Any Advice On How To Help Snails Out

[KuronoEnyo]

So the snails in my boyfriends aquarium seem to have white brittle looking area's on there shells where you can see the growth and I was curious if there was anything I could do to help the snails keep a healthy hard shell instead of the frail brittle shell I believe they have.

Its a 2 gallon tank with a 7 gallon nano filter and a 10 gallon heater set at 78 degree's
Its just white sand and a few clumps of java moss and two growing bits of frog bit and its completely lit up by the natural sunlight it gets in the window.
There fed on blood worms and hikari algae wafers.


I've tried crushing up egg shell as a way to help since I saw that somewhere but doesn't seem to be doing anything.

 

[Donya]

What type of snails are these?

If the areas are very small, like a 1-2 mm on the front of the shell at any given time on a quarter-sized individual, then it's normal. If you are seeing an area that keeps expanding without thickening, then it's a problem

Eggshell isn't very effective for shell thickness issues unless you can grind it small enough that the snails actually eat it (and then they still don't tend to because it's sharp). It's one of those methods that was standard over a decade ago but has since been much improved upon as snails have become more common aquarium pets. Without any other information on the snails, there are a few general things to try/keep an eye on:

1. Make sure the KH is reasonably high. Snails have to work against a steeper concentration gradient to put down thick shell in a soft environment, so it's not good to keep them in soft environments. They can actually deplete the water pretty fast sometimes if you aren't keeping an eye on it.

2. Give the snails regular access to calcium carbonate-rich foods or simply give them weekend feeder blocks to chew on most of the time. Some people make their own to save on cost.

3. If the above two are already in practice and there is no improvement, drop the temperature by 2-4 degrees Fahrenheit and see if it gets them to slow down. Sometimes it takes a shift in temperature to get snails out of growing mode, particularly if they were raised in colder water. If you have Viviparids, you may actually just need to lower the temperature more than that, since many are coldwater species that don't handle tropical temperatures well.

EDIT: initially signed this post like I was writing an e-mail...gah. I need more coffee.