White fuzz secreted from snail shell?

Hey guys!!! So my tank recently cycled and I just added my two mystery/brigs snails in today that I ordered online. They came in 36 hours. Water was . 25 ammonia, 0 nitrite and 15 ppm nitrate. I did a partial change, and acclimated them in slowly. I noticed that as they moved around and as they pooped, they secreted a white fuzz too. Is this some form of stress slime? They were out and moving in minutes and look happy and healthy. There is this white fuzzy stuff in a trail where the moved today and I can see it coming out of their she'll with the poop. Its sticky too I'm assuming as it stuck to the glass and plants, I can't find out what this is? I doubt it's a fungus as their making it. I looked online and couldnt find too much. I heard they make a stress slime when scared? Thanks in advance everyone!!

 

Were the water parameters listed for your tank or the snails bag?

 

Snails are really sensitive and do not tolerate ammonia and nitrites well. Your tank should have been fully cycled before adding any snails. Does it look fuzzy like a fungus or most slimy like a mucus? It could be a sort of slime coat due to irritation from the ammonia.

 

Bithimala any snail thoughts?
I was guessing the water parameters were for the bag they came in. If they are for the tank, then do a big water change & dose with Prime.

 

Bithimala any snail thoughts?
I was guessing the water parameters were for the bag they came in. If they are for the tank, then do a big water change & dose with Prime.

I think that's the case too but if not that could be a good indicator.

 

They came in a plastic cup that was kept damp with many paper towels, they were well insulated in the box they came in. I slowly acclimated the cup to the temp of my water (78) for 15 mins. Then I slowly added a few drops every minute or so until they were submerged, another 20 mins. I let them sit like that for 5 mins before I put them in. It's more fuzzy. But they secreted it all over the tank,they have been very active. The. 25 ammonia was before the water change. I'm testing and doing another change today, just to make sure. I added prime to every water change before it went in the tank too,I'm religious with that stuff. The only other thing was I added calcium to the tank as they are grade b snails and came with some damage to the shells in terms of calcification, but the fuzz started before that.

The fuzz is always wrapped around the poop, and typically stuck to gravel or glass. They are longer pieces and don't look like fungus to me

 

Any chance of a picture? Please do try to get the ammonia and nitrite down to 0 if they aren't there already. Dose the tank daily with Prime and do your water changes to keep everyone safe until they are at 0.

My personally guess is that there is either stress slime or something they ate that is causing the waste to look that way. If it's sticky, I'd guess waste mixed with slime. What have you fed them, or did it start shortly after adding them?

 

It happened right as they fist started moving I noticed it. Just did another water change,waiting a minute to test. I fed a quarter algae wafer but they haven't found it yet. They like exploring the plants more than the ground I guess. For pictures:

I let this tank run for weeks and I was told my tank was cycled. I'm prepared to do water changes and testing every day.

I also got my ammonia down to 0, and both my nitrite (0)and nitrates (under 30ppm) have been fine during this time. I siphoned out the food they hadn't eaten yet incase this was contributing.

I believe this is some form of stress slime, should I just move them into some bowl or something until they recover? their not moving around much any more..

 

Glad to hear that everything is back to 0. They need to be somewhere that is cycled ideally, so I would leave them in the main tank unless. To me it looks like normal waste + slime. They may have reacted badly to the ammonia or been bumped around too much during shipping.

Personally, I would give it a day or two before isolating them, and then if you do need to, use a breeder box so that they are still in the main tank but in a more quiet area. From the middle picture, it looks more to me like they explored the tank and decided it was time for a nap, which is completely normal.

A few quick questions, from the pics, it look like you have a standard HOB filter on the tank? If so, you'll probably want to pick up a pre-filter sponge to put over the intake so they don't get sucked to it.

Many people add salt to their aquariums. You don't have any salt in there, right?

 

No I don't have any salt, I read that it was bad for them. the only thing that's foreign in the tank is prime.
I got new fake plants recently, do you think that they might have a toxin or hot glue on them or something?
There is a black sponge thing over the intake, heres a link to the tank that I have if you want to see if it is safe for them or not, I thought it was safehttps://www.amazon.com/Marina-LED-Aquarium-Kit-gallon/dp/B0173I55IS

they were just laying half out of their shells on the bottom of the tank for a few hours, they haven't shown any interest in the food, thank you so much for all your help, I am so so worried about them, I just wanna take the best care of my shell babies as possible.

 

Ok good, I am glad there's no salt. I was thinking it may have been irritating them if you had added it.

Filter looks good, I couldn't really tell from the pics you had initially posted. Looking at the link, there's already a sponge over the intake

Laying half out of their shells on the bottom of the tank is a bit worrisome to me.

Usually fake aquarium plants shouldn't have anything toxic on them at all. Ammonia and nitrites still 0? Are they just sitting on the bottom looking like the one in the bottom pic you had posted where you were holding it?

 

they were laying, relaxed in their shells for a while yesterday, but as of late last night the albino has been running around and searching for food. the purple one came out for an hour or two yesterday and explored but is now closed up and probably just taking a nap. I'm dong another test/WC now

 

Ok awesome! I'm going to guess stress from shipping + ammonia in the tank is what was causing the issue, at least, from everything you've provided so far. Has the mucus secretion decreased/stopped?

 

no it hasn't stopped, my levels are at 0 except nitrate which is at 10ppm. their both laying half out of their shells right now, despite one of them moving around all day today, the other hasn't moved in maybe 12 hours. the one who hasn't moved in awhile is half out on its side, my last snail did the half out thing a lot too though? just did a 50% WC with prime today too

 

The one half out of his shell, that's the one that was nicely tucked in earlier, right? If so, I think that's ok. Mine will do that too, like basically they fall asleep and then forget they were supposed to be tucked in all the way.

If you want to post a new pic of what they're doing, I can at least take a look and see if it looks like what mine do.

It may take a day or two for the mucus to decrease/stop if it was the result of the ammonia, but I'd still keep a close eye on them for now.

 

they have been pretty inactive, though it may just be that their adjusting/hungry/napping? they haven't eaten in quite awhile, they haven't eaten since I got them, for the day and a half they were in shipping, and a few days before they were shipped, they must be starving! ill try and put some blanched lettuce in tonight. checking my levels again today and possible WC, their inactivity worries me, especially with puddle (the darker one, who was half out but closed up again), noodle has been much more active. thank you so so much for all your help you have been a life save, my shell babies thank you <3

 

What's the temp in the tank?

 

76/77 degrees. they haven't moved all day and puddle hasn't moved in to, their both still alive though, as they have moved in and out of shells barely.

 

Glad to hear they're at least still alive. Temp is good, so shouldn't be any issue there. Do you happen to have any meat-based sinking discs available that you could try, maybe put one right near their faces? Mine absolutely love them and will wake up from a dead sleep if one is near by.

 

I have shrimp based bottom feeder pellets I just put in yesterday, my levels are all still perfect and they haven't touched them, I had algae pellets in the other day and they didn't go for those either. they came with these odd flakes but idk how their supposed to eat them but I wonder if they like them better. worries me they haven't been moving though or eating..

 

My nerite has been stationary for a day too. Weird

 

Algae, from what I've heard, isn't usually overly interesting for mysteries. I haven't tried it, since they love the meat based, and if not that, they get veggies or snail Jello. Not sure where you put the shrimp pellets, but I'd try putting them literally right by their heads to see if there's any reaction.

 

I don't really have access to a lot of things right now at school as it is the end of the year so I plan to make jello in two weeks when I'm home. I put the shrimp pellet right in front of noodle and she hasn't reacted. puddle is closed up, and noodle is slowly moving. neither have been active all day, and my parameters are perfect.
my last mystery loved algae wafers so I tried those, I'm gonna try the flakes I guess that they came with? everything is fine, but they aren't acting right its making me so nervous :/



^^ this is noodle, she came out and moves if I turn the light off, but won't eat the food infront of her, she's holding onto some slime. she's the more active of the two



^^this is puddle, she's much much less active, and loosens up and tightens her trap door throughout the day but that is all as of the last 48 hours.

neither has eaten or moved in 24 hours.

parameters are 0 ammonia 0 nitrite and 10ppm nitrate, no WC today, but added prime

 

Well, I think you are one of two people who has had success with mysteries and algae wafers. I'd say give whatever flakes they came with a go just to see if they'll eat something. It can take a bit for snails to believe something is food if they aren't used to it. Took my oldest a few months of snail jello before she was willing to touch veggies at all.

Looking at the pictures, I am almost wondering if they haven't been getting the best care prior to coming to you. I have no idea where you purchased them, but that's a lot of shell damage and uneven growth for them being so little, especially poor Puddle.

I would also suggest picking them up and bringing them to the surface once or twice a day for air if they aren't making it up on their own. Hold them basically in the same position that they would be if they were on the tank glass, right below the water line, for about a minute (or less if they decide to get air right away) with their siphon side pointing toward the top of the water.

Do you have any other creatures in the tank with them at this point?

 

^^the one on the left is my tap water, the one on the right is my tank (CRAZY HIGH, is this ok??) both are high end pH, I did my tap on low end and it seemed a bit darker than the 7.6

 

??? That's just strange, but from what I've read, no, that's not really ok. Are you adding anything to the tank to raise the pH? I have no idea why it would be that high. 7.6 is good, you want to aI'm between 7 and 8 from what I've read (never personally had mine that high to know from experience) as anything beyond that in either direction can start leading to shell erosion.

Also, can we get a full tank picture? I'd love to see if there's something in there I can spot that may not have come up in the thread so far.

 

5 gallon marima, currently 77 degrees, filter intake on high, and I have a heater on as well. the gravel I rinsed well for 20 minutes in scaling water in a colander. the two tall plants I've used before, the small green plants are new. last WC was 2 days ago, ill do another today to try and fix the pH

noodle isn't moving.. I touched her and she still didn't move. ill check again later to make sure she has passed..I have to figure out what is wrong with my tank.
if feel like this tank is cursed. I have had 3 snails pass due to this tank. I have no idea what is wrong with it.. I researched and I thought I did everything right. they both were/are producing tons of slime..what did I do wrong??

I've posted in multiple places and no one has any idea what is wrong, only thing I can think of is unstable pH or the gravel or something..

Nothing is in the tank with them other than some baby Marino Moss balls, the people I got them from are wonderful and puddle and noodle were considered grade B snails, but I didn't expect that much erosion to be honest.

 

I don't see Puddle in the picture you posted...? I'd like to hope that means she snailed off somewhere? Fingers crossed that's the case, but if not, I'm sorry

Out of curiosity, the plumbing in your home, are the pipes in your house copper, and if so, are they new? If that's a no, I'm going to lean to the oddly high pH in the tank. CindiL do you happen to know what would be causing the pH to skyrocket like that once it's in the tank? You've been great with providing advice when it drops, but I've never seen it raise like that.

The gravel looks fine to me, as does the rest of the tank, looks like it should be a snail haven.

Also, taking another look at the waste, I'm wondering if the people you purchased them from weren't using the weekly feeders to feed them. It looks a bit like other waste, but white, and that would probably cause the waste to be white since it usually reflects what they have eaten.

 

Puddle is in the back hiding and is only about a half inch to an inch. Noodle is doing bad and their both on the brink.. I'm going to put them in a class jar and try and keep it in the tank to keep the temp warm and possibly start trying melafix. I think I'm having crazy pH fluctuations. I did another reading again and it was about 7.8.. I still can't get a good reading on my tap water. I'm at school right now so I have no clue about the pipes, the building was renovated in 2007 though. Only thing in the tank that could cause the pH Flux is the gravel or the new plants I added? Their doing so bad. Haven't eaten in a week and won't come out for cucumbers or bottom feeder pellets or algae wafers or their flakes. I'm so worried

 

Well, 7.8 is good. I'm very confused about the pH changes though. That may be what is causing their issues, if it's been changing like that.

What type of gravel was it, looks just like standard gravel from the picture.

 

I don't see Puddle in the picture you posted...? I'd like to hope that means she snailed off somewhere? Fingers crossed that's the case, but if not, I'm sorry

Out of curiosity, the plumbing in your home, are the pipes in your house copper, and if so, are they new? If that's a no, I'm going to lean to the oddly high pH in the tank. CindiL do you happen to know what would be causing the pH to skyrocket like that once it's in the tank? You've been great with providing advice when it drops, but I've never seen it raise like that.

This is fairly common when you have a lot of CO2 in the water source. In fact, my water comes out of the tap at 6.8 and rises to 8.2. In these cases its best to just aerate the water in a bucket before doing the water change. I aerate mine in a bin overnight for my main tank. This allows the CO2 to off gas and rise to its natural state.

Once it rises though I wouldn't expect it to start dropping unless there is low KH. maddy6056 we need you to find out your GH and KH. Snails need a high GH which is made of calcium and magnesium for proper shell growth. KH holds your ph steady.

A test strip will give a rough estimate for today but ideally you'd buy API's drop tester for GH/KH.

 

I plan to order gh /kh drops I just found out that this was a thing. I wonder if me doing daily water changes screwed the pH. I will definitely leave any tap water out for awhile before adding it, I still haven't been able to get an accurate reading on my tap ph.

As for my gravel it is white gravel from Walmart, I used the same brand in the past. I scrubbed it in boiling water for 20 mins when I first got it, but my water was cloudy when I added water for the first time a month ago, maybe it wasn't rinsed enough..

I have calcium powder? I could add that if that would help, I planned to make snail jello once I'm. Home from school. I don't have a mode of transportation right now but I can try and find a way into town.

I think I'll stop doing water changes and If I do them I'll just aerate the water first for awhile. My ammonia and nitrite have been very good staying at 0.

Would melafix help or should I keep chemicals out. Of the water?

 

I would leave chemicals out. Take a bucket of water, test the ph, aerate it for a couple of hours then test the ph again. The drastic ph changes can kill or harm fish or snails so it could be adding to the stress.

Are there directions on the calcium powder to add it straight to your tank?

 

It's reptile calcium powder, I've never used it but I heard pure calcium powder or calcium pills could be good for them so I picked it up.

I lowered my water level yesterday so it would aerate more with my HOB filter.

What else can I do to help them? Should I just leave the tank be unless the ammonia goes up again? They haven't eaten in a week and I have cucumbers and meat based pellets in the tank, I'll remove those at least to avoid a spike.

It's a 7.6

 

Is the reptile calcium just calcium?

 

I'd have to double check the ingredients, but I think it just said calcium carbonate. But it may have d3 in it? I haven't used it yet I don't think

I may have added some the day I got them now that I think about it, but I siphoned it out the next day

 

If it's just calcium carbonate, adding it should be fine. If it's got D3 in it, I would stay away from it or be very very careful with how much you add, very easy for the little guys to get an overdose of D.

 

could adding the calcium caused all these problems? not sure how much I added..

so for the mean time: I should just keep testing the tank and let the water be unless it gets bad (in which case I will have water that has been sitting and aerated for awhile first)? the only thing I can think of is the pH fluctuations for why they are doing so poorly.. but leaving the tank be is the only thing I can do really?

Otherwise I genuinely cannot think of anything else that's causing this.. and how to fix it or prevent it in the future

the calcium does have D3 in it, and looking into it I added way too much (this was the first or second day I got them) (wends or thurs) I siphoned out all the extra I could the after maybe 12 hours. so this is probably a pH and an OD on D3 problem, I'm so glad I can finally have answers. I did just wanna thank you again for being absolutely amazing, this has been a huge stressor in my life and I can learn from my mistakes and hopefully save my shell babies form my ignorance :/

 

I'd pick up some crushed coral, aragonite, limestone, cuttlebone, something like that and put it into your tank to help hold your ph steady. The fact that it dropped after rising makes me think your KH is low and this will help hold it in the mean time. Its also good minerals for the snails.

Let us know when you find out what your GH and KH are.

 

I researched more, and adding too much calcium carbonate can increase the pH and Co2 rates, and reduce oxygen? I am assuming that if I leave the tank alone it will get better? noodle is finally moving back into her shell a bit, it was almost like she was frozen half out of her shell, and puddle is finally peeking, not moving but opened up a bit

I think the calcium raised my pH and it has been going down about .2 daily in terms of a pH because it may be finally steadying itself out?

hahahahaha soo I just tested and my parameters are up. god just when I thought it was fine.

Parameter updates: ammonia is up to about .25-.5, nitrites are up to about 0.25, and nitrates are chilling at 5ppm

Snail update: noodle is moving, she was inching half out and then closed back up cuz someone slammed a door, and puddle is slowly closing up and still producing slime (so she's at least alive)

I'm gunna get tap now to let it aerate and test the pH before adding, dang it dang it dang it.