Mystery Snails shells turning a lighter color

[fabsroman]

Is there a reason that some of my mystery snails' shells are turning a lighter color? I am noticing it mostly in the magenta/purple snails and I have no clue what it could be. I'm feeding them snail jello, algae wafers, sinking wafers, carnivore pellets, blanched peas, spinach, and collared greens. My ph is at 7.1.

Am I missing something, or does this happen to some snails?

 

[petluvr]

Hmmmm.....Jinkzie would be more of the one to what for an answer from. Mine seem to get darker as they age, especially the purples. Good luck and I hope all is okay their diet seems good

 

[pik01]

your snails eat better than i do hehe

 

[fabsroman]

That is why I cannot figure out what is wrong with them. They do have a very slight line in their shell from when I initially got them, but I would guess that is from shipping and not enough calcium initially in their diet when I got them. That line is much further back in the shell now, and the new shell growth looks really good except for the color loss.

What really has me perplexed is that it isn't happening to all the snails, just a couple.

 

[crimsonmoon]

maybe your ph is on the low side?
mine is naturally 8.3+

 

[fabsroman]

Yeah, the 7.1 ph might be a little low, but I'm hoping that isn't the issue. If it is, I'll just have to set up another tank specifically for them.

 

[crimsonmoon]

maybe you could add some extra calcium supplement in your snail jello for them?

 

[fabsroman]

Each batch of snail jello has 2 tsp. of Jurrasi-cal in it. I would think that is plenty, but who knows. I feed that to them about 3 times a week.

 

[247Plants]

I have noticed that they grow in lighter in the beginning but darken over time. 7.1 isnt so bad. I grow mine in about the same and their colors are great!

 

[pik01]

Concerning calcium and pH, as I understand it, calcium is for building healthy new shell while hardness, which usually goes hand in hand with pH, is for maintaining established shell.