Mystery Snail Broke Its Shell

I have a 2.5 gallon tank, with 2 mystery snails and 2 small fish that I am unaware of the species. No lid, just a tank, with sand, rocks, and a few plants. I have a filter and air pump too. I let my snails go out sometimes, only when Im watching. If so i will try to put them back down, but if they go, they go. But one of mine recently fell off the tank and chipped the side / front of its shell. Please tell me what I should do, Im worried. I don't wanna superglue it, or should I let nature do it thing? Please tell me. Thanks. ( Also the picture and tank is cloudy because of the sand... I realized I had to put the sand in first... Letting the filter complete it and make it non-cloudy, and the snail that has the chipped / broken shell is the black / brown snail. ) Please tell me if the picture is not good enough, I will get a close-up one if you need to see the chip.

 

My nearest PetSmart is in / near Stroudsburg. Its the nearest pet store next to pet supplies plus, an PetSmart is the one I wanted to go to. I might go to the fish store in Wind Gap to get my fish. Those fish in those pet places treat those fish like trash and the fish are not amazing, like you said.

 

All you have to do is say "someone here sold me Mbunas for my 2.5 gallon tank" and they'll refund you lol. Might even give you a coupon if you're firm with them for real though, pretty big mistake on their part

 

Thanks! Definitely say that, the I could get some tetras or some small fish that i ask THE NAME, then ill know. Thanks though lol.

 

Always research any type of fish you are interested in. Look at the minimum tank size, the Ph, the temperature, if they like real plants or fake, if they need hiding places, and how many you need. Most schooling fish need 8-10 while some need 12-15. Don't buy based on what looks cool. Make a plan long before you decide to make a purchase.

 

Generally, as it's a 2.5 gallon there is no way there can be any fish kept in the tank. And before anybody comes up with it, it's actually even too small for a betta.

Maybe get a 10 gallon tank, when taking back the fish if you want to try it correctly, otherwise the tank better stays a snail tank.

 

First I want to say that, yes, absolutely, tanks need to be cycled. So just remember that for the future. You can buy some things to help you cycle it faster, like Safe Start Plus. It's not the end of the world for the fish. I've been raising fish since I was a little child, and didn't know anything about cycling. My fish survived. SO what I'm trying to say is YES, cycle from now on, BUT please don't stress out too much about making a mistake. We've all done it. I would definitely return the cichlids if you can if you can't afford a bigger tank (and you can always use some old water, the Safe Start Plus, you could ask the pet store for some used media to help speed along the beneficial bacteria, etc, you CAN save this situation, don't let anyone else make you think otherwise). Honestly, to me, in order to really enjoy fishkeeping, you would need at least a 10 gallon. Keep in mind, the bigger the tank, the more options you have for fish. Not only the amount you can keep, but also the species you can have.

Now, as for your mystery snails. Actually, before we get into anything else, I would REALLY suggest you get an API Freshwater Master Test kit. Test your water weekly (look up how to cycle a tank on here, and what your parameters should be). Even if the kit says water is good, make sure you do water changes as needed for debris (excess food, poo, etc). NOW onto the snails. Do you know if you have hard or soft water? You can bring in a sample of your water to the pet store and they might be able to test it for you. Or if you know if you have a water softener in your home. Snails prefer hard water, better on their shells. If you DO have soft water, it's okay. It just means you have to work harder on getting them calcium, which it sounds like you are starting to do with some veggies. Mine love cucumbers (but I would look up how to feed your snails veggies, it's not as easy as just dropping it in, and I wouldn't leave in there for longer than 6-12 hours if they aren't eating it). Crushed eggshells, and cuttlebone are good for calcium as well. If you don't want them in your tank for cosmetic purposes, you can put them in your filter. If you have a lid for your tank, PLEASE USE IT. Mystery snails love to climb out and explore, and a broken shell is often a death sentence. Don't do anything to yours, just keep giving it calcium and watch how it does. Female snails especially need to leave water to lay their clutch. So anyone saying that snails shouldn't be trying to escape maybe forgot that they need a dry place to go, and that it doesn't always mean your water is bad (but again, get that test kit and you'll know for sure). Maybe leave like 2 inches free from the lid I hope you have somewhere/get, and see if you get a big ole clutch of eggs. If/when you get a tank cover, be sure to check the underside of the lid as well because mine loved putting hers there. If you do find eggs, you have options. Leave it and let them hatch, or wait a day or two until it's hardened up, and then pull it off/throw them away. If you want to keep them, but not in that tank, wait until it's safe to pull them off, and then you can hatch them in some tupperware (look online for instructions if you decide to go that route) and put them in a different tank away from mom and dad. ALSO, another reason your snails might have been trying to escape other than to lay a clutch, or bad water, is because of your stocking. Those fish will eat your snails, or at the very best, just harass and peck at them until they are so stressed it doesn't end well. I know you mentioned getting tetras and some of the other smaller fish, so that would definitely be more ideal. Snails are great for community tanks.

Sorry this is so long, welcome to the fish hobby, I wish you luck Keep us updated on what you ended up getting/deciding to do!

 

Those fish will eat your snails, or at the very best, just harass and peck at them until they are so stressed it doesn't end well.

Those fish won't, they usually leave snails of any kind alone, but the topic of fish doesn't matter in that puddle of a tank anyhow.

 

One thing beginners often don’t realize is the bigger the tank the easier it is to keep clean water. As long as stocking is appropriate of course. For the 2.5 you can just keep the snails in there, then get a few live plants and some algae growing and get a few Neocaridina shrimp. Those guys are pretty cute. I would suggest a 20 gallon for a beginner. You can get a good amount of fish in it, and lots of beginner fish would do well in a 20. Most kinds of tetras, rasboras, cories, barbs, and more will be happy in there. One thing I think would be fun it to get a single pair of some kind of livebearer for the 20 gallon. They will reproduce uncontrollably so soon you can watch babies grow up! Make sure you have somewhere for the babies to go though, many people have found themselves with too many livebears to handle because they breed so much. You can get guppies, my fav, and get a certain breed of them to keep having similar babies instead of brown or less pretty mixed ones. I would suggest you find a local fish store to go to instead of Petsmart or Petco or Pet Supplies Plus or any other large chain pet store. Small stores seem to be the most knowledgeable and reliable, and the people who work there generally know more than some college kid who works at Petsmart because they like dogs. Also, if you go the livebearer route, you will want to know that your loved fish babies are going somewhere safe. You know how the Petsmart gave you completely wrong instructions for the cichlids? Well you wouldn’t want that to happen to your baby fish.
Some important advice is to always know about the fish before you buy them. You should never go into a fish store to see which fish you like and buy the ones that catch your eye. You should know what species you are going to get, and know everything about caring for them before you buy them. And also
CYCLE YOUR TANK BEFORE YOU ADD FISH!!!
That’s super duper oouper shmoouper important.