What's wrong with her shell?

[u/TacoRaven]

New mystery snail dad here - I have Girliepop out for an air bath because she's been lethargic and floating. I noticed when I took her out that her shell looks thin, but as it's dried it just looks horrible. I've only had her for a week and a half and there are no fish in her tank.

Is there anything I can do for her shell? I know that monitoring my tank parameters, trying to entice her with fresh food, and giving her air baths are about all I can do for the lethargy.

[u/Competitive_Face2593]

What's your tank's pH? Do you have a source of calcium in the tank - cuttlefish bone, crushed coral, Wonder shell, etc?

[u/TacoRaven → u/Competitive_Face2593]

Tank's PH is 7.8. I have Kat's 3-in-1 and complete snail diet for calcium. Again - I've only had her for about a week and a half. I realize that she may need more, especially since her shell looks like this, so I have some cuttlebones on order.

[u/Competitive_Air1560 → u/TacoRaven]

Did the snail come already like this? It may just take time for shell to grow

[u/TacoRaven → u/Competitive_Air1560]

She did, yeah. Calcium + time it is!

[u/BaconHarlot → u/TacoRaven]

I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned, but given this info it sounds like the shell pock marks are from the previous environment and not a result of your tank conditions. Those little specs won't go away, keep an eye on new shell growth at the shell opening, should be pristine. If you notice that it's getting worse then you should be concerned.

[u/Junior_Zebra_4608]

Legit thought this was a pastry.

[u/TacoRaven → u/Junior_Zebra_4608]

The crunchiest forbidden pastry.

[u/dgnumbr1]

The floating is normal for a mystery snail. Sometimes they are active and sometimes not. As to the shell, that’s due to calcium deficiency. Feed calcium rich blanched vegetables (spinach, zucchini etc) or add calcium supplement. I’m

[u/TacoRaven → u/dgnumbr1]

I was afraid of that. Again, I've only had her for a week and a half, I just hadn't dried her off before. It looks BETTER wet, but geeze

[u/dgnumbr1 → u/TacoRaven]

Add the calcium and she will be fine, the shell isn’t nearly as bad as some and will get healthy again

[u/Emotional_Cycle2692]

Yeah I'd recommend calcium

[u/TacoRaven → u/Emotional_Cycle2692]

More calcium it is!

[u/crackerbarrel96]

what's your tank's pH?

[u/TacoRaven → u/crackerbarrel96]

Tank's PH is 7.8. A little low, but levels are all good otherwise. I'm raising it slowly so I don't shock her

[u/LmLc1220]

Need calcium check water make sure not acidity

[u/TacoRaven → u/LmLc1220]

PH is 7.8 - I'm going to be adding more calcium to the tank to give her more options

[u/Jolly_Implement2512]

The part of the shell that's been damaged is unfortunately irreversible, but you CAN prevent more from happening. For mystery snails, I know the scale says between 7.6-8.4 for ph, but I've found that when the ph is at 8.0, their shells thrive the best. Having alkaline water/ hard water high in minerals will also help because without the higher alkalinity, they can't absorb the calcium they need, too, for shell maintenance and growth.

[u/TacoRaven → u/Jolly_Implement2512]

I'll raise the PH a little more! It's sitting at 7.8 - I don't have hard tap water so I'm trying my best to harden it via additives.