# Escaped Snail, Cracked Shell?



## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Hey all. So, recently, I've been becoming addicted to snails. It started with two ivories (who turned into a mating pair), the two blues, and now two goldens. Long story short, one of the ivories decided it didn't want to me in my fry tank. It climbed up and out of my 20G long, 2-3 inches to the edge of the table.... and fell around 3 ft. to the ground. His shell is cracked pretty badly but not "broken" as in it is still intact but the cracked goes from one side of the shel into the center of he "spiral". He's definitely not as active and hasn't eaten the jello I made him, though neither him or his mate liked it.

Will he be okay? Is there anything else I can do?

(As I'm typing this the other ivory is chasing one of the juvie Goldens around the tank... lol... the golden is too fast for her...)


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Sorry for the double post.

I put the Snail with the cracked shell back in the main tank, and the other immediately went over, brushed its shell, then climbed on top of it. I'm not sure but I think that jerk is trying to breed. *sigh*

I think I'll move the injured one to one of the 5.5s


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## Rainbo (Nov 23, 2015)

If the shell is only cracked and it's not a hole in the shell, then he'll probably heal just fine. If there's a hole then you'll likely need to repair it yourself. Broken/Chipped Shell / Snail Problems


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

You can glue the shell. Wipe him/her until dry and use a toothpick to apply glue. Aquarium or SuperGlue will work.


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Thanks for the imput.

I watched a video by snail "expert" (hoarder?) SteffJ, and she said that you could paint the snail's shell with nail polish? I wouldn't do that for the crack (unless clear would work?) but am interested in doing it to identify genders. Is this logical? Fish-safe?

Also, would clear tacky glue work?


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Bump. After two days, both ivories are up and snailing around. The one with the cracked shell obviously didn't learn anything because it jumped off one of the Anubias floating at the waterline.

Still wondering about the nail polish though...

Also, the Ivory clutch should hatch in three days! I'm so excited!


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## Lekoguy (Dec 1, 2016)

Getting to the top of the tank and the taking a swan dive is common with mystery snails. If you listen carefully, you can hear them yell "Whee" when they jump!


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## Rainbo (Nov 23, 2015)

Lekoguy said:


> Getting to the top of the tank and the taking a swan dive is common with mystery snails. If you listen carefully, you can hear them yell "Whee" when they jump!


LOL My Ramshorns do that. I also just recently watched as my pink one floated to the top of the water, before then I always thought they climbed up the side of the tank to get to the top of the water.


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

They must be feeling good because I have another clutch today. After this second one I'll either start destroying them or selling them, because I don't have the tank space for 200 Mystery snails lol. Somedays I wish though.


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## r3gshelton (Aug 5, 2017)

nail polish would NOT work for a crack on the shell. it would burn like heck!!!! 

Steph J has another video about snails with cracked shells and does a "how to" with making patch. I have used this method myself and so far - so good. Not pretty. but increases survival.


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Just saw your reply; the polish (which I did use) wasn't for the crack, but so that I could identify each of my snails. The crack healed on its own.


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## r3gshelton (Aug 5, 2017)

Oh-thank goodness! Fun painting is a whole different ball of wax!!! 
Glad the little guy recovered!


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## Fishingforcats (Mar 1, 2017)

I want to say (don't qoute me) that its ok if you paint part of the shell but you can't paint the whole thing. I don't remember where I read this or the reason though.


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Each snail has a small dot of a different color.


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