Kamikaze Apple Snail

[karenparkes]

My apple snail is CRAZY!

I have had him a couple of months now. He started off in a Biorb and has now been moved to a 4ft tank. In the Biorb he used to climb up the side of the bowl and just let go...crashing down to the substrate below. I thought at first it was an accident but I kept seeing him do it. He has damaged his shell as a result, there is a hole on one side but he is still going strong.

When I moved him to the 4ft tank i thought he might calm down, but....No! I just caught him climb up to the filter outlet and let go...he rode the current to the other end of the tank then making a smooth landing on the fine gravel. He has climbed over teh filter before and must have realised that if he lets go the current takes him for a ride.

Is he mad or is there something wrong with him?!

Also, is there anything I can do to help him fix his shell?

 

[Lynz781]

Sounds like normal-crazy behaviour for an apple snail. Mine is the same. Not sure about the hole though. Make sure he gets plenty of veggies.

 

[Arfie]

Mine does it too he actually crawls out of the water and munches on the algae growing on my lid then freefalls back into the tank

Arfie

 

[SPLiSH]

Mine often does that. They can't move fast on their own, it must give them a bit of a buzz.

Calcium in the tank will help regenerate the snail's shell.

 

[KeeperOfFishyPeace]

that's super sweet! its pretty cool! my orange-blonde tux guppy rides up and down the bubbles of my air pump!

 

[fishfishfish]

now i want an apple snail just to watch it get winged across the tank

 

[xJake]

That happens when the lights go on in my hex tank and the malaysian trumpet snails in there are all over the glass. They just start dropping off the glass into the gravel.

 

[my fat fish]

sounds liek fun but dont snails breed like crazy overpopulating ur tank i had a few come in my tank when i got some plants and i cant get rid of the bleeders fastenough ther popping up everywhere

 

[Callum]

that tends to be the free snails you get when you buy plants apple snails are big and dont breed like mad

 

[PlecMama]

If he actually has a hole in his shell, the fish might go nibble on him, my plecs suck the living daylights out of my apples shells. Get an old snail shell and break it up into useable chunks, get a tube of Superglue....time to make a snail jigsaw.

It sounds funky but you can patch the hole in his shell by glueing bits of old shell over it. I recently finished a masterpiece of repair on Nail's shell when he was getting dangerously close to breaking through. You have to be REALLY careful that you don't get the glue on the snails skin, and don't put him back until he is dry!!! I really mean that, he will be ok out of water for a good half hour while you fix him.

I borrowed a pic from Applesnails.net to show a patched shell, Nail looks like this now except he is blue and his patches are yellow - rather fetching!

 

[karenparkes]

If he actually has a hole in his shell, the fish might go nibble on him, my plecs suck the living daylights out of my apples shells. Get an old snail shell and break it up into useable chunks, get a tube of Superglue....time to make a snail jigsaw.

It sounds funky but you can patch the hole in his shell by glueing bits of old shell over it. I recently finished a masterpiece of repair on Nail's shell when he was getting dangerously close to breaking through. You have to be REALLY careful that you don't get the glue on the snails skin, and don't put him back until he is dry!!! I really mean that, he will be ok out of water for a good half hour while you fix him.

I borrowed a pic from Applesnails.net to show a patched shell, Nail looks like this now except he is blue and his patches are yellow - rather fetching!

Where can I get some shell from?

 

[PlecMama]

I toss our dead snail into a patch of garden - so when they are long gone from their shells, I can take the shells back in and save them for future repairs.....assuming you do not have a collection of dead snails shells...Applesnails.Net also says you can use egg shells (kinda brittle) or even a piece of plastic trimmed to size - but I would try out the Superglue on the plastic first incase it is the kind that refuses to be stuck. (I'd try something like a milk container, because it is pliable and easy to cut. Try sticking it to something else to see if the glue works on it. )

Alternately, if you have a hunt round your garden, I bet you can find an old empty normal snail shell that you can break up.