# Question About Golden Apple Snail



## LloydTheSnail (Jan 8, 2011)

So today I bought a golden apple snail. I put it in the tank and watched it settle in. 
Two questions I have about it though. The first is that it seems to love a little bridge I have in the tank. Its too big to fit under it, so it seems to push the bridge over and wedge itself under it. Its been in the tank for 5 hours and it has done it twice. I was concerned that it might be stuck so I moved the bridge and it walked over and tried to wedge itself into the arch underneath it (it was on its side at this point). 
Is the snail looking for somewhere to hide? Is it trying to get away from the light? I'm just curious at this point, I've never owned a snail in a tank and I just want to make sure its not uncomfortable.

Second question with the snail is that there is a crack in the front of its shell and a little green around the back of the shell. I noticed this as a person from the pet store was putting it into a bag, I liked this particular snail so I had no problem. I would like to know, can the crack repair itself? I read somewhere that calcium might be important for it. And this green on the shell, is it just a bit of algae? Will it disappear eventually or could it be something more serious?

Thanks. Oh, and yes, its name is Lloyd. Hence my username. :3


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## NeonShark666 (Dec 13, 2010)

If this is a true Apple Snail, it will eat every plant in your tank. If it is just a mislabled Mystery Snail you're safe. Large snails need lots of Algae and hard water with a high ph. They also pick up bits of food left by your fishes. One unique thing about these snails is they lay eggs above the waterline and the little guys drop into the water a few weeks later.


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## LloydTheSnail (Jan 8, 2011)

It went for a fake plant earlier, but obviously failed. I read somewhere you could feed it lettuce, so I did.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

NeonShark666 said:


> If this is a true Apple Snail, it will eat every plant in your tank. If it is just a mislabled Mystery Snail you're safe. Large snails need lots of Algae and hard water with a high ph. They also pick up bits of food left by your fishes. One unique thing about these snails is they lay eggs above the waterline and the little guys drop into the water a few weeks later.


Mystery snails are a type of apple snail. Apple snails are a fairly large group of snails in the Ampullariidae family. Most of them are reasonably plant safe. The most common in the aquarium trade are:

Pomacea Bridgesii, Pomacea diffusa= Spike-topped apple snail or Mystery snail, can grow to the size of a golf ball and won't generally eat plants.

Pomacea canaliculata= channeled applesnail, grows to the size of a tennis ball and loves to eat plants.


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## chris oe (Feb 27, 2009)

It isn't legal to sell canalculata in the aquarium trade anymore, so you shouldn't have any problem with this snail and most live plants. I've had Pomacea bridgesii/diffusas in my heavily planted tanks for years and have no problems with them eating live plants. 

If you can get me a picture of him straight on so we can see the angle between the angle of the whorls a bit more clearly we can confirm the species identification. Bridgesii/diffusas have a nearly 90 degree angle where the whorls meet, a canalculata will have a more oblique angle (greater than 90 degrees). If you have a canalculata you should probably return it to the store, but I'm pretty sure anyplace but Walmart is pretty safe on their snails. (People on Applesnail.net have caught Walmart selling canalculatas a couple times. &^%$# Walmart.) 

The algae on your snail shell (the green) is no big problem. It is algae. If there was another snail, that snail would scrub off the algae, but since this snail can't reach it, it can't eat its own algae, so maybe the fish will pick it off. But it won't hurt the snail or its shell. 

The crack could be a bigger problem, but as long as the snail has a good diet and enough calcium the crack will heal. Probably just rough handling during transit. You can add a cuttle bone like people give birds, or a weekend feeder, the kind that are made of plaster mostly, those are also a good source of calcium, or your clam or oyster shells from when you go out for seafood. The snail will like to eat bottom feeder disks, canned spinach, partly cooked carrots, zucchini, things like that, but only a little at a time. Don't give it more than it can eat in a couple minutes or you'll end up with fouled water. The fish will probably like these treats as well. 

Some people who have access to empty snail shells will cut a little snail shell off and super glue the shell over the crack as kind of a cast, but unless you have exposed tissues that the fish are picking at, it is unlikely to be necessary. Applesnail.net is a great place to get more information on your snail.


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## Lil Gashog (Dec 1, 2010)

cant you dig out gravel from under the bridge or put something under the sides of it?


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## Kaosu (Nov 13, 2010)

sounds like its trying to hid..give it more hiding place.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

You definately want to suppliment Calcium for the little guy. As mentioned, Cuttlebones are nice little items to use. You can also make calcium rich foods but with just one snail, it may be a bit much. Others use plain Tums as well.

As for the crack, you can mend it with clear nail polish. It won't harm the little one.


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## jnickerson1977 (Aug 20, 2011)

I have pomacea diffusa snails. The whorls are more raised. This one looks like a canaliculata. But do your own research. There are good snail sites out there, and it's fun to discover the info on your own. It will go for algae on your plastic plants. And they seem to always be scouting for food. I weight down veggies on a little rock decoration with a rubber band. Mine absolutely love red bell pepper. Ate it completely down to the skin. If you feed lettuce, romain is best. It has more nutritional value than ice berg. They didn't like celery at all. But there's notuch nutrion in that either. 
By the way, I've had canaliculatas in the past, why is it now illegal to sell them?


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## Gamgan (Aug 24, 2011)

I like the color of his shell, maybe you could clean off the algae on his shell with a soft brush or a piece of paper so as not to hurt his shell?


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

They are illegal because they are an invasive species and if put in lakes and ponds will devestate the vegitation.

On the fact walmart has had some selling them, its because they can't control what the shippers stick in the box. And they employees don't know the difference.


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## Pigeonfish (Jun 23, 2011)

susankat said:


> They are illegal because they are an invasive species and if put in lakes and ponds will devestate the vegitation.
> 
> On the fact walmart has had some selling them, its because they can't control what the shippers stick in the box. And they employees don't know the difference.


I would say it could happen at Petco and Petsmart as well, a few years back they used to sell very, very strange species, usually found in northern rivers of Florida and they were sold as something completely different. Though, now the stores seem to just have less fish stock in general. I'm sure some cleaning up in the businesses happened. Just saying it's a possibility to find some weird species depending on where you live.


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## jnickerson1977 (Aug 20, 2011)

I just wish the pet stores wouldn't use such decorative names for the fish they sell. It causes all sorts of confusion. Especially for the few people who actually research their animals in order to keep better care of them. Or just for those who tend to use their brain a little. The latin and greek names are descriptive enough, and there's a reason they have those names. Having had sails like yours in the past, I know for certain that this is a channeled snail. The proper name is pomacea canaliculata. If it were a pomacea diffusa, the whorls would stand more prominently. Wiki has good pics of the shell. The only reason why diffusas got the name mystery snails was they were not certain which species of snail is actually was. How's that for science! So you wouldn't want to release this guy if he gets too big for your tank. Which this one can get a bit over 5 inches if conditions are right.


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## jnickerson1977 (Aug 20, 2011)

Oh, and about the crack. Snails grow their shells in two stages. The first is the colorful outer layer, the periostracum. Then this is reinforced by the calcium layer, the ostracum. This layer is rigid and contains no pigment. So sometimes as the snails grows, or gets old, there is damage or inconsistencies in the organic outer layer. This does not hurt the snail. Only when the hard inner layer is damaged and the soft body is exposed is there any risk. Just make sure he eats well and that he gets some calcium. Here's a link with some veggies that boost your snails calcium. 
Food to boost snails calcium levels? 
I'm going to drop a small bit of cuttle bone in my tank tonight.


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

diffusa


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## jnickerson1977 (Aug 20, 2011)

Canaliculata


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## Sammysosa86 (Nov 14, 2018)

I have a few Mystery snails (2 gold incas and 2 blacks I think.) Before purchasing them I had a regular pond snail that we rescued at the lake because it had a cracked shell so we brought it home to put in my fish tank. After watching the little guy I fell in love with snails which led me to purchasing my mystery snails. Anyways the reason for this post is to share something that from what I read wasn't possible or at least written about on the internet. My pond snail and my mystery snails had babies! The clutches were not placed about the water line they were in the tank and resembled pond snail eggs. Your probably thinking, "Oh the snail was most likely pregnant when we brought her home." But that's where your wrong. It wasn't until 6 months later we noticed the little guys. Also they look so different from both of their parents. I will try to send a picture in this thread if I can figure it out. I am an aquarius forum virgin as of today so bare with me!!


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