Mystery Snail parasite?

HI everyone, I have a beautiful mystery snail which has been in my aquarium since June. It has grown a lot since then almost quadrupling in size.
Yesterday, I noticed what looks like something living in the whole in the middle of his shell. It seems to have many tentacles. Does any one know what this is? See my pictures.

I only have one nerite snail living in the tank with him.

Should I be worried? Does anyone know what it is?
Thanks

 

Could be leeches or tubifex worms... you could get GUM soft picks and dip it in salt and stick it down the hole to see if the salt will kill it then gently flush it out so it doesn't get on the snail. I bought a snail with those worms in the same place from Petsmart and just trying to scrape them out didn't work.

 

I don't want to be alarming but I think that it might be worth reading about rat lungworm for which the Golden Apple Snail is an intermediate host, just in case it could be this. I'm sure you will be able to deal with it safely though.

Note: This post is updated significantly below.

 

How would either type of worm have gotten in my auqarium?

Could be leeches or tubifex worms... you could get GUM soft picks and dip it in salt and stick it down the hole to see if the salt will kill it then gently flush it out so it doesn't get on the snail. I bought a snail with those worms in the same place from Petsmart and just trying to scrape them out didn't work.

Did you get rid of them in the end?

 

How would either type of worm have gotten in my auqarium?

It was probably in the snail's shell rather than in your aquarium first.

Did you get rid of them in the end?

No, I returned the snail because I couldn't take knowing there was worms in the shell and got snails from another supplier.

 

Constellation and Ravynn

I was concerned about this topic because I think that if parasites were common in these snails I would know more about it by now.

So, I did some research and it seems rat lungworm is non-existent in the hobby. However, debris is able to collect in the umbilicus of the snail (the hole where it spirals in) and sludge worms (i.e. tubifex and possibly other little life forms) are able to live in there and feed on the detritus.

So, if it bothers you, you could GENTLY clean this area but be careful not to damage the shell of your snail.

Here is a thread that discusses something similar. There may be other useful info out there also. Hope this helps.

https://www.applesnail.net/forum3/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=21578

 

A slightly better thread with a helpful video linked in -
https://www.applesnail.net/forum3/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=18205