# Snail-care.



## Christine270 (Oct 13, 2010)

Hey there. I have a Blue Mystery Snail in my tank. Just one. 

I was just wondering if there is anything special snails require? 

I have seen him eat both fallen tropical flake as well as algae wafer. He has taken a liking to the bubbler in a decorative pot I have in the center of my tank & he has been disappearing to hang out in there. 

The reason I am wondering is because the past couple of times he has come out from there, his shell has looked a little strange. I read something somewhere about them requiring calcium or other things for their shells? Or is that only for development when they are young? 

. . . Any help would be greatly appreciated!  

I wanted to get another one, maybe a Black Mystery Snail but I was told not too, because in the off-chance I get a female, they breed like crazy. (I only have a 10 gallon tank).


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

i have 4 mystery snails and ive never had them breed idk maybe fish eat the eggs but ive never even seen any in ther. and at work we keep them in a tank with only zebra danios and ive never seen eggs their either. very easy to care for. cant give you any specifics on things you can do for them but ive had mine for a long time and never lost any. i feed a variety of food like algae wafers, shrimp pellets, brine shrimp, flake food, and other frozen foods. they seem to eat whatever falls closest to them lol and dont seem to care to much about what it is they are eating.


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## Christine270 (Oct 13, 2010)

I know you told me that fish go ape-**************** over Brine Shrimp. Not sure where to find any. I'll have to ask about it next time I go to my LFS. 

And anything about their shells?


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

i have no clue about their shells. and brine shrimp can either be bought as frozen cubes or you can buy eggs and hatch live brine shrimp yourself which can make a fun treat for fish they love to catch them live.


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## Christine270 (Oct 13, 2010)

How big are the brine shrimp? What kind of fish can / will eat them?


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

they are tiny when first born then they get a descent size as they grow but small little fry can eat them when they first hatch.


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## Bettawhisperer (Oct 1, 2010)

For there shells you can get a cuddle bone that birds eat for the calcium that they need for there shells. Just put it in the tank and they will eat it. There is also a liquid calcium you can get to add to the water.


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## Christine270 (Oct 13, 2010)

A cuddle bone? Hmm. I have never heard of such a thing. Do they sell it at any pet store? I guess I will have to investigate!


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## Bettawhisperer (Oct 1, 2010)

Yes birds use them there all calcium. Get it at the pet store.


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## Christine270 (Oct 13, 2010)

Ok well thanks. I will look for that when I head to the petstore this weekend!


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## Corwin (May 23, 2010)

yeah any invert will thank you for some cuttlebone.

Also the thing with apple snails is (as i recently discovered) they can hold sperm for an unbelievable amount of time, which means that if you buy one its best to expect it to breed (even if you just got one) and be pleasantly surprised when it doesnt.


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## nedla (Jun 4, 2009)

Mystery/apple snails lay their eggs above water in a pinkish orange cluster. It takes about two to three weeks to hatch.The egg clusters can be as big as the snail. Once the eggs are laid, you can use a knife to remove them from the side of the aquarium and dispose of them. So, unlike pest snails and such, you can control the breeding. But the easiest way would be only having one.


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## someonefishy (Oct 14, 2010)

Cuttlebone actually comes from a fish -- the Cuttlefish. Google it, and you can learn all about it.


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## Christine270 (Oct 13, 2010)

Hmm. Good info. 

Yeah, his shell looks really bad. Like, it's getting very paper-y looking & it looks almost like it's cracking or peeling? I have only had him for like a week . . . & he looked fine when I got him. I don't know what's wrong . . . I hope he doesn't die. 

Cuttlebone will be purchased on Friday when I head to the pet store for an API Master Test Kit & dog food!


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## Christine270 (Oct 13, 2010)

Yeah I just looked at. The whole bottom part of his shell - the part closest to him - has turned like black - the rest of the shell is turning clear & it looks like it's peeling or something, it has all these ridge lines in it. He just started to look this way a day or two ago.


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## Bettawhisperer (Oct 1, 2010)

Yes he need the calcium.


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## Christine270 (Oct 13, 2010)

Ok. I also read some stuff about shells growing. But I have never seen one grow before . . . so that's beyond me.


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

here is a great site for how to take care of your snails http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1845,156177-249199,00.html


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## Christine270 (Oct 13, 2010)

OH HAHAHAHA. Not very funny.


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

Christine270 said:


> OH HAHAHAHA. Not very funny.


lol haha nummm!


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## Christine270 (Oct 13, 2010)

Eeeewy. Poor snails! D:


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## Corwin (May 23, 2010)

omg i love escargot... however im not sure i could eat an apple snail i raised... (compassion asside for some reason that seems gross to me)


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## Christine270 (Oct 13, 2010)

Well I went to the store to get a Cuttle Bone. I saw some snails that look like what he looks like right now, they said it's normal, they are just growing & expanding their shells. Which makes sense, after I got home, the dark part on the bottom of the shell is starting to lighten & turn the color of his shell. (He is blue). 

But I broke off a small chunk of cuttle bone & it's just floating around. Hahaha.


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## Bettawhisperer (Oct 1, 2010)

Yes use the cuddle bone anyway. Most people in the LFS don't know much about anything anyway.


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## Christine270 (Oct 13, 2010)

I am so upset. I got home and my snail was gone. He wasn't anywhere in the tank, we searched all the decorations. I have heard of snails escaping the tank but there was no snail to be found. I searched everywhere. He is nowhere around, in or near the tank . . .


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## Corwin (May 23, 2010)

ive had my apple snail dissapear before, its likely hes hidden himself away in some of your tank decor, poke around in the tank for a bit its most likely its still in there.


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## Christine270 (Oct 13, 2010)

Yeah actually we found him wedged into the deepest darkest part of the largest tank decoration. He was kind of stuck. So my boyfriend pulled him out. He has a little chip in his shell but he seems to be doing pretty ok. He is up and lively again. I am thinking about getting a second snail. I don't know. I have heard that they breed. And I have also heard people who have had multiple snails and never had them breed.


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

congrats on finding him! i had a feeling you would. ive never had my mystery snails breed and i have a few. i had one of mine get wedged in my big ornament behind a piece that was glued on and i had to pull it apart to get him out i have no idea how he got himself in there.


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## Christine270 (Oct 13, 2010)

Yeah I don't know how mine got in there either! 

They just get themselves stuck. He likes to frequent that decoration, so at least if he disappears again I'll know where to look . . . 

My boyfriend had drawn a picture of a snail on the dry-erase board in my room that said R.I.P. And after we found him he changed it to L.I.P. and drew a band-aid on the snail. Hahahaha!


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

apple snails have sexes, so you can get all the same sex and have no babies. But i can't sex them.


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## Christine270 (Oct 13, 2010)

Yeah I wouldn't know how to sex them either. And I doubt the people at the store do. 

Buuut my snail is getting HUGE. He had that whole new section of growth. It was at least a good inch. And he's just sprouted a whole new one inch section of growth. That's like a good 2 inches. He has gotten huge. He is extremely active and eats everything in the tank. I have to feed the catfish when he is away hiding in the decorations because he eats any bottom-feeder pellets & algae wafer I let sink to the bottom. He also poops A LOT.


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## Black Orchid (Sep 24, 2010)

Is the liquid calcium and cuttle bone ok for all fish? I have tons of asolene spixi snails and they do rather well but I would like to give them some of this to give their shells some extra strengh.


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## Christine270 (Oct 13, 2010)

I just use cuttle bone. I was told that it might change the chemistry of your tank. Like the PH. But I don't think it would change it by much, if it changes it at all. My tank is extremely alkaline. It's around a 7.6+ and I didn't notice any PH changes after I added it to the tank. The fish hardly notice it either. I just let a couple small chunks, about the size of quarters float around. 

I guess it could depend on the fish too maybe? I have 2 Neon Tetras, a Guppy and 2 Peppered Cory Cats. 

But as far as I can tell, it seems ok and the fish don't really mind it. 

Although, if you were to add the liquid Calcium, I can see that changing the water chemistry a little easier than the cuttle bone . . . Just a thought.


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## Black Orchid (Sep 24, 2010)

Thanks. I will check on this stuff next time I go to the LFS and give it a try.


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