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Fishnet

If you have a fish pond, fish tank or are seeking advice about keeping tropical fish, you can find advice on our Fish forum.

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Original poster

Snail with holes in its shell

7 replies

ilovemyhens · 19/02/2011 18:48

One of the zebra snails that I bought has several small holes in its shell. The holes don't appear to go right through the shell and the snail is okay and just goes around doing its thing.

Anybody know what this might be?

OP posts:

EauRouge · 19/02/2011 19:03

What's your water pH and hardness? Snails don't generally do well in acidic water because they need water with a high calcium content to grow their shell. There's some info on water conditions for snails here (it says apple snails but the same will apply to your zebra nerite).

Original poster

ilovemyhens · 19/02/2011 20:14

I'll do a water test tomorrow. It was like that when I got it home from the aquatic centre. I thought I'd just wait it out and see if it was sick, but it seems fine, just a bit holey.

OP posts:

EauRouge · 19/02/2011 20:35

It could be that it was slightly damaged in transit or hasn't been looked after very well at some point. If it's still going then it'll probably be OK, hard alkaline water will help it along its way but ideal water conditions depend on what fish you have as well.

Original poster

ilovemyhens · 19/02/2011 21:25

My water tests are always okay with no ammonia or nitrites. Ph is supposed to be about 7.0 for my goldfish. I have some crystal stuff to add to the water if the balance tips either way.

OP posts:

EauRouge · 20/02/2011 09:03

pH 7 would be fine for snails as well. What about the hardness?

Original poster

ilovemyhens · 21/02/2011 11:45

We live in a fairly soft water area. Are there any tests that you can do for aquarium water.

OP posts:

EauRouge · 21/02/2011 12:21

Yes, you can get all kinds of tests but some of them you won't need. The essential ones are ammonia, nitrIte, nitrAte, pH and hardness. There are 2 types of hardness test- GH stands for general hardness, KH is carbonate hardness and only measures calcium content.

If your water is fairly soft then it might be that the pH is fluctuating. This is bad news for your fish too! But this tends to happen when the water is really soft. If you test the pH every day for a week or so starting after a water change then you should be able to tell how stable it is.

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