# I’m worried about my Mystery snail’s shell...



## bettachoice (Apr 8, 2020)

I got these 2 mystery snails about a week ago and I’m noticing some change in their shells. Is this normal? I also can’t get them to intentionally eat anything I add to the tank (algae waters, cucumber) but they are eating the algae. 
They are in a 6.6 gallon tank with some shrimp and Endlers. There was a betta for about 24 hours but he was bothering the snails too much so I removed him. 


water parameters:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5
pH: 7.4-7.6
~76 degrees Fahrenheit 

I have added cuttle bone to the tank but they don’t eat it, are they supposed to? 
here’s pictures:


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## Rana (Apr 27, 2013)

I'm definitely not a snail expert (snexpert? lol) but because the weird line goes all the way across the shell like that, I would guess it's the result of some stress they experienced earlier, which affected the shell as it was growing but they have since moved past from. Kind of like a person having a weird line in their fingernail which gradually moves towards the end as the nail grows, or the rings inside a tree trunk. I don't know if they can heal it perfectly smooth but if it's gotten that far without problems, it's probably not hurting them.

Just having a source of calcium in the tank like the cuttlebone should be enough to keep their shells healthy, even if you don't see them eating it. It will still dissolve, releasing calcium and other minerals into the water which your snails can use.


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## CosmicSyringe (Jul 20, 2013)

My mystery snails have had similar rings/dents/ridges in their shells. The cuttlebone is great for calcium, like Rana said. If you have water tests, you can see how hard or soft your water is; 5-15 dKh is what google recommends for mystery snails. I think my GH is usually between 25-75.


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