Open sore on Nassarius snail

dana92 · Apr 24, 2020

I've had this Nassarius snail for close to a year without any issues. He has been healthy and full of energy for a snail. He comes barreling out of the sand whenever he knows there is food around. He has always had a healthy appetite. I love this little guy.

I noticed around ten days ago an open sore on his back, and right after that, he would only come out of the sand every two to three days to eat, and even then, he wasn't eating as much as he usually does. And the last couple of days he digs himself into the sand and then manages to bring the injured area out of the sand. Tonight he was hungry and was out for a little while, so he seemed to be getting around better and with more energy.

I don't know what to do for him though, so I'm hoping someone can give me some guidance. I have searched everywhere for pictures of an open wound on snails but have not found any that look like this one. The only thing I can think of is he tends to climb to the top of the tank and will lose his balance and fall to the bottom, and I have seen him land on rocks, which I would think could do damage, but this isn't a crack on his shell, it's an open sore that might even be getting bigger. I have attached pictures, so hopefully, once you see what I'm talking about, someone will know what I need to do to get this guy better.

I have a 5-gallon tank that has been up and running for close to two years with one other snail, a clownfish, and a handful of corals.

Thespammailaccount · Apr 24, 2020

Coralline algae?

TriggerFinger · Apr 24, 2020

You can see better with your eyes than I can on a pictures but it looks like coraline algae to me. Can you take a picture with more light?

tbaity1401 · Apr 24, 2020

Looks like coralline algae

35ppt · Apr 24, 2020

I agree with the above. What you're seeing there is coralline algae and nothing to worry about. When they're well fed they may not come out every time. It's normal behavior to climb to the top and drop off, they all do that and don't get injuries from it.

dana92 · Apr 24, 2020

Here are a couple more pictures. I'm horrible at taking pictures, so I apologize since these probably are not any better. I can take more pictures tomorrow if these are not of any help.

I don't know if you can tell by these new pictures, but the area is indented; like, that part of his shell is gone. It's not raised at all. So if it is coralline algae, that isn't something that develops on top of the shell I take it.

Obviously, I am not aware of how this affects snails, so please bear with me here. If he isn't in any pain or uncomfortable even though he hides all the time now and moves gingerly, what happens next? Will it go away?

Loggerhead · Apr 25, 2020

Looks like coralline algae to me. Forms on rock, shells, glass, etc. from calcium in the water. The small spot is because it needs light and that part of its shell stays out of the sand the most. I have a fighting conch that most of it’s shell is covered. It can be a bit thicker at the edge so it may look like it is indented in the middle. If you touched it and it is coralline, it will be as hard as the shell. Insides of snails do not look pink like that so I highly doubt it is a disease. I have witnessed many being eaten by hermits over the years.
Coralline is completely harmless and may or may not go away depending on water parameters and light. And by go away, I mean turn white, die then get algae on it and blend in with the rest of the shell. As far as the snail eating less, could just be getting older and doesn’t need as much food to keep it going.

35ppt · Apr 25, 2020

It may look indented but it's not, pick up the snail and feel it. Or maybe it is indented for some reason but it's nothing to do with the coralline algae growing on the shell. Coralline is a calcareous algae that grows on hard surfaces when you keep reef parameters. Most of my snail's shell are completely covered in it.

TriggerFinger · Apr 25, 2020

I still think coraline. I think your snail buddy will be fine!

TriggerFinger · Apr 25, 2020

my shells have it too. Does it look like this?

dana92 · Apr 26, 2020

TriggerFinger said:
my shells have it too. Does it look like this?

Yes, it does look like that. Same texture and color. The coralline algae on my rocks look a lot different than what is on the snail. I would have never imagined it to be algae growing on him. Thank you!

dana92 · Apr 26, 2020

35ppt said:
It may look indented but it's not, pick up the snail and feel it. Or maybe it is indented for some reason but it's nothing to do with the coralline algae growing on the shell. Coralline is a calcareous algae that grows on hard surfaces when you keep reef parameters. Most of my snail's shell are completely covered in it.

Thank you! I think it is coralline algae now that it has been brought to my attention. I had no idea.

Thespammailaccount · Apr 26, 2020

dana92 said:
Yes, it does look like that. Same texture and color. The coralline algae on my rocks look a lot different than what is on the snail. I would have never imagined it to be algae growing on him. Thank you!

That is great to hear hopefully Mr./Mrs. snail has several more years to come

dana92 · Apr 26, 2020

Loggerhead said:
Looks like coralline algae to me. Forms on rock, shells, glass, etc. from calcium in the water. The small spot is because it needs light and that part of its shell stays out of the sand the most. I have a fighting conch that most of it’s shell is covered. It can be a bit thicker at the edge so it may look like it is indented in the middle. If you touched it and it is coralline, it will be as hard as the shell. Insides of snails do not look pink like that so I highly doubt it is a disease. I have witnessed many being eaten by hermits over the years.
Coralline is completely harmless and may or may not go away depending on water parameters and light. And by go away, I mean turn white, die then get algae on it and blend in with the rest of the shell. As far as the snail eating less, could just be getting older and doesn’t need as much food to keep it going.

Thank you. I’m glad I asked what it was because otherwise I would have never known.

dana92 · Apr 26, 2020

Thespammailaccount said:
That is great to hear hopefully Mr./Mrs. snail has several more years to come

Ha! I can only hope. But the "Mrs" isn’t the same kind of snail, and I do have a little problem with that snail too.

So please don’t judge by this next picture I’m going to post, but this is what I consider to be algae growing on a snail. It doesn’t seem to slow him/her down, again, for a snail that is. Any suggestions on if I should do anything to clean him up? And if so, what and how?

35ppt · Apr 26, 2020

dana92 said:
Ha! I can only hope. But the "Mrs" isn’t the same kind of snail, and I do have a little problem with that snail too.

So please don’t judge by this next picture I’m going to post, but this is what I consider to be algae growing on a snail. It doesn’t seem to slow him/her down, again, for a snail that is. Any suggestions on if I should do anything to clean him up? And if so, what and how?

I would take that snail and toothbrush all the filamentous algae (Green Hair Algae) off then I would drip some peroxide on the shell and toss it back in.

dana92 · Apr 26, 2020

35ppt said:
I would take that snail and toothbrush all the filamentous algae (Green Hair Algae) off then I would drip some peroxide on the shell and toss it back in.

Believe it or not, I was doing that for a while but it just kept coming back, so I got away from doing it. I’ll take care if it. I wish there was some kind of a dip to loosen it up so it comes off easier.

dana92 · Apr 27, 2020

35ppt said:
I would take that snail and toothbrush all the filamentous algae (Green Hair Algae) off then I would drip some peroxide on the shell and toss it back in.

Done! He looks much better except for the bad haircut now

. I'll fine-tune what I missed in a few days. I didn't scrub him hard enough before thinking I would hurt him, but he's a tough dude and appreciates you for having me clean him up! Thank you for all your help.

35ppt · Apr 27, 2020

dana92 said:
Done! He looks much better except for the bad haircut now. I'll fine-tune what I missed in a few days. I didn't scrub him hard enough before thinking I would hurt him, but he's a tough dude and appreciates you for having me clean him up! Thank you for all your help.

No problem! He can't feel the outside of his shell so no worries.