Is this shell erosion on my Black Racer Nerite Snail?

[wormbo]

Hi! Brand new aquarium owner. Found a random 2.5 gallon tank on the street that I wanted to set up just for plants, as I've been thinking about it for awhile. It had gravel and some plastic decorations in it already, so after a week of it sitting on my table I set it up to run with tap water until I could get proper supplies, cuz why not ?

One day later there is a Black Racer Nerite Snail crawling around. Someone abandoned their snail on the street to die. ): We are off to a rough start, as I'm attempting to learn as much as possible ASAP in attempt to keep him alive.

He's a hardy fella, but his shell has looked weird to me since he appeared. Is the off white, striped part at the bottom of shell part of the pattern, or is it chipped off, eroded? If it's damaged, what do I do for him???

 

[fishorama]

I have limited nerites snail experience, but I "think" that's just its "foot" showing along the bottom. IME they will only eat a few foods like soft green or brown diatom algae & not much else in the way of prepared food. Try leaving the lights on for a long while, say, 12+ hours to grow the kind of algae it will eat, You can also try putting a bowl of rocks outside in the sun to grow green algae for it.

What are your tap water parameters for KH, GH, nitrate etc? Snails don't live well with low GH IME.

Good luck! I hope someone else answers you soon.