My Apple snails shell is terrible trouble, please help

[littlegoldsnail]

You have to use an image hosting site (like ImagBB or photobucket). I like ImagBB. Then you copy the BB Codes and paste them into your post.

[mousse]

' src=' '>Thanks so much I'll give it a try

[mousse]

' src=' Here's another one, I hope

[mousse]

' src=' One more

[littlegoldsnail]

What is your PH? It almost looks like shell erosion from acidic water, but it’s hard to tell. Definitely offer it plenty of calcium. You can get some liquid calcium for corals in the saltwater section at the pet store. I’ve heard the Kent marine stuff is good. You just add it directly to the water column. It looks like some sort of erosion though. You usually only see that in water with low PH.

[mousse]

All the other snails was in the same tank. None of them have anything like this, they look fine. I have isolated her ever since I saw what had happened. I have given her blood worms mixed with calcium powder for quite a while. It has done nothing for her. She does love the blood worms though, it was the only way I could get her to eat the calcium. She has laid a lot of eggs, I sometimes wonder about that being the cause, but don't know anything really. The other female apple snail, same size, also laid lots of eggs, there was nothing wrong with her shell. It's natural for her to lay eggs, so you wouldn't think that should do it. I'm at my wits end. I don't know about the PH, I change the water twice a week, not a full water change. All seemed well this way, until I saw her shell.

[littlegoldsnail]

I would recommend putting some crushed coral, oyster shell, cuttlebone or something in the filter. It should raise the PH and add some calcium to the water column, which would help. My PH is about 8 and it’s perfect for snails. They need a PH above neutral (7) or their shells can erode. Usually the higher the PH the better. Getting a test kit for your water would definitely be worth it. I would recommend the API master kit as it has everything in it and it lasts a really long time, it’s also really accurate and easy to use.

[mousse]

I have the API master kit, but will have to order all the other things on line, since the covid 19 thing we have been house bound. I also have the cuttlebone. I never saw any of them paying any attention to it, so I finally took it out. I ordered her a smaller aquarium just for her alone, it should be here Monday. I will be sure to try all these things as soon as I can get them. I would do anything to help her get well. Thanks loads.

[littlegoldsnail]

Don’t move her into another aquarium yet. It will be an immature ecosystem and that can be stressful. Cuttlebone should work, it’s not for them to eat it, just put it in the filter and leave it. It will raise the PH.

If you have an api master test kit then you should be able to test the PH.

[mousse]

I was going to put part of the old aquarium water in first, then add some fresh water. Not going to fill it all the way up at once, but a little at a time. Glad to know about the cuttlebone. I had no idea it went in with the filter. That makes a lot more sense than thinking they would eat it, it's too hard. The PH in the tank was 9. She is eating good. Thanks for everything, m

[mousse]

Wrong about PH. I took it again because a partial drop was hanging off the dropper and fell into the tube. The right reading was 6.6

[littlegoldsnail]

That could definitely do it. A PH below neutral (7) can erode snails shells. Don’t buy any chemical PH adjusters (they are bad for fish and snails and they adjust PH to drastically), just put some cuttlebone or crushed coral or something in the filter. Oyster shell is really cheap, I got an oyster shell crushed coral blend for like $5 for a 5 pound bag (it was on sale). I thing it’s like $7 regularly. Cuttlebone will certainly help. Try putting the cuttlebone in the filter first, maybe break it up into pieces. That should raise the PH a little.

[littlegoldsnail]

www.amazon.com/Manna-Pro-Crushed-Oyster-Chickens/dp/B000MD59TC/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=oyster+shell&qid=1586114624&sr=8-3

[littlegoldsnail]

Don’t move her to her own tank, it won’t help anything. It will also be uncycled unless you seed it with cycled filter media. None of the good bacteria are in the water column, so water from another tank won’t cycle it, the healthy bacteria lives on hard surfaces (primarily in the filter cause it likes high oxygen). In order to cycle it you would need filter media from another tank that is already cycled.

[mousse]

Their are two Otocinclus' in this tank with the snails. Will they be okay with these changes? Why did this just happen to her? all the others are in fine good looking shell condition? same age and size.

[mousse]

Thanks, I ordered it.

[littlegoldsnail]

The Otos should be fine as long as you change the PH gradually (just add a little bit of oyster at a time, it should probably take a couple weeks to up the PH to 7.5 or so). I’m not sure why it wouldn’t happen to the rest of the snails. How long have you had her? How long have you had the other snails?

[mousse]

Got them all at the same time. They all grew up together. I know, it doesn't make sense. They haven't always been in this smaller aquarium. I was using a 10 gal. one for most of their lives. It just got too much for me to handle by myself. There was always something wrong. I wanted to separate the guppies from the snails, and the male snails from the female snails in smaller aquariums. I couldn't feed the guppies anything but leftover snail food, because all their other foods, flakes and so on had copper of some kind in them. and the male snails were so aggressive the poor females couldn't even eat without being jumped on. So anyway one more aquarium and they will all have their own homes. It hasn't come yet. I still think it will come today.

[mousse]

This seems odd. I just tested the PH in the clean treated water, not used yet, and the PH was 7.6 What made the PH go down when I put it into the tank with the snails and oto's?

[littlegoldsnail]

Is there any driftwood or almond leaves or anything in the tank? Anything decaying?

[mousse]

One moss ball, one grass plant in gravel pot, lots of algae on top of the grass, and one rubber toy, also has algae on it. I can feel the algae on the sides of the tank. I leave it like that for the oto's and the snails. That's all that's in there.