Night61
Fish Herder
my mystery snail is out of shell with stuff on his foot, curling up like sat on slug. is he dying.
How Do You Tell A Mystery Snail Is Dying.
- Thread starter Night61
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sounds like it. If you gently touch the snail it should retract back inside the shell. If it doesn't then it is dieing or dead. Poor water quality is the biggest killer of fish and snails. Make sure the filter is running properly and if it hasn't been cleaned in the last month, then give it a clean.
Wash the filter materials in a bucket of tank water and not under the tap.
Also do a partial 30-50% water change and gravel clean each day for a week and see if that helps. But chances are if the snail is just hanging out and not moving, it is probably too late.
Wash the filter materials in a bucket of tank water and not under the tap.
Also do a partial 30-50% water change and gravel clean each day for a week and see if that helps. But chances are if the snail is just hanging out and not moving, it is probably too late.
OP
OP
Night61
Fish Herder
how long is their life span anyways.
OP
OP
Night61
Fish Herder
thank you for all you help colin.
madjoker14
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wow 5-6 years, thats a very large life span,
how many would you keep in a 10g tank and a 20g tank??
and how would you setup the water, (temp,any thing u would add??)
because i had 6 in a 10g tank,and im down to 2 now, there shells is slowly rotting but im adding stuff to keep it from rotting off but there only like 6 months old,
how many would you keep in a 10g tank and a 20g tank??
and how would you setup the water, (temp,any thing u would add??)
because i had 6 in a 10g tank,and im down to 2 now, there shells is slowly rotting but im adding stuff to keep it from rotting off but there only like 6 months old,
Mystery/ apple snails get pretty big under good conditions. The common name (apple snail) gives you a hint as to how big they can get. Think small apple about 3 inches in diameter.
How many you have in each tank depends on filtration and water changes. If you feed them once a day and do a gravel clean and 50% water change each week, you could keep 6-8 big snails in the 10g and 12-16 in the 20g tank. You can have a lot more small snails in those tanks but big adult snails don't want to be overcrowded.
If you feed them less often or do more regular water changes, you could keep more in the tanks.
Their tank would be a basic set up with a thin layer of gravel, an air operated filter and a heater. Keep the temperature on 24-28C. Add some mineral salts to the water to increase the general hardness (GH) to 150ppm+ and keep the carbonate hardness (KH) up. If you use a rift lake water conditioner at 1/3 -1/2 strength it will increase the GH & KH.
Their shells either rot away from acid water or fungal infections. Keeping the PH above 7.0 and the nitrate levels low will help prevent the shells dissolving. The KH will helps prevent the PH dropping.
If they are kept in hard alkaline water and their shells are still rotting then try treating them with Triple Sulpha for 2 weeks. Triple Sulpha treats bacterial & fungal infections and is safe for snails.
You can put plants and ornaments in the tank for decoration. If you use live plants then have a light unit on the tank. The light can be left on for up to 16hours per day and this will encourage algae to grow. The snails will feed on the algae. If they don’t have algae to graze on then make sure they get some plant matter in their diet each day. Pumpkin, zucchini, etc can be used.
How many you have in each tank depends on filtration and water changes. If you feed them once a day and do a gravel clean and 50% water change each week, you could keep 6-8 big snails in the 10g and 12-16 in the 20g tank. You can have a lot more small snails in those tanks but big adult snails don't want to be overcrowded.
If you feed them less often or do more regular water changes, you could keep more in the tanks.
Their tank would be a basic set up with a thin layer of gravel, an air operated filter and a heater. Keep the temperature on 24-28C. Add some mineral salts to the water to increase the general hardness (GH) to 150ppm+ and keep the carbonate hardness (KH) up. If you use a rift lake water conditioner at 1/3 -1/2 strength it will increase the GH & KH.
Their shells either rot away from acid water or fungal infections. Keeping the PH above 7.0 and the nitrate levels low will help prevent the shells dissolving. The KH will helps prevent the PH dropping.
If they are kept in hard alkaline water and their shells are still rotting then try treating them with Triple Sulpha for 2 weeks. Triple Sulpha treats bacterial & fungal infections and is safe for snails.
You can put plants and ornaments in the tank for decoration. If you use live plants then have a light unit on the tank. The light can be left on for up to 16hours per day and this will encourage algae to grow. The snails will feed on the algae. If they don’t have algae to graze on then make sure they get some plant matter in their diet each day. Pumpkin, zucchini, etc can be used.
For Pomacea bridgesii (most common apple/mystery snail species in the pet trade) it's more like 1-2 years in a well-kept tropical tank. The lifespan is determined not just by water quality but also temperature and whether or not the tank is allowed to undergo seasonal temperature changes. At just under tropical temps they may live longer, but perhaps only a year longer for that species. Cases of snails living longer than 3 years in captivity are really quite few and far between, and I suspect many are incorrectly reported since most snails are acquired as adults and the actual age is not known.
Shell are a mineral deposite with a dead protein layer over the top. In the years I've spent diagnosing and trying to find treatments for odd snail ailments, fungal infection of the shell is not something I've seen and not something that really makes sense given that the shell is not alive (unless you're speaking of infection of the underlying tissue). Fungal/bacterial infections can hit the foot and other soft tissue, but all the causes of shell erosion that I'm aware of are low pH, low calcium and/or carbonate hardness, shells being rubbed repeatedly against objects, and more rarely other animals chewing on the shell.
What info/experiences have led you to believe that shells "rot" due to fungal/bacterial infections? As mentioned, it doesn't match anything I've seen, but I would be interested in knowing the details.
I have seen a number of snails that were losing their shells. The shells started going black along the edge before eroding away. The snails were kept in moderately hard water (GH about 200ppm) and slightly alkaline (about 7.6). The snails were moved to different tanks and the hardness was increased but it didn't make any difference. One of the tanks had fish in that developed whitespot and triple sulpha was used to treat the fish. The snails in that tank recovered. Their shells stopped eroding away and although they didn't grow the shell back they did live for another year after that. The other snails were systematically treated and all but a couple recovered and lived for a while longer with no more shell degradation.
Shell infections are uncommon but do sometimes occur. However most times it is soft acid water that causes the problem.
Shell infections are uncommon but do sometimes occur. However most times it is soft acid water that causes the problem.
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