Dents/Cracks in mystery snail shell from jumping....

Becca3711

Becca3711

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Mar 9, 2007
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Hello, as you all probably know, I have a few mystery snails. Well, I have noticed on my gold mystery snail, that he has dented/cracked his shell because he jumps and dives off the side of the aquarium wall. I have sand substrate, so the only thing I can think of that he hurts his shell on is the little cave I have for my fish. Here are some photos. Should I be worried that he is in pain or is sick? I dosed half dose of melafix/primafix to hopefully help his shell maybe heal? Here are some photos that I took. I have noticed lately that he has been chasing my lady snails and mating A LOT with them, so I don't think he's feeling bad. He eats normally and chases the other snails, and he LOVES to dive off the walls. Any suggestions, or do you think he will be fine?

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I dont think you can anything to prevent him from doing what he loves. :)

In my 27g planted, I have a bunch of shrimp and snails and when they starting having their shells deteriorate and peel off, my fiancee suggested dosing calcium (reef complete) which after using for 2 weeks, i noticed a definite improvement in their shells.
 
Should I be concerned though that it hurts him? I think he's okay, I just wanted to double check.

And yes, I know he wont stop "doing what he loves" but Im guessing he's feeling okay if he's constantly at it.

I bought some of those weekend feeders, as they have a very high calcium content (not to use for the weekend feeding purpose), but they do have a high content of calcium and the snails (and my corys) like to chew on them, so I figure that'd work, right? They don't mess up my water quality either.
 
Here's another shot.

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The irregularities and deformities in the shell are from when it was growing in low KH/GH water so it was not able to build a nice thick shell. If any of the cracks actually go through the shell, you can repair them. Go to this page and read more about shell care and down near the middle, there is information on repairing shells that need repair. http://www.applesnail.net/content/various/snail_disease.php

Instead of buying those weekend feeders, which I know say they don't foul the water... but believe me, they will... and just buy a cuddlebone (like those sold for parakeets) and put pieces of that in the tank. You should also feed calcium rich foods. I believe I already posted a list or link to the list for them in a previous reply but if you don't have it, let me know. You can also find the list on the Applesnail.net site.

What is your KH and GH readings on your tank and tap water (baseline KH and GH, not right out the tap... you can find your baseline by clicking my blog link in my sig and it's the most recent blog that I did so it's on top).
 
How do you get the cuttlebone to sink? And the phosphours, does it mess with your water quality, ie algae blooms?
 
Becca3711 said:
How do you get the cuttlebone to sink? And the phosphours, does it mess with your water quality, ie algae blooms?
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They should sink on their own. They are actually a real bone from the Cuddlefish. They are a naturally high calcium carbonate source and do not contain phosphorous so I'm not sure why you are asking about that... but if you have high levels of phosphor/phosphates in your tap/source water or in the foods you feed your fish, these phosphates will cause algae blooms in your tank.
 
I am not sure about using melafix on snails but I think I heard somewere not to use it on snails I could be wrong.


What happend with your betta I was reading your post on him and you just stopped posting
 
christopherhick said:
I am not sure about using melafix on snails but I think I heard somewere not to use it on snails I could be wrong.


What happend with your betta I was reading your post on him and you just stopped posting
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My betta is doing splendid. I just have recently got excited with my snails because they have been mating like crazy, so Im just waiiiiiiiiiting for some eggs :)

Here's a pic of him from last night:)
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