more ornamental snails) and I think I'm about there- but the transparant baby bladders worry me a little that I'm still not doing something right.
I really don't care about my bladders and they could all rot in snell for all I care- but I do wonder if the transparancy is some sort of indicator. All the bladders 2mm or larger have coloured shells.
snoopy65
05-15-2009, 1:44 PM
Isn't shell erosion caused by improper pH? What would be the proper pH level to keep the shells from eroding?
I have noticed that a lot of the snails of I have bought (excluding those from snoopy and dixiewoman) have badly eroded shells... I lost one baby because of it. The point of the shell collapsed, and it was too tiny for me to patch.
The snails that have raised from hatchlings have no erosion. Is that because of the pH of my water, the calcium supplements, or a combination of the two?
Kristina
My PH is at 8 and I also supply calcium in several forms. Egg shells for them to rasp on, tums in my jello, veggies high in calcium, etc. When I got my first Brigs, I didn't know to supply calcium. It's shell had many issues, so I would say, both.
snoopy65
05-15-2009, 2:16 PM
A similar question to yours. None of my snails (bladders and MTS at the moment) have erosion or holes but a lot of the small bladders have transparant shells. I assume transparant = thinner than they should be.
My pH is 7.5- and I did start out with extremely soft water- but I've added liquid calcium and baking soda and now have GH of 10 (Ooops that's more than I planned- I was measuring KH as I added Calcium wondering why my KH wasn't going up... idiot that I was- but I know better now)...
KH is now up (from 0) to 5- Do I need to get this higher?
I'm trying to get my water appropriate for inverts (I am getting some shrimp and more ornamental snails) and I think I'm about there- but the transparant baby bladders worry me a little that I'm still not doing something right.
I really don't care about my bladders and they could all rot in snell for all I care- but I do wonder if the transparancy is some sort of indicator. All the bladders 2mm or larger have coloured shells.
Your ph being at 7.5 is fine for snails. To be honest, I am not sure about the kh/gh specifically. I know that they need to be high.
High calcium foods are very important with the quality of new growth on the snail shell.
Some of my bladders have transparent shells. I think they are just that way, not an issue with your h2o.
BettaFishMommy
05-16-2009, 3:54 AM
my theory is, the smaller the snail, the thinner the shell, hence more transparent. might be the case with bladders? brigg babies are practically see through when they grow a lil bit after hatching in my tank.
i guess it was my high ph that saved my snails in the beginning, since i was told that all you have to feed them is algae wafer. oh lordy have i learned! lol. but none of them had shell problems.
mind you, the babies that have grown up on veggies, tums, snello, etc. look soooo much better. and i still have my very first brigg from the un-edumicated days over a year ago, and she's a momma at least a dozen times over, if you count the clutches i froze.
i've never measured the gh or kh in any of my tanks, just ph. i think if i had more to worry about on my tank i'd get all 'hypochondriac by-proxy' about my shellkids, lol, and they are spoiled enough as it is already.
my theory is, the smaller the snail, the thinner the shell, hence more transparent. might be the case with bladders? brigg babies are practically see through when they grow a lil bit after hatching in my tank.
That is not always the case. You will be amazed baby brigs have harder shells than you imagine. The transparency coincides with the lack of color in this case and it eventually develops as they grow older.
Temeraire
05-16-2009, 1:38 PM
I haven't noticed my snail touch the cuttle bone I added to the tank and it doesn't eat anything I put in the tank I put in specifically for it unless I physically place it on the food, and even then sometimes it just glides away. How will a diet of algae affect future shell growth? I can't seem to get the water any harder even though I have cuttle bone in the tank and in the filter, and the shell is already eroded quite a bit, but it could be that it's mostly the protein layer that's missing.
Hebily
05-16-2009, 1:54 PM
I just have an empty snail shell that I bought in my main tank - no visible snails yet.
Even though my hardness and pH are both really high - I can't remember the exact numbers right now, I have to use a high range pH kit, I wanna say it's 8.4, and my hardness is off the scale for the test strips I have for it- and my snail shell has eroded patches on it. Is this just because it's dead? The pond snails in my QT start out transparent, and turn into VERY hard little peanut sized snails, if I don't get them first.
snoopy65
05-16-2009, 2:10 PM
I haven't noticed my snail touch the cuttle bone I added to the tank and it doesn't eat anything I put in the tank I put in specifically for it unless I physically place it on the food, and even then sometimes it just glides away. How will a diet of algae affect future shell growth? I can't seem to get the water any harder even though I have cuttle bone in the tank and in the filter, and the shell is already eroded quite a bit, but it could be that it's mostly the protein layer that's missing.
Not having the proper diet will affect the shell of the snail. The damage that is already there can not be fixed but you can make a difference in the new growth. Try some of the recipes for snail jello in the invert sticky as well as fresh veggies high in calcium.
snoopy65
05-16-2009, 2:11 PM
Hebily, snail shells from snails that are dead will erode over time. I have some in my tank, and my water is hard as well, that have eroded.
Temeraire
05-16-2009, 2:40 PM
Not having the proper diet will affect the shell of the snail. The damage that is already there can not be fixed but you can make a difference in the new growth. Try some of the recipes for snail jello in the invert sticky as well as fresh veggies high in calcium.
Snail jello doesn't won't work in my situation. My betta rushes over to it before the snail even knows it's there and gorges himself on it to the point that if it isn't removed he will eat himself to death. I've tried putting lettuce in the tank it just moves off of it no matter how many times I put him on it. It just really loves algae. :lipssealedsmilie:
snoopy65
05-16-2009, 2:54 PM
I would try putting it in there after lights out.
BettaFishMommy
05-17-2009, 11:18 AM
yes, after lights out will give the snail more of a chance to eat, before the betta gorges himself. also, what size piece of snail jello are you putting in? i would put about the equivalent of 1/4 ice cube and break it up into at least three pieces, so that the snail will have a chance to get to one piece at least, and the betta will not have an excess of food to gorge on.
"I can't seem to get the water any harder even though I have cuttle bone in the tank and in the filter"
i don't think the cuttlebone will make your water any harder. i could be wrong on this, but a cuttlebone is for calcium and to make water harder i think you need other things present than just calcium.