# Nerite Snail Shell Erosion?



## christinamac

I've had my one olive Nerite snail for about 5 months and I think he has been doing well until the past few days. Lately he has just been sitting in one place and not eating. When I move him to a location with food, he just finds a new place to camp out and continue his hunger strike. When I got him the horn on his shell was already chipped, but I think this chip has eroded further over time. There are a few white spots and lines that have developed over time on his shell as well. I wonder if these are early signs of shell erosion. I will add pictures later when I am back at home.

My water parameters have been stable for a long time at:
*Ammonia*: 0 ppm
*Nitrite*: 0 ppm
*Nitrate*: 0 - 5 ppm
*GH*: 8 - 10 degrees
*KH*: 3 - 4 degrees
*pH*: 7.6 - 7.8
*Temperature*: 77-78 degrees Fahrenheit

I have live plants, a filter, and a heater. The tank size is 2.5 gallons. I do dose fertilizers, but no supplemental carbon (such as Seachem Flourish Excel) or CO2. I have sea shell fragments placed decoratively at the bottom of the aquarium to slowly dissolve calcium and magnesium in the water for the snail. I do at least a 50% water change every 7 days. 

On about 4 occasions I have found the snail in my filter rattling against the motor (poor thing). This could also explain his damaged shell. I assume he does this to go after algae growing in the filter, but I know that snails also try and leave the water if they aren't happy with the water quality. 

I know Nerite snails are actually brackish water invertebrates, but that they can do well in freshwater conditions. Olive Nerite snails seem to adapt particularly well to freshwater conditions compared to other varieties of Nerite snails. 

I know my KH is probably lower than it should be for a Nerite snail, but I can't really increase it because that would harm the live plants and Betta fish also living in the aquarium.

Why do you think he has pretty much stopped eating and moving around the aquarium? Is there anything I can do for him? Are my water parameters simply not appropriate for a Nerite snail? Based on the pictures (which I will add soon), does it look like he has shell erosion?

Thanks for you input.


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## christinamac

I looked at some old pictures from the day I got the snail and he doesn't really look any different to be honest, just a little bigger. The chip on his horn might have gotten bigger though.

Here are two pictures I took today.


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## LittleStar

Hi there christinamac, its true that many snails do better in brackish and some are just more sensitive than others even within the same species. 

You could try this: Put some of your tank water in a half gallon bowl. Shake up one half teaspoon of marine salt [Instant Ocean] (one teaspoon per gallon) until mixed well and add it to the bowl. The marine salt is more balanced with minerals than standard aquarium salt and when doing brackish water that's the one to use. Move your snail into the bowl and see if it improves over a day or so. 

Good luck, sending positive thoughts your way.


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## jadaBlu

Aqua Aurora had some advice about this previously it's likely a calcium deficiency. Ping her. I would not go with that would be a big water chemistry change and might make it worse. I just read a post on a forum that discussed trying transition Nerites to saltwater by drip method over several hours and the poster said it was killing the snails (I can PM it if you like)

This site says that no salt ever eventually kills them prematurely?

http://animals.mom.me/freshwater-nerite-snails-dying-11050.html

I've had one for about a year and it's shell has some erosion. It ignores all food except algae. Trouble is I am now running of algae.


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## LittleStar

The brackish for just the snail is something you can try. One teaspoon of marine salt per gallon, not a tablespoon. My mystery snail has been living in brackish for about six months now and its very healthy, no shell issues. That doesn't mean the nerite will do as well but if you are facing losing your snail its something you can try. I like that article JadaBlu shared. It does make sense that most snails originate from oceans and are wrongly transitioned to freshwater. I have no idea how generations cultivated in fresh water from snails that originated in the ocean are affected. One for the marine biologists! (or in the words of that article, Zoologists!) This article says its impossible for them to breed in freshwater. If that's true, its a good indication they belong in brackish water.

Article also says medications, like those copper based, can kill them. So if you are treating a sick fish you have to be more careful of your medications. Same with other aquarium water additives. My water is prepared fish water (eLive Betta Water or Freshwater One), and in a pinch I've used Spring Water with a neutral PH. I don't use tap water or Prime as my water doesn't require it. Maybe that is why my snail is doing so well. Anyway this is all just food for thought! Sending positive thoughts your way!


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## RussellTheShihTzu

What are you feeding him? Is it straight natural algae? If not that could be the problem. You might have just thought he was eating? If he is refusing natural algae it's hard to tell. Sometimes aquatic critters just sicken and die. It could be age; it could be they weren't completely healthy when bought; they could have internal damage from something we didn't see happen.

FWIW, I've had Natalie Nerite for 3+ years. My water is straight tap treated with Prime. It may be a bit harder than yours but not by much. She is healthy and her shell and the shells of the Nerite in all of my other tanks are not an issue. The only thing different is I have chips of cuttlebone in all of my tanks. I believe they work better than shells for calcium. 

Algae can be grown by putting rocks in a bowl of water and placing in or near a sunny window. Doesn't take very long.

As an added note to the above poster: Nerite Snails are not like Apple Snails. They do not eat vegetables, algae wafers, etc. Most will skate right over them and only eat natural algae. That is why so many starve to death.


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## Anne713

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> What are you feeding him? Is it straight natural algae? If not that could be the problem. You might have just thought he was eating? If he is refusing natural algae it's hard to tell. Sometimes aquatic critters just sicken and die. It could be age; it could be they weren't completely healthy when bought; they could have internal damage from something we didn't see happen.
> 
> FWIW, I've had Natalie Nerite for 3+ years. My water is straight tap treated with Prime. It may be a bit harder than yours but not by much. She is healthy and her shell and the shells of the Nerite in all of my other tanks are not an issue. The only thing different is I have chips of cuttlebone in all of my tanks. I believe they work better than shells for calcium.
> 
> Algae can be grown by putting rocks in a bowl of water and placing in or near a sunny window. Doesn't take very long.
> 
> As an added note to the above poster: Nerite Snails are not like Apple Snails. They do not eat vegetables, algae wafers, etc. Most will skate right over them and only eat natural algae. That is why so many starve to death.



Somehow I never knew this.  I bought Kens Veggie Sticks with Calcium when I bought my nerite. I drop half in every few days and she eats it. Hopefully not as back up because she has no other options. I've had her close to a year now. How does your cholla hold up to growing algae? Is it quicker than on rocks?


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## Anne713

@christinamac - Don't mind me about food sources since as you can see above, I may be clueless. I would take a look to see if RusselTheShihTzu responds.

I noticed a couple month after I got my nerite that it looked like a crack in her shell. Apparently it was very superficial as I could see any snail bits through it but I went and added cuttlebone. Since then I moved and now have hard water which I think has helped. I have read that you can give them tums as well since it has calcium. Along with adding cuttlebone or shells to the filter media.


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## RussellTheShihTzu

Some people are lucky and have Nerite that will eat other than algae. Wish I had one. ;-)


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## christinamac

My snail readily eats all kinds of natural algae in my aquarium. Every now and then I can get him to eat snail jello made with spirulina and chlorella algae (and supplemental calcium). 

He seems to be behaving like normal now. I suspect the TDS got a little high because it was time for me to do a more thorough vacuuming, clean the filter, etc. I don't know if high TDS would cause the behavior I described, but I know invertebrates are sensitive to TDS so that's just my guess.


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