big big hole in shell

[NilsBaees]

he had this hole in his shell when i bought him. however, i thought it wasn't getting worse when actually, the layers had eroded to now his inside flesh being visible (through some very very thin shell or skinlike thing, i dont know). what can i do to help?? any sort of treatment or patchwork?

 

[Lupin]

There's no way for the spire to repair itself unfortunately. What's the temperature and what do you feed it? What are the pH and KH?

 

[NilsBaees]

78 degreesF, feed Nutrafin Max Bottom Feeder and Invertebrate pellets, also Hikari sinking wafers intended for my catfish but he picks them up. he also picks up Hikari Micro Wafers (for my tropical fish) and Nutrafin Max tropical flakes. last time i checked pH is 6.8, and i dont know the kh

 

[Lupin]

That explains why the shell looks incredibly thin and damaged. What test kit do you use? Your pH is too acidic allowing the shell to erode thus the hole worsened instead of getting better. Keep the pH at 8.0 and lower your temperature to 74 degrees Fahrenheit. Slow growth can help thicken the shell nicely. What is the calcium content of all those food? If I were you, start dosing calcium and feed the snail calcium enriched foods by providing snail jello, seaweeds, collards and Kensfish invert sticks (which has 20% calcium content).

 

[NilsBaees]

oh, thank you!..is there a way to raise pH? (i was always afraid i would accidentally overdose the ph-up chemicals and kill someone).

what is the recipe for snail jello? i've heard very good things about it. Are the Kensfish invert sticks found at common pet stores like Petsmart? my mom isnt one to drive me around to specialty ones, sadly.

 

[Lupin]

oh, thank you!..is there a way to raise pH? (i was always afraid i would accidentally overdose the ph-up chemicals and kill someone).

Yes, there is. First of all, please determine your KH. KH (carbonate hardness) needs to be determined as low KH will render the pH unstable and put it back to its acidic state which can prove detrimental to the snail's shell. Once you do, you need to determine whether calcium dosing is necessary here or not. If your KH is no higher than 3, then calcium dosing is quite necessary here to stabilize the pH. Use calcium carbonate by dosing Tums or Caltrate, calcium chloride by Kent liquid calcium or sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). Use any of the three to increase the KH. Other options include limestones, marble chips, plaster of Paris blocks, crushed seashells, crushed corals and aragonites. Cuttlefish bones and eggshells (without membrane) are also used but I prefer not to use them as acidic water tends to make them rot quickly and foul the water.

Calcium chloride will not increase the pH but only the KH itself along with sodium bicarbonate so you may need to increase the pH using calcium carbonate which fortunately Tums and Caltrate can cover effectively. Be forewarned Tums will cloud the water however no harm is done by this annoying effect although when combined with plaster of Paris blocks, the plaster of Paris negates the cloudy effect.

When dosing, be sure your other fish can tolerate the changes in the water chemistry. Guppies, most plecos and a few other fish can tolerate the changes but most fish from soft acidic waters become a little more vulnerable to finrot and bacterial infections when the water becomes extremely hard and alkaline. I dose calcium in my tanks where I have guppies, BN plecos and whiptail and so far, they are doing well without any issues.

what is the recipe for snail jello? i've heard very good things about it. Are the Kensfish invert sticks found at common pet stores like Petsmart? my mom isnt one to drive me around to specialty ones, sadly.

There is a sticky thread for snail jello in this section. Read about it. All it needs is baby foods, honey (optional), gelatin, fish foods (optional), calcium (strictly recommended in your case) and plenty other foods you want to add in it.

I don't think Ken sells at any stores as far as I know. Go to his site (assuming you're in USA), kensfish.com and order from there. His foods are priced right for anyone who has plenty of mouths to shovel foods in.