Cracked snail shell

[Divinityinlove]

The other day, whilst water change and tank clean, I accidentally knocked a snail I didn't see off the top of the tank glass and I heard a noise which now I know must've been it landing on the driftwood shell side first and cracking it. I thought it at the time and panicked but when I saw the snail move, I didn't insect further and just thought "phew, it is alive". Today I noticed this poor snail has a crack along its shell.

You see where the white colour is which looks like cracked paint? It goes all the way along its shell.

Will this restore? I have ordered some snail stix from shrimp king today as until days ago, I also thought snails were well enough fed on tank debris as a clean up crew. Then read they might not have sufficient calcium for their shell maintenance on just fish food waste.

Does anyone recommend any other supplements to help or anything I can do, also if you've experienced this with recovery?

 

[Slaphppy7]

Cuttle bone is cheap and readily available, put a bit of one in the tank...excellent source of calcium

The snail will be fine with the cracked shell, no need to do anything special

 

[Aqua67]

The shell will be in its best condition if you keep the pH above 7 and the nerite‘s target pH is 7.5 to 8.5. Hard water should help the snail heal in time. Nerite s are basically an algae eating snail but should eat some dark green spinach leaves for you, blanched in boiling water ( cooked for just a couple of minutes) and dropped near the snail. If eaten, spinach will provide the snail with some extra calcium. I do not know how fast cuttlebone is absorbed by the snail but the cuttlebone breaks down slowly over time and you can’t go wrong adjusting things in the right direction slowly with your aquarium.

Keep the water clean to avoid an infection while the crack heals. I’m not sure if it is all the way through exposing the inside flesh of the snail or not. Some people have used the membrane between the egg shell and the yolk/albumen as a “second skin” to help the snail stay infection free when the inside flesh is also damaged/exposed. Yours does not seem that extreme so I won’t go into any further detail on that. But keeping the water refreshed is good as there may be some calcium in your water anyhow.

Good luck with your beautiful snail.

 

[Divinityinlove]

The shell will be in its best condition if you keep the pH above 7 and the nerite‘s target pH is 7.5 to 8.5. Hard water should help the snail heal in time. Nerite s are basically an algae eating snail but should eat some dark green spinach leaves for you, blanched in boiling water ( cooked for just a couple of minutes) and dropped near the snail. If eaten, spinach will provide the snail with some extra calcium. I do not know how fast cuttlebone is absorbed by the snail but the cuttlebone breaks down slowly over time and you can’t go wrong adjusting things in the right direction slowly with your aquarium.

Keep the water clean to avoid an infection while the crack heals. I’m not sure if it is all the way through exposing the inside flesh of the snail or not. Some people have used the membrane between the egg shell and the yolk/albumen as a “second skin” to help the snail stay infection free when the inside flesh is also damaged/exposed. Yours does not seem that extreme so I won’t go into any further detail on that. But keeping the water refreshed is good as there may be some calcium in your water anyhow.

Good luck with your beautiful snail.

Thanks alot I hace hard water anyway so I will do as you say.