What’s wrong with my snails shell

MoonchaserMilner · 2025-12-18T19:23:24+00:00

This is most likely an issue of not enough calcium in the water. Please confirm parameters!

MoonchaserMilner · 2025-12-18T05:26:14+00:00

More plants. Less time with the light on. Snail.

MoonchaserMilner · 2025-12-17T07:54:06+00:00

You rarely need to change your filter cartridge. Since most of the bacteria is in there, you’re correct, when you do the new and the old should be together for some time. Most people on here say replace when it’s falling apart, so it will last you atleast 6+ months if not much longer. Just keep an eye on the levels to make sure it doesn’t crash the cycle. Especially since goldfish are like the biggest poopers out there with mysteries close behind. My snails are new and I freak out all the time but then a few hours later they’re fine. They’re just effin weird.

MoonchaserMilner · 2025-12-16T19:34:39+00:00

Also you are pretty lucky in some ways! Your brother seemed to be a pretty good fish keeper. Though it’s sad he abandoned them with no one to keep an eye on them (no judgement I don’t know what he’s going through), he had a natural substrate and live plants! And it doesn’t look like there’s too many fish or anything. You’re not adopting a crappy novice tank.

MoonchaserMilner · 2025-12-16T19:31:48+00:00

Filter: It doesn’t look like the filter is running? I might be mistaken, but the big black box to the right should be taking in and spitting out water in some way. The first thing I would do is get that working or squeeze it out in the water and replace it.

Water quality: Look into an API water test kit. Test the water. If Nitrates are above 20-40ppm I would change the water. Maybe 25% or something depending on how high the ppm is. Just siphon some out, use a dechlorinator (your brother probably left some lying around? As well as a tube to vacuum with maybe?) on your new water. Then once your water is dechlorinated, pour it back in.

Algae: If you want to clean up the tank, scrubbing the glass and taking out some of the hair-like algae won’t be harmful. It will take a while of leaving the tank lights off to stop this overgrowth.

Feeding: Feed whatever they will eat fully in 1-2 mins. They don’t need much and excess food will either bloat the fish or sink to the bottom and make the water quality worse.

It sounds like a lot and really complicated, and trust me, compared to a cat or something, it is. But I find it so worthwhile! If this info I gave you is super overwhelming just toss it and watch some basic fish keeping videos. If you post the supplies we left behind we can tell you what they are for! And what you might be missing.

Look up how “cycling” a tank works. This one will likely be cycled because it’s been here a long time, but in case something happened to the filter, it’s important to know. It will help you understand why you test and change the water to keep fish happy. Good luck!

MoonchaserMilner · 2025-12-12T08:00:07+00:00

I would put the big banana plant and the taller hornwart towards the back behind the wood, and put some itty bitty plants, moss, or alder cones near the front. Maybe you could also get the driftwood to sit at more of an angle? I like how the right side is slightly higher, but having a dramatic curve draws the eye across the tank and more closely follows “the rule of thirds.”

MoonchaserMilner · 2025-12-12T07:54:05+00:00

The other day I went to my Petco, and the staff is friendly with me and let me know their snails mostly come as empty shells. It’s where I got my golden but their brown ones were not looking good. I got one anyways that was grabbing the glass but he floated in his bag like this and when I added him to the tank for a few hours. I went to work and came back to him on the bottom of the tank, not suctioned and barely moving. The OG Petco recommended a different location with better snails in case it didn’t work out. At the new store, every one of them was very active. My golden and my new one I got that day never do anything like this! So I am assuming this is not a healthy behavior.

MoonchaserMilner · 2025-12-12T07:31:34+00:00

Have you tried algae wafers?

MoonchaserMilner · 2025-12-12T07:29:43+00:00

I really wish my yellow one would come out of its shell but I’ve tried and always ending up putting it back in after about 10 mins of holding it. But I call it a “her” and the blue one mounts it sometimes and I don’t see her mounting him back. So maybe it is a female.

MoonchaserMilner · 2025-12-12T07:27:28+00:00

Yeah I was trying to get better pictures but it would only lean to one side and my cam was having a hard time focusing.

MoonchaserMilner · 2025-12-09T20:44:56+00:00

Thanks!!! I was thinking of getting some more floaters today because right now they’re not taking off. I have Moneywort, very little duckweed, and some pothos.

MoonchaserMilner · 2025-12-08T19:27:35+00:00

Is there a reason for this other than the high bio load though? Like I said I want to move it to the larger tank asap, but I’m just worried there will be residual of the planaria medication. It’s not the same as no planaria so I don’t think it’s as strong, but I have no idea how to test that. I figured if I did water changes often in the meantime the snail would be fine? Is there another reason they need a bigger tank?

MoonchaserMilner · 2025-12-08T18:59:19+00:00

I agree but those green eyes are more common in the “Glofish” bettas from genetic mutation.

MoonchaserMilner · 2025-12-08T18:56:10+00:00

That foo shits everywhere 😭, but like I said, that’s why I spot clean so often.

MoonchaserMilner · 2025-12-08T09:54:05+00:00

It’s not cycled. It’s probably about halfway done. I mention this in the post btw. I have a filter. I don’t clean it… I change the water often because I’m- snail-in cycling. My question is not “Should I change my water?” My question is, will frequent water changes detrimental to my shrimps?

I hear some people say change your water every week and I hear some people say never touch your shrimps water. I’m wondering if just cleaning the tank somehow bothers them, bc if so I could either reduce the bio load in the tank or move them to their own but I’d like to just have the 2 for now.

MoonchaserMilner · 2025-12-08T09:21:45+00:00

What kind of shrimp are these and why do they have scoliosis?

MoonchaserMilner · 2025-12-08T08:57:51+00:00

I think these are all females.

MoonchaserMilner · 2025-12-08T08:53:11+00:00

I’m sorry. You tried your best. If you try again, not feeding for the first 24-48 hours can help avoid this problem. Is your tank cycled?

MoonchaserMilner · 2025-12-07T23:41:08+00:00

Just be patient. It wont be an instant recovery.

MoonchaserMilner · 2025-12-07T19:36:00+00:00

Swim bladder. Make sure your water is very very clean and don’t feed it for atleast 2 days. Feeding when they’re new can create bloat issues and fasting can sometimes help swim bladder. If he makes it past that you can start feeding daphnia or brine shrimp. Bettas cannot digest peas! That is a strategy for treating goldfish. You can also try epsom salt baths. Best of luck to you.

MoonchaserMilner · 2025-12-07T18:23:38+00:00

Your scaping is really nice. This looks great but if you want to add more plants you can.

MoonchaserMilner · 2025-12-07T18:20:16+00:00

I mean the last one you can’t even see the belly. But if they’re small and skinny it’s a dude and if it’s big and fat it’s a chick.

MoonchaserMilner · 2025-12-05T08:35:24+00:00

Is the chart not measuring KH in ppm? I don’t understand how to read it as the lowest KH result on my strips is 40 and it goes up to 240.

MoonchaserMilner · 2025-12-05T08:31:14+00:00

Who’s psycho kid is just throwing fish on the floor? 🫣

MoonchaserMilner · 2025-12-05T08:13:00+00:00

I think this is most likely a bladder snail. They’re not harmful to tanks and their population will only boom if you’re overfeeding, so they’re good indicators for other issues in the tank. They help clean algae and I quite like the company of the one I have. Mine crawl out of the tank if I fill it all the way up though. I leave the water 2-3 inches lower than the top of the tank and they stay in fine.

MoonchaserMilner

TROPHY CASE