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New Member
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I have an apple snail. Originally, he was in a cold water aquarium but I moved him the to one of my tropical aquariums because he didn't like the cold. His shell has developed some holes and is being worn away in places. Some parts have a striped look to them. Otherwise, he's basically acting normally and moving around OK. Is there anything that can be done to fix the problems with his shell?
****************************************************50 gal-2 pink kissing gouramis, 1 apple snail (Larry), pearly horse faced loach (Merlin) 10 gal-mixed guppies, russet snails, male Red Balloon Platy (Scarlet), female Blue Platy (Chroma), male Sunburst Platy (Sunburst), female Sunset Tuxedo Platy (Kohl), female Mickey Mouse Platy (Minnie), female Black Head Tangerine Platy (Marble) 10 gal-Calico Shubunkin (Fred), orange and white Fantail (George), russet snail (Bubba), Bubba's offspring (Leopard and Cheetah)
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Fishkeeping GURU
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Last Login: 10/8/2008 4:09:27 PM
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Sounds like a soft/acidic water problem. Is the water in your area soft, or do you have a water softener? Or do you buy RO or distilled water for water changes? If you can please test or get tested (by your lfs) your pH, general hardness (gH), and calcium levels and post the numbers here.
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New Member
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I use regular tap water (mostly hard here) for water changes with water conditioner to remove chlorine & chloramine. The aquarium stats I can get right away are the pH (7.0-7.2 with a Hagen Low-Range pH test kit) and the nitrites (zero, with a Hagen nitrite testing kit). I'll have to get the gH and calcium kits from my LFS
****************************************************50 gal-2 pink kissing gouramis, 1 apple snail (Larry), pearly horse faced loach (Merlin) 10 gal-mixed guppies, russet snails, male Red Balloon Platy (Scarlet), female Blue Platy (Chroma), male Sunburst Platy (Sunburst), female Sunset Tuxedo Platy (Kohl), female Mickey Mouse Platy (Minnie), female Black Head Tangerine Platy (Marble) 10 gal-Calico Shubunkin (Fred), orange and white Fantail (George), russet snail (Bubba), Bubba's offspring (Leopard and Cheetah)
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Fishkeeping GURU
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Last Login: 10/8/2008 4:09:27 PM
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You don't really need the kits for those if the pet store will test it for you (they're more useful for planted tanks).
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Senior Member
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Definitely get the numbers Hailey mentioned, and while you're at the pet store, go to the bird section if they have one. The holes you see in the shell are calcium deficiency.
They usually sell cuttlebones for birds to chew on in petstores. They're surfboard shaped and made entirely of calcium carbonate, which is what your snail is lacking. They should be pretty cheap. See if you can find one that is not dyed (should be completely white or slightly tan-colored, no reds or yellows), then drop a piece or the whole thing into your tank. You should see your snail moving around it pretty soon after.
After you've tested your water, we can help you with solutions to harden and/or buffer your water if necessary as well. But the calcium in the cuttlebone will be a good immediate benefit to him while you're doing that. If you can't get that, drop in some spinach or other dark, leafy veggie. Those are usually pretty high in calcium.
20 gallon long
Lionhead - Kiko
Calico Lionhead - Little Bean
29 gallon
Fantail - Oliver
Black Moor - Damian
Calico Ryukin - Serafina
2.5 gallon
male betta - Pirate
10 gallon planted
minnow, betta, guppy
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New Member
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Thanks so much guys. I'll bring some water samples to my LFS as soon as possible and get some cuttlebone or ground coral and spinach (when I asked about the shell problem at the LFS at they said that mixing ground coral in with the water would help-does it?). I know that FinAddicts does testing. Larry (my apple snail) eats lettuce so he should go for spinach
****************************************************50 gal-2 pink kissing gouramis, 1 apple snail (Larry), pearly horse faced loach (Merlin) 10 gal-mixed guppies, russet snails, male Red Balloon Platy (Scarlet), female Blue Platy (Chroma), male Sunburst Platy (Sunburst), female Sunset Tuxedo Platy (Kohl), female Mickey Mouse Platy (Minnie), female Black Head Tangerine Platy (Marble) 10 gal-Calico Shubunkin (Fred), orange and white Fantail (George), russet snail (Bubba), Bubba's offspring (Leopard and Cheetah)
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Senior Member
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Yep, crushed coral in the water will add calcium to the water. This will help your snail out with his shell just like the cuttlebone.
20 gallon long
Lionhead - Kiko
Calico Lionhead - | | | |